>"he has 20 years experience"

.... and you make no mention of him rolling the sod.

Maybe he's coming back to do that when he collects his money?

I share your fears - it will get worse before it gets better. The damage is done by tilling. Rolling would help, but not completely fix it 100%

I don't believe the sod was rolled, at least i didn't see a roller anywhere about.

My home is a large, historic one that I rent out to a national company for three days a year (for the Kentucky Derby) April 29-May 2. The landscaper knows the home is rented as I explained to him when I was contracting the work. He seems to using this to push me to pay in full for shoddy work.

The situation is rapidly deteriorating. The landscaper is threatening to come "repossess" the sod on the 27th. If I don't pay him by the 26. His contract says all terms are 30 days net and that repossession can occur at 90 days past due. The sod was installed on Wednesday the 21. He says that because he also wrote "balance due on completion" in the work description area that he is due the money right now and can repossess right now.

The guy is not a landscaper - he's an opportunist. I would report him to any and all better business bureau type lists you have in town. If your state has licensing requirements, find his license number on his truck or your invoice and report him to the state agency that issues and reissues the licenses.

20 years experience is measured in many ways. Sounds like he has 1 years experience, twenty times...if that. He does have 20 years experience getting paid, though. That is evident in his knowledge of the written contract and with threats.

You might try to negotiate with him. Make him understand that unless he makes this right, you will report him to every BBB list (there are some Internet based lists, too). What he needs to do will be very costly to him. He should remove the turf (and use it somewhere else immediately), level the soil surface, roll it down, relevel the surface, water it down, relevel the surface, roll it, relevel, roll it again, and then sod with a final rolling. I would not expect him to agree to anything like that. He will offer to roll it down but that won't fix it. What you might get him to agree to is lifting the sod, leveling with a drag, relaying the sod, and THEN rolling the grass down. That is what I would expect from a budget guy who tilled the soil before laying the sod. You might have to pay him more, but you really should have gone with someone else (probably more expensive) the first time.

And you are correct in that it will be bumpy again as time goes on.

In a way you would be much MUCH better off if he did repossess the sod. Then you could start over. But that timing sure sucks for the Derby.

It sounds like you've got a contract that spells out what will be done, when it will be done, when it will be paid and when he can take steps if it is not paid on time. It also sounds like he's trying to violate the terms of the contract.

I think that the BBB is a good first step, but beyond that, it sounds like you may want to contact your state's attorney office (or attorney general office, I forget which you want, but they'll steer you to the right one if you start with the wrong one) because what he's trying to do rises to a level beyond bad service and may be pushing into being outright fraud. The BBB doesn't have any real enforcement capabilities (although the licensing agencies do).

If you go to the state's attorney, they'll be able to tell if he's violating the law and will pursue it. It's possible that he's violating the contract, but that it isn't criminal, only civil, in which case, you'd need to get a lawyer to help you.

The 26'th is coming soon my friend. I so do hate getting into confrontations, so I hope perhaps it was all a little mis-understanding?

I will be curious to see how this little landscaper incident comes to a close.

I have been so busy prepping the house that I haven't checked back here in the last two days.
I got a little quick advice from our family attorney and a bit from the local police and then wrote the landscaper a letter stating that if he or his crew enter onto the property again it will be criminal trespass and I will prosecute fully. This will fix only the most egregiously awful areas, but it is a small yard and only about half the area is lawn (with much of that a slope down). We don't walk on it much- it is more the sort of city front yard that one looks at from the sidewalk.
I also enclosed partial payment, holding back $400 to pay my handyman to pull back the sod from about 150 square feet, regrade and level the surface and reset the sod. We will then roll the sod.
Unfortunately, it was not a "budget bid" and the landscaper has an A+ bbb rating! I have already filed a complaint with the BBB.
If he does attempt to come onto the property prior to our rental, I will call the police immediately. I hated paying him anything at all until the sod is fully repaired, but I hope that receiving the majority of his bill will mollify him enough to not make any fuss while my derby rental guests are here (the rent is a huge annual budget helper for us and I don't want to lose this client).

Oh dear, now both attorneys and the police involved. Well I do hope things get righted soon again. Usually one wouldn't think these things should ever happen with landscapers, but I do remember my father getting into a similar incident not too long ago, where he he only THREATENED to sue.

Actually, I did read on this forum just earlier today where another person had to call the police to remove one of those lawn-care technicians. Perhaps there should be a special forum set up for legalities with these services after all.

This morning I was served with a small claims court complaint. Reading the complaint, I see it was filed the day before my certified letter and partial payment were delivered.
I need an authorative guide to how sod is properly installed that I can take in with me. I can't expect the judge to know that the ground should be leveled and the sod rolled afterwards (although I think the lack of regrading is pretty clear cut and easy to show).
Any suggestions???

How did this turn out?