NaturaLawn of America

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]
 Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:What is stated in the letter is not true.  Someone came to inspect the yard.  He knocked on my door and after inspecting the yard, even though I was in the house, he never knocked on the door or rang my door bell to talk to me.  I never told him to leave my property.When I was called regarding how to resolve the problem with my yard, I was told that I would have to pay another fee.Also, my yard is completely destroyed.  I had two people look at my yard and I have been told that the dirt will need to be turned over, the yard will need to be fertilized and the decision has been made to put down turf.
Regards,
[redacted]

We are so sorry for our confusion about this account.  We truly appreciate the [redacted]’s bringing this problem to our attention.
Per their request, we have removed them from our calling lists.  Please accept our sincerest apologies for our overzealous attempts to...

retain them as a customer.

To whom it may concern,The following customer, Mrs. [redacted], is fully aware of NaturaLawn of America's annual renewal service. Any service may be cancelled at any point in the year. [redacted] did not cancel the service before the start of the 2014. There were two prepay letters which...

are mailed in November and February stating that the service will renew automatically. These same protocols are done every year which [redacted] receives. [redacted] has been a customer for 5 full seasons dating back to 2003 through 2005, and signed up again in 2012. Services that continued from 2012 to 2013 had no issue regarding an annual renewal of service; same for the 3 years starting in 2003. [redacted] started service again with NaturaLawn of America on February 22, 2012.No notification of cancelling service was received until after the application was done on March 19, 2014. The last communication with her prior to March 19, 2014 was on July 5, 2013 regarding a specific request for an application to be done by [redacted]. Two more applications were done after the July 5, 2013 application. [redacted] was called on March 18th, prior to the scheduled application, to notify her of the appointment. [redacted] contacted NaturaLawn of America regarding the application done and cancelled the service at 3:58 PM. Our customer service representative stated to [redacted] that our service does auto renew from year to year. [redacted]'s account was marked as cancelled on March 19th, 2014. On April 7, 2014, a message was left for [redacted] regarding the pending bill for the one application done. [redacted] left a message on April 7, 2014 stating that she is "pausing her account for this year" and she will contact us if she wants to continue. A NaturaLawn of America customer service representative left a message on April 8, 2014 for [redacted] stating that the account was marked on March 19, 2014 as cancelled and there is a pending balance for one application since the account was not cancelled prior to the first application on March 19, 2014. On April 10, 2014, [redacted] contacted NaturaLawn of America regarding the balance and stated that he refuses to pay the balance. The NaturaLawn of America customer service representative made [redacted] aware of the annual renewal of the service and no previous conversations to cancel the service. [redacted] continued to refuse to pay the balance of $78 for the one application.Voice messages were left every 7 days after the following conversation on April 10, 2014, requesting a call back to discuss the account. Two final calls were made, May 14th and 19th offering a 20% discount to clear the balance. Our attempts to establish contact and come to an amicable resolution went unanswered and we had no option but to refer the balance to a collection agencyAt this time, we do not believe that NaturaLawn should be responsible to clear the overdue balance. We believe we took every possible step in notifying the [redacted]'s that service was beginning, including calling the night before. We absolutely will still honor the 20% courtesy discount that we have offered in the past. Copies of the service agreement, annual renewal notices, the service invoice, and customer sign-up/cancellation dates available upon request. The financial group information where the balance was sent is: [redacted] Dallas, [redacted]. Their contact phone number is ###-###-####. NaturaLawn has no involvement with submissions to credit bureaus.As a local company, we are saddened anytime we lose a customer and certainly would never make it a "goal" of ours to put a mark against their credit report. We try to be there for our customers and often times, like in the case with the [redacted]'s, a customer will discontinue the service only to reinstate a couple years later. We try to work with all of our customers; letting a family leave the service with a bad taste about us is a sure sign they will not reinstate the service in the future. We truly feel we have done everything we could to pre-notify and then follow-up regarding the service and the bill in this situation.If there is any other information that is required, please don't hesitate to contact us immediately.Thank you very much for making us aware of this situation.Brandi B[redacted]

