Pham's Landscaping

Mr. Pham left a leaflet on my door offering services as an "Oriental gardener." I interviewed him and signed a contract.  After a couple months, he had done some work but I had no contact from him--no calls, no invoices--and some of the work seemed unsatisfactory. There was a large brown area spreading in my front lawn.  New sod & grass in the back looked like a bald man with a few random hairs sprouting out.  After a number of unsuccessful attempts to call him, I left a voicemail canceling the contract and sent him a check for $1000, which seemed a reasonable amount for the work he had done.  He obviously got my messages, because he stopped work, but I heard nothing from him, despite my many attempts to reach him, so I assumed everything was all right and hired another contractor, Joseph Miner, who shaped up the yard beautifully.

On January 5, 2012, six months later, I received an invoice from Pham demanding $3,370.  The invoice included such things as "Take out all the vines on the house," which he did not do.  (The house still has vines from the ground to the top of the third floor--at least a decade's growth.) It gave me no credit for the $1,000 that I had paid him.  I called his phone and left voicemails asking to discuss his invoice, but, as before, he did not respond. 

I don't know whether Pham is dishonest or just disorganized, but this experience could hardly be more frustrating and irritating.