Claimant says: "Furfaro has a really good website. It's colorful, detailed, and informative. Problem is that the work his crew of three performed came Nowhere near what his website would lead one to expect. He took me to small claims court. When he sees this, he will probably tell you that he won, which is mostly true. I had been very ill during the whole time I had to deal him and just did not present my case very well to the judge. The pictures I had planned to present came out too blurry; and as a result I lost the counterclaim. ”
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Claimant says: "Furfaro has a really good website. It's colorful, detailed, and informative. Problem is that the work his crew of three performed came Nowhere near what his website would lead one to expect. He took me to small claims court. When he sees this, he will probably tell you that he won, which is mostly true. I had been very ill during the whole time I had to deal him and just did not present my case very well to the judge. The pictures I had planned to present came out too blurry; and as a result I lost the counterclaim. The judge did however reduce the amount Furfaro claimed I owed him. I had to replace the very sickly shade tree that Furfaro's crew had installed. When a local landscaping expert (a real one) took a look, he said it looked like the tree had probably been sitting in back of a pickup truck for several days. That was in May when St. Louis was in the middle of a heat wave. Part of my counterclaim was that Furfaro, being the so-called expert, should have suggested that we wait until the weather cooled down a bit. I would have been happy to oblige. Instead, he had his crew carry on in blistering heat. Furfaro offered little to no expert advice. In fact, once the crew started work, he provided no supervision whatsoever. When I asked him what how much training his crew had, he stated they were hortaculturists. My request for documention was ignored.
Initially, he high balled his bid to me about 100% When we finally decided on a bid, his price was the highest compared to two other bids. I agreed because I had put in two summers of work just getting the yard ready for planting. I really wanted this garden to look good after all of my hard work. Three bids are usually enough for any contracted work, but I was dead wrong on that point. In hindsight, I should have gotten more bids. ( I took 10 bids for my patio and it paid off. The patio, done by a another company, did a great job. I wanted the garden to look just as nice; to reflect all the time and effort I had put into this).
When Furfaro placed the plants above ground for my approval, I said ok. I didn't think I had to look at every single plant. I chose to trust him regarding the quality of the plants. BIG MISTAKE...1) At least half the plants his crew installed looked sickly. 2) The plants were spaced incorrectly. 3) Many were planted in the wrong parts of the yard. Some had roots showing above ground. Just for example, hostas, which grow best in shade, were planted in direct sunlight. 4) His crew put down an inch or less of mulch; just enough to cover surface debris which should have been picked up and disposed of as per contract. 4) Most days, I had to clean up trash his crew left behind such as bottled water containers, etc. 5) A small retaining wall a different crew member did was sloppy. Concrete was smeared all over the the stones. 6) His crew Killed a beautful rosebush I had nursed back to health when my wife and I moved here in 2007. Furfaro claimed that transplant shock was the reason the rose bush was looking bad, and that it would recover. It did not. When I dug it up after it had died, it was obvious that roots had been torn apart with reckless disregard. 7) One day, friends or parents parked on the wrong side of the street, with 2 tires on the lawn, to pick up the crew 2 hours before quitting time.
I was totally ripped off with this whole mess. I don't expect any remuneration. I just want the public to know that I felt ripped off by this company. Choosing Brad Furfaro for landscaping was by far The Biggest Mistake I have ever made in regard to hiring a contractor. The saying goes live and learn. Boy did I ever!!*” ...Show less »