Mrs. has been using our service since 3/20/2012. Our services renew every year unless we are notified to cancel service. We notify our customers twice by mail every winter every year. This was explained when she orginally signed up in 2012 and it was also explained again on 2/27/13 when Mrs called...

into the office. We sent notifaction of renewal on 11/15/13 and 1/27/14 for the 2014 season. Mrs. explained that she threw out our notices despite the front of the envelope reading "Renewal Notice". We were not made aware that Mrs wasnt going forward in 2014 until 5/13/14 after 2 services were complete. In order to resolve the account we offer to split the bill 50/50.

We are so sorry for this customer’s confusion about her account.  We go to great lengths to ensure that customers are fully aware of the services we are providing, their costs and payment terms.In this case, the customer won a free application of mosquito control for her yard by entering a...

drawing we held at the Delaware Home & Garden Show at the Chase Center on March 27 & 28,2015. When our representative called her on April 1, 2015, to inform her that she had won the drawing, he also offered her our regular mosquito control treatment program that includes ten treatments during the summer season at the price of $48 per treatment.  The customer agreed to our regular, ten (10) treatment program and provided her credit card information for payment for the nine (9) additional treatments during the summer season.  The customer was also advised that, since there is no written contract, she could cancel treatments at any time by phone, letter or email.On April 2, 2015, we sent this customer, via regular, first class mail, a written confirmation of her acceptance of our ten (10) treatment program with the first treatment being free.  That letter included our service agreement that identified the ten (10) treatments for which her property was scheduled and she had agreed to, the price for each treatment and showed that the firsttreatment was to be performed for free.  Furthermore, we enclosed an offer with the letter that included an additional discount for the nine remaining treatments if the customer chose toprepay for her annual mosquito control treatment program.On April 22, 2015, we sent this customer, via regular, first class mail, a post card reminder that mosquito control services were about to begin.  On May 19, 2015, the first mosquito control treatment was performed for this customer.  On June 2, 2015, the second mosquito control treatment was performed for this customer.  In both cases, per the customer’s request, an email notification was sent to the customer the day before the treatment was performed.Based on the foregoing, it is evident that the customer agreed to the additional services and had ample opportunity to question the schedule of treatments after receipt of the written confirmation.  Furthermore, additional written and email correspondence provided this customer additional opportunity stop any further treatments so that, by failing to do so, the $48 for the second treatment is clearly due and owing.Notwithstanding the above, we have written off the customer's outstanding balance due, including a $15 credit card processor return charge, and have stopped any further collection activities.

We take considerable pride in offering the highest quality and customer service experience for our customers. We therefore truly regret the confusion concerning this customer’s account. Please allow us to clarify.The customer received treatments on 7/1 and 7/18 which were paid in full. On 8/10 we...

treated a neighbor’s property by mistake. When advised by the customer about this error, we apologized for the mistake and assured her that she would not be charged for that treatment. We returned the following week (8/17) to treat the customer’s property. Another treatment was done on 9/6. At this point the customer’s balance was $96 for treatments done on 8/17 and 9/6 ($48 each) and we put a pause on our services until the balance was paid. It is our policy to pause services if a customer is 2 treatments behind on payments. In addition to the statements left behind at the time of each treatment, we called and left a voicemail on 9/13 regarding the customer’s balance. We also sent payment reminder emails on 8/26, 9/9 and 9/19. After no payment and no contact back from the customer, we had no choice but to send her to collections. On 10/7 the customer called in and paid her balance in full. We also verified that we had her correct email and phone number on file.Because our mistake on 8/10 left this property untreated for an extended amount of time, we have refunded the subsequent retreatment charge (done on 8/17) in full ($48). Again, we are so sorry for the confusion about this account.

To whom it may concern:
Thank you for making us aware regarding [redacted]' concerns.
[redacted] and our Operations Manager, John C[redacted], spoke on Thursday October 30th, 2014 and came to an amicable solution.  Both parties were satisfied with the...

outcome and we hope to provide service to the Evans' property again in the future.
If there is any other information that needs to be provided at this time, please don't hesitate to contact us.
Thanks

The customer has been removed from the collections group.

