Beware of the Door Knocking Sydney Tree Loppers
It’s a beautiful sunny Autumns day, your outside raking up those annoying neighbours leaves that invade your yard each year. You hear a knock on the front door, “beauty, some Sydney Tree Loppers.. just what I’ve been looking for”. Ok, so you show them a few trees around your yard, great, “no council permission required” he says, “your allowed to cut those branches hanging over your yard from the neighbours tree” he says, great, “yep fully insured” he says… WOW only $500, all waste removed.. This sounds too good to be true!
The chainsaws start, good time for you to go inside and make some lunch…
Ok here’s the fun part…. (All stories below are true facts from friends & customers)
Scenario 1– Chainsaws stop, Someone knocks on your back door, “All done” he says. That was quick you think to yourself. As you walk out the backyard you see a huge pile of tree waste laying everywhere. “You said you were going to remove all the waste” you say to him. “No no no, thats an extra $2000” he says in an angry voice. You argue for the next few minutes about the job and things get a bit ugly. Next minute 5 scary looking men surround you and demand money, you pay out of fear for your life and they leave. You call the police, a friend, a family member, anyone that will listen to you. The police call the business card they left you, their phone is disconnected, no trace of a registered business name.
You’ve been done by the door knocking Sydney Tree loppers
Scenario 2– You hear a big crash, you walk outside and notice a huge tree branch that was once growing over your roof now appears to be growing out of your roof….. 5 scary looking men surround you and demand money, you pay out of fear for your life and they leave. You call the police, a friend, a family member, anyone that will listen to you. The police call the business card they left you, the phone is disconnected, no trace of a registered business name.
You’ve been done by he door knocking Sydney Tree loppers
Scenario 3– Your in having lunch, someone knocks on your door asking to use your toilet, 5 minutes later you find them in your bedroom.. “Oh i got lost” he says… …OK that was weird your think to yourself. Next day you come home from work to find your house has been broken into and all your jewellery from your bedroom is missing… (Now this could be a coincidence but it actually happened to a new customers of ours)
You’ve been done by he door knocking Sydney Tree loppers
Scenario 4– (This happened to an elderly customer of ours, approximately 90 years of age living alone)
Some “Tree Loppers” knock on your door. “No I’m not interested” you say.. “Rennie Bros do all my trees. “We are Rennie Bros” they say.. “Oh ok… i thought you were coming next week” you say.. “No, No, No today we do today, special price for you today” he says.
Ok, an hour later i get a phone call from our customer who is in tears, “What have you done to my property” How could you do this to me?” After trying to make sense of the phone call on a Sunday i drive over to her house to find a huge palm tree that has been felled and demolished her staircase , fence and her beautiful Camellias she’s been growing for years.
Turns out these “Door Knocking Tree Loppers” pretended to be us, they smashed up her property, demanded payment in a threatening way, left all the waste and vanished off the face of the Earth….
You’ve been done by he door knocking Sydney Tree loppers
Ok i could go on forever, over the last 15 years we’ve heard and come across many stories. From property damage, unsatisfactory work, receiving huge fines from council for doing illegal works (Yes you are responsible as well, as a home owner its is your responsibility to abide by councils rules and regulations. Many Tree Loppers don’t even know the council rules so please check before doing any work)
Now to be fair, i’m sure there’s 1 or 2 Tree Loppers Sydney wide who have knocked on someones door in the past and done an amazing job at the right price, but i reckon you’d have more chance of winning the lotto!
So heres my advice.. Please use common sense, the saying “You get what you pay for” really comes into play here. Im not saying you have to call Rennie Bros Tree Surgeons, well actually, give me a call and i’ll happily recommend 10 professional Sydney Tree Loppers to call
5 tips on finding a professional qualified Arborist Sydney
1- Do they have a website, Facebook page or an online presence? Im not saying this is a must have, but its a good way to know the company is legit and not an overnight door knocker
2- Ask for copies of their insurance. Most companies will carry 10-20 Million Public liability insurance. Ask them to email you a copy with their quote
3- Get a written quote. A handshake agreement is fine until theres a disagreement. Always get a written quote
4- Are they qualified Arborists? Now i do know some very talented professional people in the industry who are great at their job and have no “Qualifications” but a minimum of a cert 3 in Aboriculture is something you could expect your Tree professional to have
5- Does their car or vehicles have sign writing? Once again this doesn’t mean they aren’t capable of doing a good job but i can guarantee the dodgy door knockers will not have sign writing as they change their business name and business cards every 2 weeks to avoid prosecution.
Ok, if your not convinced have a read through some of these links below
If you think you may be a victim to the door knocking Tree Loppers please phone the NSW Fair Trading
If you would like a free tree quote or simply some free advice on your trees don’t hesitate on giving me a call.
Owen Rennie
