Hillview Landscaping Inc (Reported Closed)

Doesn't Recommend

texaslum

Joined 4 years ago

AVOID Hillview Lanscaping. Bogus billing and failure to comply with contracted service. I posted the following text in a complaint to the better biz bureau. Hillview provided lawn services. My complaints are as follows: Billing: (1) Charges for services neither asked for nor received such as "Fertilzer" (2) Charges for removal of debris from Hurrican Ike that I neither asked for nor received (3) Past Due Charges when I don't have any past due charges. I pay every month on time in full via automated payment from my bank. I haven't missed a payment in 2 years but once every 6 months or so a mysterious past due appears on my bill. In each case above, I called to question the mysterioius charges and in each case the person handling the billing would remove the charges. All they would ask is whether I received the service to which I respond no. Regarding the past due, they didn't really explain why I had past due but would promptly remove it from my bill. When I suggested the mysterious charges for Ike and Fertilizer that I never asked for nor recived seemed illegally billed, they responded that they normally try to keep it off the bills for those persons like me that call to complain. Can you believe that? So, I suppose they are getting away with billing customers for services not rendered and customers are unknowingly paying. They try to avoid charging wise customers like me but sometimes it slips onto my bill apparently. I have seen another person complain about this company's mysterious charges on an online discussion forum... I am not alone. (4) Failure to comply with contracted service. I paid Hillview for front and back yard service. Everytime they came, they failed to do the back yard. This required my having to call the company every two weeks to tell them the back yard was not serviced. I am ashamed that I stayed with this company for 2 years. They have lousy service and seemingly bogus billing practices. Somebody should audit their books for fraud.

Doesn't Recommend

lbpears

Joined 4 years ago

Do not use Hillview Landscaping. I just fired Hillview from doing my yard. They repeatedly billed me for services I did not request (i.e. fertilizer), they do not always show up when they are supposed to, and they do a very poor job. I have gotten several complaints from my neighbors about my lawn service blowing leaves and pine needles into their yards. I DO NOT recommend this lawn service.

Doesn't Recommend

mjgalko

Joined 5 years ago

Service with a sneer, indeed. My wife and I contracted this company to mow our small lawn shortly after moving to Houston two years ago. So long as they were only cutting our lawn, there were only minor but somewhat annoying problems such as those noted below (the occasional skipped week, mystery unwanted "fertilizer" and unjustified "late" charges). But when we asked them to replace some broken sprinklerheads on our irrigation system, that's when the real trouble started. After several vague estimates, they came out to "fix" the system, and called my wife with an estimate several hundred dollars north of the previous ones and a diagnosis of the problem that made no sense. She told them not to bother, we would find someone else to fix it. Alas, when we got home, we found that the system was no longer functional at all. In short, before they visited, our system pumped water through faulty sprinklerheads- now it does not pump water period. When we have spoken to them about this, it is as if they feel entitled to "fix" the system they broke, for whatever they decide to charge. In short, they are a lethal combination of incompetent and dishonest. They do not deserve yours or anyone else's business. Stay away unless you have a thick skin for small and large disputes over billing.

Doesn't Recommend

Kuryakin

Joined 5 years ago

Don't do a good job. I used this lawn company for a couple of months then had to fire them and go elsewhere. The basic problem is that they don't do a good job. They used a large commercial mower on my lawn and ran around in circles cutting unevenly. They then used grass trimmers to cut the areas missed by the mower and scalped the lawn down to the dirt. Worse, they trenched grooves next to the sidewalks. I called them to complain, but they did not return my call. Needless to say don't use these people.

Doesn't Recommend

Sid1

Joined 5 years ago

Totally worthless. I agree with all of the comments. The owner appears clueless and gave me an estimate that didn't make sense. Then when I called for another estimate he never provided an acceptable response. Stay away from this company!

Doesn't Recommend

srallsn

Joined 6 years ago

Service with a sneer. I requested that someone from this company come over to the home I had just purchased to give me an estimate on landscaping and lawn upkeep. The man rattled off several figures for various services, none of which added up or made any sense. When asked to explain the reason for the differences in the prices, he gave an arrogant laugh and told me I should talk to my husband about it and he'd give me a call in a few days. He never called back. I didn't mention to him at the time that I am a physician who is fully capable of carrying out simple mathematics and, above all else, able to smell a line of BS when it comes my way. The company that I ultimately hired charged $3,000 less than the Hillview rep's estimate, obviously a huge difference. Since I've shared this experience with friends and coworkers, I have heard nothing but negative things about this company and their billing/business practices. I'd say stay away from this group - there are enough reputable companies in town that no one needs to deal with people who apparently have so little respect for their customers.

Doesn't Recommend

rajh

Joined 6 years ago

Avoid using if you get a lot of rain. One thing I like about them is that they are fast and always come on the same day, as the week before. The downside is that they always mow your lawn..even if it is raining. When they do your yard when it is raining...they leave big dirt marks all around the lawn. This is unacceptable and they need to know that they must wait until the water goes away. They come in the pouring rain and work. Hard workers...but need to use discretion in the rain. Not sure how to tell them this though.

Doesn't Recommend

crickettsongs

Joined 8 years ago

Be careful with this company. We have finally switched from Hillview to a different lawn service company. Over the last 2years, Hillview REPEATEDLY charged us for services we didn't want, and they're somewhat disorganized. I recently received a bill, and it had several months' of late charges on it, though we had paid the bill on time each month. Always check your bill for the "lawn fertilizer" charge. That gets added almost every month, and I call to have it removed. It's an extra $33 tacked on. They don't keep very good records, which makes dealing with these problems frustrating. Finally, I may be mistaken but I feel like there was a month or two where they skipped a week. We didn't keep close enough track on it to do anything about it but if you use them make sure they come when they are supposed to and watch your bill for extra charges.

Doesn't Recommend

Carlosbob

Joined 10 years ago

Poor lawn job. I got a flyer on my door for these guys. I thought I'd give them a try.

It rained the day before my lawn was mowed, and they used a very large riding lawn mower. Subsequently, my lawn was damaged by wheels of said mower.

Needless to say I will not be using them again.