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. 
Regards,
[redacted]

In response to complaint:

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Customer had a wild violet issue on his lawn. It is extremely hard to control and requires a lot of attention. We notified the customer of the issue and did multiple free visits in between his chargeable services. We have drastically lowered the amount of wild violet plants on his lawn. We even provided a free over seeding( $235 value) to his lawn even though he did not complete the full program as agreed in the beginning of the season. When a customer alters the program they are charged for the free seeding but we waived that fee after **. [redacted] met with our operations manager and agreed to split the bill by paying half now and half in March when we resumed service. In order to resolve this issue we are willing to take a half payment of $126.00 but request payment for the free overseeding that was done. The new balance would be $375.10.
[redacted] | Office Manager

Customer - NaturaLawn of America called me on the phone in early
2014, telling me their product was all natural fertilizers and safer lawn care.
Company - NaturaLawn of America is an organic-based lawn care
company.  Our natural, organic-based programs have effectively reduced the
amount...

of chemical pesticides by over 80% as compared to traditional lawn care
methods.  We customize our applications and provide a safer lawn care
program which does not rely on the repeated, excessive, indiscriminate use of pesticides.
 Soils are the back bone for supporting plant life.  A lawn grown
under proper soil conditions is similar to a house built on a solid foundation.
 Most traditional lawn care companies overlook the importance of feeding
the soil and only feed the grass blades with synthetic chemicals.  When
NLA applies organic-based fertilizers to the lawn, we are feeding the grass
plants by feeding the soil first.  This builds the foundation on which the
lawn will thrive and become naturally healthy.  Grass grown with
organic-based fertilizers can withstand more stress and are more tolerant to
prolonged periods of dry weather than chemically fed lawns.
Customer - They said they had a full service lawn care for the
season of 2014 and that I would pay $121.00 per service, for 7 services. 
Company - There are 7 scheduled treatments done throughout the
year with our full service program.  These include 6 customized
applications of fertilizers done at intervals of every 4-6 weeks and 1 soil
amendment which can be scheduled anytime throughout the year.  Our service
visits include organic-based fertilizers specific to the lawns needs,
pre-emergent crabgrass control in the spring, weed and insect controls
throughout the year in accordance to our IPM program and our specially-formulated
soil amendment treatment.  Based on the size of the property (27,000 sq
ft), each application costs $121.00 plus tax.
Customer - I have the contract on (pg.2) it states "If you
are not completely satisfied with our service, we will reapply the most recent
treatment completed at no additional cost and continue the regular program, or
we will fully refund, if paid , your cost for the prior visit and cancel any
obligation for future service on your part."
Company - We do not require customers to sign a written contract
or agreement unless required by law.  The NaturaLawn of America Service
Agreement (not contract) states "If you are not completely satisfied with
our service, we will reapply the most recent treatment completed at no
additional cost and continue the regular program, or we will fully refund, if
paid, your cost for the prior visit and cancel any obligation for future
service on your part."  To qualify for this guarantee, you must
notify us in writing or by phone within 30 days of the visit.  Any refund
under the guarantee is limited to the cost of one visit only.  It does not
include reimbursement for repairs by insect damage, disease, other outside
damage or balances owed over 30 days.
Customer - The very first treatment they put down, within a couple
of weeks the weeds were spreading all over. I have never seen my yard that bad!
Two weeks after the first treatment, I was about to call them to complain about
their product, but when I arrived home from work, there was a guy leaving my
house in one of their vans. He left me a bill for another $121.00.
Company – As stated previously, our fertilizer feeds the soil
and the grass plant.  The weeds growing
in the lawn shows the fertilizer is doing what it is designed to do which is
make plants (including weeds) in the soil grow. 
As a way to combat the weeds in the lawn, we will treat the weeds as
needed.  The first treatment was applied
on 4/1/14.  The second treatment was
applied 4 weeks later on 5/3/14.  Both
treatments were applied at the appropriate time.
Customer - I went to inspect the yard and found that the
