JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Better Business Bureau wants Jacksonville residents to be aware of a lawn care company that has gotten several complaints.
According to the BBB, Hilton Long Lawn and Tree asks for money up front, but doesn't finish the job. One Oceanway woman said she wants others to learn from her mistake.
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Jean Broxton, 81, said Hilton Long Lawn and Tree Service didn't finish the work she hired them to do.
"So he says, 'I'll come cut them down, clean it up. Within two days, I can have everything cleaned up in the yard and the trees gone,'" Broxton told News4Jax on Friday.
First, she said, Hilton Long told her he needed a deposit, so she gave him a few hundred dollars. But he told her he was going to need the full payment as soon as he started the work.
"About $2,900 to cut two trees and leave a mess like this," Broxton said.
Broxton said the crew worked for a day, leaving the trees laying across her lawn. She wants others to learn from her misfortune.
"My big problem, and what I want to give to everyone else: Do not pay up front and do not give them any money until the job is completed," Broxton said. "I stayed awake all night that night thinking, 'What am I going to do now? My savings is gone, and I can't build it back up.'"
She hopes Long will make it up to her one day.
"I'm very hurt with them because they talked about how good a people they were, how they went to church, and I go to church too. And going to church ain't help you one bit," Broxton said.
Broxton said some local firefighters came to her house to help chop up the wood, but it's still there in her yard.
The BBB now said Hilton Long Lawn and Tree Service has an "F" rating with them because of these complaints.
News4Jax contacted the company, but calls have not been returned.
Click here to view the BBB's comprehensive list of tips for hiring a tree service.