D & M TREE SERVICE

I asked for an estimate and he verbally said "$600." I said "that is too much" because he removed a similar sized tree the previous year for $175.00." He said "you can make payments" and I said "no." Two weeks later I came home from work and the tree was gone. My backyard was full of 50-60 lb. logs that I could not lift (I live alone and am in my mid-50s). I had to pay $154 to have the stump removed. I went to court to fight the illegal and unauthorized tree removal and he lied on the witness stand, said that I wanted it done but didn't have the money, I wanted the stump left so I could plant flowers, said I wanted the wood to burn in my wood stove, said the tree was leaning over my neighbor's air conditioner. I had a picture showing the tree standing straight up, no leaning. Why would I pay $154 to have the stump removed if I wanted to plant flowers around it? How would I get a 50-lb log into a wood stove? I had pictures of the giant logs he left behind. He lied about everything and had a lawyer. I had no lawyer thinking that the pictures and detailed invoice from the tree removal the previous year would be ample proof. Last year he wrote a detailed invoice, I agreed to have the work done and gave him a deposit. The day the work was done I paid him in full and have the paperwork to show this entire transaction. I have a 19-year history of paying immediately for all work done at my house and have never asked for work to be done on "payments". If I don't have the money, I can't afford it. The judge ruled in his favor, so I had to pay him for the unauthorized tree removal. He and his lawyer said I had buyer's remorse. I wanted to get more estimates and he probably knew that when I said "no" so by quickly removing the tree and leaving all those giant logs, I would have to pay him because I asked for an estimate. His word against my word. There was no written estimate, so why was this work done "verbally" when his previous experience with me was in writing? I also had a detailed invoice showing he removed 13 trees for a friend of mine for $1000. He lied under oath, saying they were 5-6 feet tall. My friend has pictures showing them to be 10-15 feet tall. He even cut all the wood into logs for her wood stove and stacked them on her porch. All for $1000. I recommended him to several friends after being happy with the work done in the previous year. He even fabricated an invoice. The tree was removed 3/3/08 and the first time I saw the invoice was July 2008 when I received a letter from his lawyer. I set up 2 appointments to talk to him about the unauthorized removal in March and April and he never showed up. On the invoice he wrote that I wanted the stump left there and the wood left. He fabricated the invoice and lied to the judge, saying that he left it in my mailbox.