fertilizer they put down was very minimal, like one piece every couple of feet
or so. I called the company the next day to tell them that the guy hardly put
any fertilizer down and that I was not happy with having to pay $121 for
something that was worth $25. They told me he put down fertilizer and sprayed
the weeds with liquid fertilizer. There were too many weeds to possibly put
liquid on all of them and none of the weeds ever turned brown or died. They
told me on the phone that I was allowed to have a free treatment. I told them I
was not satisfied with their product and that the weeds on my lawn were worse
than they ever were. I also told them to make that the free treatment as said
in contract and I no longer wanted their service. Next thing I know they keep
sending me bills. I called them again and again about the bill and their
service. They have now sent the bill to a collection agency (American Profit
Recovery, ###-###-####). This company has misrepresented themselves and lied
about their products, services and contract guarantees. I do not believe I should
have to pay them any amount of monies and if I do they need to split the
original amount $121 with me because the guy did not put down what he said he
did. Now my lawn is destroyed because of this company. I am going to have to
start all over to fix my lawn and get rid of all the weeds. This is going to be
very costly.
Company – The fertilizer applied to the lawn on 5/3/14 was
applied at the correct rate for this application which is 4 pounds per 1,000
square feet.  This particular fertilizer
applied is yellow, black and white in color. 
The yellow granules tend to stand out in the lawn unlike the blank and
white granules which can easily blend and be difficult to see in the lawn.  The technician was on the property for 35
minutes during which time he applied fertilizer, treated all weeds present and
carefully inspected the lawn for any insects or disease.  All of our fertilizers are granular and the
weed control is liquid.  It typically
takes 10-14 days for weeds to curl up and die. 
In the meantime, new weeds will start to grow in between
applications.  This is why we offer free
service calls with our full service program for customers to utilize for any
issues or concerns they have with the lawn in between applications.
On 5/5/15 the customer called the office and left a voicemail
stating she has more weeds than ever and she was going to cancel but we came
out and did another application. The application barely had any pellets. She is
canceling and she will call back on Tuesday.
On 5/5/15 one of our customer service reps returned the
customer’s call and left a message on the customer’s voicemail stating the
customer has not taken advantage of service calls. The rep advised the reason
to use service calls (such as weed concerns). The account was submitted to the
cancellation department.  The sales
department called the customer on 5/7/15 and spoke with her.  The customer stated she has more weeds then
ever and cancel the service.  The
cancellation department attempted to contact the customer on 5/8/15 and 5/9/15
but unfortunately was not able to get in touch with the customer to discuss her
concerns.
The account was cancelled on 5/9/15.
The customer did not call the office as promised to discuss her
concerns and/or set up a service call.
On 6/5/15 a customer service rep called the customer in regards
to the balance on the account.  The
customer stated she was not happy. She was under the impression we were coming
out after her complaint to do a free service. The rep
informed the customer the application was applied correctly.  The customer stated she still was not happy
but she will send a check for the balance.
NaturaLawn of America did not misrepresent itself in any
way.  The customer was clearly informed
of the service she would receive both verbally and in writing and she agreed to
the service.  The products we applied to
the property were applied correctly and properly in accordance with EPA and IPM
regulations.  The applications applied to
the customer’s property promote growth and feed the soil.  These applications in no way caused damage to
the customer’s property.  Our fertilizer
is specifically designed to rebuild and nourish a lawn, not destroy it.  The two applications the customer received
were just the beginning of the gradual process of our lawn care program.

Our sales rep spoke with **. [redacted] on 3/10/14. We have a recorded confirmation call of **. [redacted] agreeing to service. Customer Service followed up to welcome them to the service the following day. We also sent out a new customer packet to outline the program and schedule. We did go...

through many checks and balances to ensure the customer was aware they were on schedule for service.  
To resolve the account we have notified [redacted] to stop collections on the account.

