Several people have mentioned this to me so I thought I should type up my notes and warn you about this….
Apparently there are 2 African American males soliciting Dunwoody home owners to allow them to place long needle pine straw in their yards at a very attractive price.
One home owner was quoted $4/bale for the straw and the spreading combined. Apparently the bales are 1/2 the size of a normal bale and the solicitor inflates the final number of total bales without asking permission. He told one home owner that he spread 298 bales….this same homeowner typically can cover his yard with 50 bales.
The scam involves offering cut-rate prices for the delivery and distribution of pine straw. But once the crew arrives, they inflate the number of actual bales they claim they put down, sometimes doubling the true number. The result: a homeowner winds up spending far more than what legitimate pine straw dealers would charge.
The pine straw is good quality but I certainly learned my lesson on having work done by someone “in the neighborhood “. About 4 times what I expected.
A group from Columbus tried that with us several years ago. We called the police who arrived quickly. The men received a $350 ticket for soliciting without a permit . We only use vendors that we call now!
Do you have a name for these guys? I think they visited me also and that I was scammed. The sad part is I was trying to be nice. Never again!
I do not have a name but will post if I get one.
Here’s the name that one of my friends who was scammed wrote their check to: Haneef Terry
They came by a few weeks ago and I agreed for them to lay down 25 bales. I told them where to start and I’d be back in a few minutes to check how things were going. When I returned, they were gone. Probably because I said ’25 bales’ and they couldn’t scam me since I specified the number upfront
We were scammed by Hernandez Pine. 706-977-5107. Same scam. Asked for 50 bales and they said it wasn’t enough. I told them to put more and they said they put down 261 bales. Total scam.
I was scammed by Haneef Terry, back last fall. After he installed the pine straw, he knocked on the door and said he was through and that it took some 325 bales when I normally buy about 25. Said, he had to bring in another truck load and another crew to get it all done. The job took about 30 minutes. We discussed it for a while and came to an agreement, but still the amount was 4-5 times higher than anticipated. I was totally embarrassed that I let myself get scammed like that. I should have threatened to call the police.
Gloria Williamson also known as Y and S Pinestraw Service runs a scam as well. I’ve been dumb enough to use her several times but this year was the worst! Her price was $4 a bale; now $4.25. She will schedule and never show up. Then you have to reschedule a second or third time. She will show up around 4:00 to supposedly lay 200 bales with one more person. This year I ordered 135 bales. She didn’t even start on my yard until after 5:30. I have one acre. I wanted 50 for the front and 85 in the back. At 6:00 she disappears for an hour to get gas for the blower leaving one person to do the job. She was done by 8:15! I’ve questioned the amount in the past but I went ahead and paid her before she was finished. The next day I went and checked the job. I got 50 for the back last year and it went 2 times further !!! Most areas weren’t covered and the areas that were were so thin it was ridiculous. Pinestraw was thrown on top of the lirope that edges the flower beds and all on the grass rather than in the beds. Strings were left in the bushes. At least 2 bales were thankfully left in the back so I could use it. I have had to redo the entire job and supplement with 75 bales . I’ve done my yard many times and I can lay it thick with 125. My guess is she used about 40 in the front and 25
In the back. Her business is a PO Box out and f Gainesville.
Same thing happened to me here near Greenville, SC. The guy said his name was Jason Terry and he had a Georgia number. I have him and the whole crew On camera but it didn’t help.
I was also scammed by Gloria Williamson, E Cobb area in GA. She has become quiet popular in this area. I will make an effort to inform my neighbors.
I just had a group of guys from Earls Pine straw tell me they had used an unbelievable amount of straw. It looked great have large yard, but realized these guys were not legit. Jason Terry was one I made partial payment to. I stopped payment on check!