Business ProfileforMorton Tree & Landscape Maintenance Inc

Unethical Business Practices; Rude and Unprofessional Business Owner We had an ash tree that hung over part of our house that was scheduled to be taken down on August 3, 2021. My husband noticed on July 16 that there was a limb that looked compromised and just to be safe (since we have a little one that plays in the backyard), we thought we should get somebody out to take it down sooner rather than waiting a few weeks for the tree to be taken down. My husband called Mortons and luckily they said they were going to be in the area the next morning and could come by and take a look. My husband asked how much it would cost and was told that its $135/hour and it should take no more than an hour. Great! (Note: the only context we have is that taking down the entire tree is going to cost us ~$2,000.) Mortons crew showed up the next morning. I was initially surprised that they would send out all of that equipment and 5 guys for just 1 limb (approximately ***** feet), but then my husband told me that they were just down the street taking down an entire tree. One of the guys came to the front door and my husband showed him the tree; he came back and said that he would recommend taking down the limb. My husband then confirmed once again that it would be $135/hr and the guy confirmed and said that he should be in and out in an hour. And that they were. They were courteous and efficient. So it was to my surprise when I was emailed a **** on July 20 for $675. I immediately sent it to my husband who was also shocked. I pointed out that the **** specifies that its $135/man hour and not $135/hour, so with 5 guysthats $675 for the hour. They sent out 5 guys to take down a tree down the street, but 5 guys did not work on taking down our 1 limb; surely, this HAD to be a mistake. I chalked it up to a clerical billing error. My husband called the next day and spoke to someone in the front office and left a message for **** A week passed, he had not heard back, so he called again and once again, left a message for *** with someone in the front office. Again, no call back. What are we to do at this point? We were provided with a verbal estimate from two Morton employees that this service would cost $135/hour and that it would take no longer than an hour, so we expected to pay $135. Their invoice even states within the line item, Please discuss with client how long you think the job will take and the overall health of the tree prior to beginning job. We cant get a hold of anyone and were not going to pay $675 for a service that we were quoted $135 for. So we waitWe receive a 2nd invoice in the mail on November 28, 2021. This time I called since my husband was not having any luck getting a hold of anyone. The person I spoke to said that the person in their billing department is out and would have to call me back. I received a call back the next day. I explained to the person the situation to which she responded $135/man hour is what they charge. I told her that was not specified to us and that we are not paying $675; she said that I would have to speak to **** *** calls me that evening and this is how it startsMe: Hi ***, thank you for returning my call. ***: **** tell me why you are not paying me. Me: ***, its not that I am not paying you, I think there is a misunderstanding(insert ***s repeated interruptions, accusations and continued rant).He said things likeWhen I told him that we were planning to have the tree taken down as a part of the context of the situation, he rudely interrupted and asked why we didnt use the other company to take down the limb (as if that has anything to do with the situation). You really expect me to believe that you thought it would only cost $135/hour? Do you even know how much it cost to fix a car these days? I told him that I am not in this industry and the only context I have is what his employees quoted us. He told me I heard them incorrectly.When I told him that I did not appreciate the tone that hes taking, he said, Do you hear me swearing at you? Im not even swearing at you.I wish I had recorded the conversation, but I was just so caught off guard with his accusatory attacks and overtly antagonistic and condescending language and tone, especially for a small business owner. It ended with him telling me hes going to send me to collections and his famous last words, ciao and then click. I am not going to be bullied or threatened to pay for something that we didnt agree to. That is just not right. Its unethical. To recap: 1. The service was great. 2. We were quoted $135/hour. We expected to pay $135/hour. The fact that they were down the street doing a job that required 5 men, so all 5 men showed up to our house to take one limb down (even though only 2 worked on it) is neither here nor there, but a part of the context. Either way, even if 10 men showed up, we were still quoted $135/hour. 3. *** is a horrible, unethical, and rude human being. I ended up writing them a check for $135 in an attempt to clear our debt. It was mailed back to us saying that it had already been sent to collections. So now, were going to be hounded by collections for a debt that should have never been.