Al's Trees & Stump Removal

Al and I agreed to a price to have a large tree removed. Contract was signed and a deposit was given. When the workers came to do the work they had about 50%of the work done Al came and demanded the rest of the balance. I reluctantly paid it. Then one of his crew damaged property of mine. Told Al about it, and he said he would take care of it. Called him several times to settle up for the damages and he kept dodging my phone calls. After about a month I confronted him while he was at another site in my neighborhood. He was immediately verbally abusive and told me he changed his mind and wasn't going to pay for the damages. He later called me and again got abusive and even accused me of being racist towards him. He then threw his own employee under the bus saying it was his fault and if I wanted the damages paid for I would have to get it from him. He is a horrible person and calling him a businessman is a far stretch. Do NOT use this service. You will be highly disappointed.

5/14/14: Albert Walker provided an unsolicited offer to remove diseased trees from my property apparently after performing similar work for a neighbor.  Incidentally I had solicited an offer from another tree service earlier that same day which was for similar cost, but Albert was able to start work the same day.  Albert and I signed a contract to complete work for 5 trees removed including stump grinding, tree trimming on other mature trees on property, and cleanup with payment due ($1200) at job completion.  Albert did not require a deposit to start work.  Albert and his crew removed 4 and 1/2 trees and did some tree trimming, but did not complete the other terms of the contract.  He then demanded payment in full for the partially completed job, stating "I'm done." When I pointed out that the job was not complete and provided Albert with a copy of the contract he signed, he refused to acknowledge that the job was incomplete and again demanded full payment.  I offered partial payment for partial completion, which he initially agreed to but then refused to sign a contract addendum, and demanded "cash only." I again refused to these terms, specifically to cash payment as I did not have a large sum of cash to hand to him, and he threatened to have his crew come back out and dump the 4 1/2 trees in my drive if I did drive to a bank and withdraw cash for payment.  He became verbally aggressive and made further threats against my property.  I suggested that we get lawyer involved to settle the case, but he would not give up on the demand for cash or threat of vandalizing my property.  At that time I called the sheriff's department to file a complaint regarding trespassing, threat to property and attempted extortion.  As I made the call, Albert drove off - he returned later, luckily while I had a deputy on the phone providing advice.  While waiting on the deputy to arrive, Albert stated his crew was on the way to drop off the debris to block my drive.  The deputy did come to my home while Albert was present and attempted to informally mediate.  Albert declared to the police officer that his crew was coming out to finish the job (change of story), but stated he would accept a lesser sum to settle the dispute.  With deputy present, Albert agreed to a contract addendum that prorated payment to $800 for the work completed - the revised contract also stipulated that the remainder of the contract was void and no further monetary damages would be sought by his company.  The deputy recommended that I file for a protective order against Albert and his company.  As Albert drove away, he accused me of cheating him out of $400. The work is still incomplete, and I will now need to pay another company to complete the tree removal, trimming, stump grinding and cleanup.  I checked with the BBB after (unfortunately) this occurred, and it appears that he has used similar tactics with other customers.

Started Friday afternoon and finished Monday. Had necessary equipment ... a stump grinder, industrial chipper and cherry picker. Crew of 5-6 men - adequate for the job. Al was present to supervise over 90% of the time.

He came out and gave me a verbal quote to take down a tree. He quoted me one price I told him I could not do the job at this time as I did not have tha amount of money at this time. He asked me how much I could afford. I told him so he said he could do the job for that amount.
He came out and did the job. Then he asked for more money. When I remined him that we agreeded on the other amount I was paying him he said I no it would cost twice that amount, which was an amount we never discussed in the first place.
He started yelling at me and saying that he was no lier and he knows what he told me. He started calling me when he was drunk.
I finally had to get a lawyer involved.

I saw this crew working at my neighbors, and went over to request an estimate for my tree. They were able to take it down the same day for a fair price. There was a crew of 4; they did the work quickly and prefessionally! Previously, I had requested an estimate from another company with good reviews on Angie's list. It took them three weeks just to get the estimate, and then the amount was way more than we had it expected. It was a pleasant surprise to get a fair price and same day service.