Tip Top Tree Service

He is a gypsy thief! He performed work for us in October of 2009 after telling us that he was "doing work in the neighborhood" for others. We chose to use his services and he adequately performed the removal of five trees for the price of $350.00. The week of Thanksgiving, Daniel Hendrickson, Tip Top Tree Service, stopped by our residence to look over a gocart which we were selling in our front yard. After discussing our price, he informed us that he did not have the money but would be interested in a swap for his tree services. Initially, I was wary; however, he had done work for us the month prior. Additionally, he showed up to look at the gocart with our neighbor's daughter and son (now his girlfriend) and informed us that he was now living with them just three houses down the street! This relieved our concerns, and a deal was worked out to have two large trees taken down, cut up and removed from the property for $500.00 (we charged $350 for the gocart so we now owed him $150 to make up the difference). Since we now knew where he lived and had our neighbor's personal recommendation in person, and he indicated on his business card and vehicle that he was licensed and insured, we had no concerns regarding his reliability (so we thought). We were planning on being gone the next day when he was committed to do the work, so we offered to pay him the difference of $150.00 in the form of a check. He accepted and took the gocart with him when he left. The next day, it rained and he did not show to do the work. Several days later, he refused to return our calls, until we called from a neighbor's phone which he did not recognize with caller id. I spoke to him and set up a follow on date... which, no surprise, he failed to show. Fast forward to February, when once again we made contact with Daniel by calling from a neighbor's phone, he had a story about being in a severe car wreck and laid up for the past eight weeks. Being the forgiving type, we allowed him to set a date for the second Monday in March when his doctor ensured he would be back to work. He did not show once again and refused to answer any messages offering him to return the property which he had stolen along with the $150.00. We contacted our neighbor where he had been living and she indicated that her daughter had moved out with Daniel. She contacted them, then Daniel phoned us yelling at us for "involving the family." He acknowledged that he had agreed to do the work, had lied about the car accident he had "been severely injured in," had since sold the gocart and pocketed the money, had cashed the 150.00 check, was actually unlicensed and uninsured, but wished to do the work since he did not have money to pay us for the failed services. Big surprise!!! he still has not shown up to do the work. We filed a stolen property report with our local police, reported to BBB, and are taking him to small claims court. He is a thief, con artist and deserves to be shutdown now!