TLC Lawn Care False Advertising, Billing Fraud, Fair Deb Collection Violation, BBB of Kansas City, Attorney General of Kansas Olathe KS

Back in February of 2015, we paid for prepaid lawn care service through TLC Lawn Care in Olathe Kansas. The amount we paid was $331.19, and we can supply the cancelled check if needed. Before pre-paying, I personally spoke to Matt Dawson, the person in charge of lawn applications. He stated that this amount was a great deal, because it would lock in the price of the lawn treatments for the year, and we would never have to pay anything additional, even if prices went up (e.g. cost of fertilizer). Moreover, on the advertised brochure, it explicitly stated this was the price for the year. It didn't have a disclaimer stating prices would be raised if expenses increased.

About mid-summer, when sales tax was increased in Johnson County, the company began billing us for the additional sales tax. When this first happened, I called Matt Dawson and explained we had prepaid. He stated the billing department had been having problems, wasn't properly taking the sales tax off of prepaid bills, and that he would alert them to the problem with my account in order to make sure the amount was removed. These times, the billing department removed the charges.

For our last lawn treatment in November, we received another bill on our door, after the lawn treatment was applied, that failed to remove the sales tax. Again, I contacted Matt Dawson, and he stated he would alert the billing department again to make sure the sales tax was removed. At that time, I scheduled a lime treatment (was not prepaid), which was done about mid November. When they sent me a bill in December for the lime treatment, the sales tax amount was still not removed from the bill (about .37). I paid the bill around the first part of January, when we received another bill, and the sales tax was still not removed. At this time, they billed for a $1.98 service charge on the supposed past due sales tax because they claimed it was over 60 days past due. I sent the check in for the lime treatment, wrote a note on the bill that the service charge needed to be removed, because it was billed because of the sales tax, and to please remove the sales tax, since we pre-paid last year.

On Monday, 1/11/2016, I received a phone message from Debbie at TLC Lawn Care. She stated they would remove the service charge, but they refused to remove the sales tax, because they have no control over tax increases. Moreover, she tried to claim that the account was 90 days past due when the check was received, which isn't true. Moreover, it isn't legal to state details like this one a message system (e.g. Fair Debt Collection Act), since anyone could be privy to the message left. And she insisted on the v-mail that we pay the sales tax. I called back, left a message on their phone line, and told them the sales tax would not be paid, that we had pre-paid, that the original documentation stated the pricing was locked in, and advised them that if the amount was not removed that service would be cancelled for 2016. On 01/12/2016, Debbie left another message on our message machine stating the amount would not be removed and continued to collect on the un-owed amount.When I called back on 01/13/2016, I spoke to Debbie. I advised her the sales tax would not be paid, and she stated she was going to cancel our service. All over .37 that isn't owed. Moreover, I asked to speak to Matt Dawson, and she refused to let me speak to him. When I asked for the owner, Dan, she transferred me.

Dan continued to collect on the .37 and stated they have every legal right to collect that amount, even if their mailer stated the price was locked in for the season, and despite the sales tax always being removed in previous months. When I advised him that what they were doing isn't contractually legal, he claimed that we do not have a contract with them, or that contracts have to be in writing. When I attempted to explain to Dan that contracts do not have to be in writing, rather, they can be conducted orally and based off of conduct (e.g. applying lawn application during the season for the agreed amount of $331.19), he repeatedly talked over me. When I told him that what they did constitutes false advertising and that I was going to report them to the attorney general and the BBB for their behavior, because obviously they are doing it to their other customers as well, he said he didn't care. I reminded him of their poor online reviews, stated I was also going to write one, and terminated the call.And all over .37. What a poor business move.

While I realize .37 is a piddly amount to argue over on our part, I am writing this complaint because they should have had a disclaimer on the flyer stating that if sales tax increased in the county, we would be required to pay the additional amount. They cannot claim to have made a contractual mistake, primarily because the rate increase didn't exist at the time. In addition, the company should not advertise their service as pre-paid, selling it on the notion that if their prices increased, our pricing would still be locked in. Moreover, they are doing this to all of their pre-paid customer, and their business is not small, so I am guessing we are talking about thousands of dollars of overbilling. Finally, this company has a track record of billing problems according to online reviews, so this is not an isolated incident. And if these billing problems go out in the mail, with the company fully knowing about the problem and failing to rectify the problem, this constitutes mail fraud. Last time I heard, this offense was $5000 per occurrence.