My Yard Guy

I met with the owner and walked him through my yard to show him the issues I was dealing with (uneven ground, poor grading, patchy grass coverage, dead bushes and trees, and worn down pathways where dogs constantly run). We decided that the ENTIRE yard needed graded with soil and then seeded. We also agreed that he would remove 7 arborvitaes, 1 large dead bush, and cut another large stump to the ground. I also sent him photos of what I wanted my gravel walkway to look like and he responded that he could do that for me. He and his crew arrived and worked on my yard for about 6 hours. They added some soil and graded about 1/4 of my yard and took out the trees and bushes (left the stump he was supposed to saw down). He asked to be paid in cash halfway through the job so that he could pay his workers. They came back after lunch with gravel and just dumped it in the yard and said he would come back another day and add the brick edging. The correct way to lay a gravel path is to dig the path into the ground, lay landscaping cloth, add edging material, then pour the gravel in - he did none of this. He just dumped the gravel and somewhat organized it into a pathway (he took liberty with this and put it where he wanted though and did not consult me on the changes he was making to our plan). I have honestly never seen such poor workmanship in my life. I called him the next morning to discuss my concerns with the project and he was completely surprised that I wasn’t happy with the job and said that he would do what he could to remedy the situation. I didn’t hear from him for a few days after that, so I had 2 other lawn professionals come out and both told me that I should not let Tyler (“My Yard Guy”) back to fix anything because it was clear that he didn’t know what he was doing. I told Tyler that, after speaking to other professionals and realizing how far off our expectations were, I thought it would be best for him to return the $500 I paid and come pick up the gravel. He negotiated to return half of what I paid and promised to return my money and pick up the gravel by EOB that Wednesday. He never showed up to return my money or to take the gravel. I have tried contacting him through texting, calling, and social media several times and he has refused to answer my messages and then blocked my number. He has made no attempt to remedy this situation and I am now planning to take legal action against him. I have never worked with a more unprofessional person in my life and am going to work very hard to make sure that no one else gets scammed out of money and work like I have.