TREESMITH COMPANY

Rick Lopez came out on 9/18/08 and said that he would remove the tree the next day for $950.00 cash. He promised to be here at 11:00 am sharp the next day. He said he would put us ahead of all his other customers, in light of the dangerous situation. He asked for a deposit of $490.00. I gave him a check in that amount which he agreed not to cash because it was to be a cash deal. He had given us a $30.00 discount off of his original price of $980.00 for the cash deal. Rick did not come at 11:00 am. I called him at noon, and he said he would be out at 2:00 pm. Shortly before 2:00pm he called to say that he could not come at all that day, and would come out the following morning (Saturday). A few minutes after that call, the city of Shaker Heights truck arrived and removed the entire branch, so that the only thing remaining to be removed was the trunk of the tree, which was still standing. I called Tree smith and left a message for Rick. I said that the job had changed and that I would need him to give me a new quote for the job since the city removed the entire branch. I told the operator that I did not want Rick to bring a crew out in the morning, but that I would welcome a new estimate from him. I asked that Rick return my call to confirm that he had gotten the message. He did not call. I called Tree smith again later in the afternoon and spoke to a different operator. She said that Rick would be in shortly, and she would give him the message. I stressed that I wanted Rick to call me to confirm that he had gotten the message. He never called. The next day, Saturday, Rick called at about 4:00pm. He said that he would do the job for the amount of the deposit, which was $490.00. I said that I wanted to get some other estimates to make sure that that price was fair. He said that there was just one problem with that plan: He had cashed our check! I was very upset by this news and asked for my money back. He said he would have to see what he "could do with the bank." I doubt I will ever get that money back.

On 7/5/08, we paid Rick Lopez, an owner of Treesmith, $1435 as a down payment for 7 trees that were to be of 12 foot height. He told us they would most likely be planted the next day. The trees were not planted as Rick Lopez said so we began calling him. We received numerous assurances that our work would be completed, and equally as numerous excuses why our job had not been done. Several weeks went by so I eventually asked my money be refunded. Rick Lopez agreed to refund my money, but he did not refund it, nor did he plant my trees. So I went to the Better Business Bureau and to a web site (the organization that helped me locate Treesmith) to attempt a resolution. These resulted in Treesmith planting 3 sickly looking trees of 7 and 9 foot tall height (the written proposal stated they would be 12 foot tall trees). When I called Rick Lopez about this problem, he became irate on the phone, shouted at me claiming I was being unreasonable, and hung up on me. After that, I contacted Rick Thompson, the director of operations and other owner of Treesmith. He assured me that the remaining trees would be planted, even taller than the specified 12 foot height, to make up for the problems we encountered. He told me the trees would be planted by 8/12/08. It is now 8/23/08 and the trees are not planted and Rick Thompson does not return my phone calls. So all I have from Treesmith is a lost $1435 deposit, lots of headaches, broken promises, and 3 sickly trees. Do not use this company.

It really is true,"If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is." We've since learned the job we need to have done on our home will run between $1500-$1800. The experience was frustrating and costly and aggravating, and a good reminder to "let the buyer beware"!!