We are so sorry about [redacted]’s confusion concerning his account.  Please allow us to clarify.On April 19, 2014, [redacted] agreed to our regular, seven (7) treatment lawn care program at the price of $49 per treatment or a total of $343 for the 2014 lawn care season. ...

At that time, [redacted] chose our Installment Payment Plan as his method for paying for these services.  In his case, he chose a plan that included seven (7) monthly payments of $42.88 and a final payment of $42.84 for a total of $343.  The first installment was due on April 28, 2014 and the final installment was due on November 28, 2014.  A written confirmation of the services to be performed, an explanation of the Installment Payment Plan (copy attached) and his eight (8) monthly installment coupons were mailed to [redacted] via USPS first class mail on April 21, 2014.During the period from April 19, 2014 through September 29, 2014, we performed six (6) of the seven (7) scheduled services for [redacted].   On September 30, 2014, [redacted] called our office to report that we had put seed on a bare area of his yard that he did not want seeded.   We have carefully checked our phone and other records and believe this call was our first notification from [redacted] that he did not want seed in this bare area.We also advised [redacted] when he called that seeding his property was not part of the treatment program he signed up for in April.  Nevertheless, it was possible that one of our service technicians, when performing one of [redacted]’s regular treatments, upon seeing a bare area in his yard, applied complimentary seed at no charge for him.  Notwithstanding the above, we offered [redacted] at the time of his September 30 call to return to his property, for no additional charge, to apply herbicide to the area that he wanted to be bare so that the grass would be killed in this area.  [redacted] did not accept this offer to kill the grass for no charge and several days later called to cancel his service and request that we send him a final invoice which was done on October 3.  The final invoice was $78.32 and was calculated as follows:Through September 29, a total of six (6) treatments had been completed for a total of $294 (6 treatments times $49 per treatment).  Through September 29, [redacted] had made payments totaling $215.68 leaving a net balance due of $78.32. We are not asking that [redacted] pay for treatments he has not yet received; we are simply requesting payment for the six (6) treatments already performed this season prior to his cancellation.  Please let us know if you should need any additional information.

I am responding to complaint that was received below from the customer , myself and our collections team have had numerous conversations with Mr. since the beginning of the year when the customer first canceled out the services .  The customer has been with us since 2012 and is aware of our...

auto renewal policy as we are a continuous company year to year until notified to discontinue .  We did a service on his lawn this year on 3/8/2017 in which the balance is for , the customer then called in on 3/13/2017 and stated that he wanted to discontinue the services.  After a very long conversation that day he stated that he was dissatisfied with the services and didn’t want to continue I explained that we did the soil amendment and he claimed that he didn’t renew that he always prepaid in the past and this year he chose not to because he wasn’t continuing , I explained to him that if he didn’t notify us that he was canceling that the service auto renews .  I went over with the customer that we do send out a total of three prepay letters at the end of the season for the new season and he claims that he got just didn’t send back because was not continuing . The conversation still continued and I offered to work with him and send someone out a manager to evaluate the lawn see what’s going on because he has been with us for years he said that was fine but he was still canceling the account and was not paying for the bill .  I went ahead and canceled out the account at that point because we were going back and forth and he felt that because he never sent in the letter to prepay that the service just would cancel, I expressed again until we are notified it will auto renew so at that point the services were done because he didn’t call us and the balance was due .  After our conversation a manager did go out and evaluate the lawn and follow up but still canceled, each conversation after that is that he doesn’t agree with the auto renewal process and is not paying the bill .  Our collections team has sent the customer out letters showing and stating where it shows that its auto renewal and he still doesn’t agree and doesn’t want to pay.  When a customer signs up with us we send out a welcome packet to all customer and in that it states that the services will automatically renew year to year until notified to discontinue .  So in the customers situation he has been with us for years and is aware but feels that he is not happy didn’t want to continue and because he didn’t prepay for 2017 that it would automatically cancel and that’s not the case .  So the balance on the account is due for the services that were done this year we have tried to work with the customer and tried to give him a 20% discount off but he still refuses.

[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. 
Regards,
[redacted]

I can not email a recording, but will play it for [redacted]. if they call in. There was not an exact date agreed upon as it was explained we start in february or march all depending when the weather breaks. We started service in march as we advised [redacted] we would.  Customer service called in 1/23/14 at 9:36am and left a voicemail on ###-###-####. It is the same number we spoke to [redacted] on when she agreed to service. Our tech did provide service to the entire property but in order to settle this account we will accept a payment of $46.64 if paid by 4/27/14.

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]
 Complaint:...

[redacted]
I am rejecting this response because: It is not an accurate representation of what took place in such plain words.  I had to contact Revdex.com, another franchise, and the corporate office several times.  The corporate office said they would attempt to help and they did, however, with very little influence due to the franchised nature of the business.  I rejected offers of 20% (originally)off the bill and 50% off the bill after I vehemently denied any responsibility for what happened and continue to deny such responsibility - this was after corporate was involved.  I then offered to pay 25% of the entire invoice to "make it go away".  This is essentially 50% of the 1st bill they sent.  They had to think about it for several days for some reason and then they  got back to me stating that they would accept my offer.  I am still not happy and will never be happy about this situation.  I was taken advantage of, plain and simple 
 
In closing: After the above, it is to be settled. 
Regards,
[redacted]

A veteran manager was out to the property. He spoke with Mrs. explaining he was there for a no charge visit, tried to explain what was going on and he was told they will not pay and to cancel service. As stated before the lawn was not in great shape to start, she was made aware of these issues and was taking the right steps for lawn improvement. It will take more than 2 treatments to improve the property and multiple steps. To resolve the account our offer stands at 20% off the bill. Mrs has decided to go another company where they will also have to perform multiple steps to improve the lawn.

The customer signed up for service on 3/21/16. The first visit was performed on 3/30/16 using an early spring granular fertilizer. The second visit was performed on 5/19/16 using a late spring granular fertilizer.  We agree with the customer that a different service was performed on the...

property; as the season changes the visits to the property change as well. Different types of fertilizer are used and they are applied at different rates based on weather conditions and nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium levels in the fertilizer. The customer?s credit card was declined for the application done on 5/19/16. We reached out to the customer by phone and finally spoke to him on 5/23/16. During this call, the customer said he was having an issue due to the new chip cards the banks are issuing and updated his credit card. He never expressed dissatisfaction with the application. On 6/3/16 a courtesy call was made and with spoke with the customer. During this call, the customer expressed concerns about weeds growing in his lawn; we explained that he had placed a restriction on his account which doesn?t allow us to treat weeds due to his garden. We explained how to remedy the situation with out weed control on the lawn. Mr also expressed concern about the application looking sparse, we explained the difference in the applications and the customer understood.  On 6/15/16 the customer called to cancel service because he doesn?t see a difference in his lawn. He told the rep he was expecting to see the lawn thicken up. It was explained that 2 visits were done to the lawn and the service will require more time due to the conditions of his lawn and the basic science behind lawn care. The customer again stated he feels the application was sparse, we again explained the difference in the applications and offered a managers visit. The customer said no he prefers to just close the account and expects a refund based on our guarantee. Our guarantee reads an application will be re-applied if you are dissatisfied and if you are still not satisfied we will return your money for the last visit if the complaint is made with in 30 days. This customer did not allow us to re-apply or even send a manager to his property. NaturaLawn of America stands by the fact that the service in question was performed correctly on the property based on agronomic standards that have been developed and proven by over 25 years in the lawn industry. Also, his dissatisfaction with the lawn not ?thickening up? has nothing to do with the treatments applied. Fertilizer strengthens root systems, converts soil into a healthier state, and provides top growth of the existing turf stand. His program did include aeration and seeding, the service designed to ?thicken? a lawn, but that is not a service that is performed until fall. The results he was hoping for would have come with this service. Thanks for allowing us a chance to respond!!

We have offered several times to split the bill to resolve this matter. Our offer still stands.