Complaint Review: Lawn & Beyond Landscape Solutions - Sanford Florida

I found Lawn and Beyond Landscaping Solutions on Angie’s List and thought they would be safe to hire. Boy, was I wrong! This was and still is a disaster. I may as well have gone to the bank, taken out $8,000.00, stood in the area I wanted landscaped and burned the money because what I have left is pretty much the same either way – a big mess and $8,000 less in the bank.

I wanted to hire a landscape architect and hired this firm because their website said they had a staff of Landscape Architects. When the owner, Ben Barnes, came to my home to give me an estimate I specifically asked him if he was a licensed Landscape Architect,  and he said yes. He apparently told Angie’s List the same thing. As it turns out he, nor anyone else at his firm, is a licensed landscape architect. In fact, he has no licenses or state certification (according to the State of Florida Dept of Business and Professional Regulations) for any of the work he performed here and so was in violation of Florida law. He installed drainage work that doesn't work and will have to be redone (drainage work requires a licensed landscape architect in certain situations and the work at my home falls into this category); he did low voltage electric work without an electrician's license; and he spread chemicals on my yard without certification from the state that allows him to do so.

A lot of the work done by Lawn and Beyond Landscaping Solutions will need to be redone because it wasn't done right. The pavers were laid incorrectly and will have to be redone because of the drainage issue that was created and pooling water. Leveling sand was specifically included in our cost for the paver work, but was not used as a base. We questioned on more than one occasion why sand wasn't being used and were assured by the Lawn and Beyond Landscape Solutions that everything would be fine. Well, it’s not.  We paid for sand, which is expensive, but got cement, which is cheap. It was a bait-and-switch. Now, I have to hire another landscaping firm – only this time, one that is qualified, licensed and certified, to undo the CRAP work done by Lawn and Beyond Landscaping Solutions and redo the work the way it should have been done in the first place.

Less than half the plants, mulch and soil I paid for were delivered and installed. Of the plants that arrived, only about 40% are the type plants that we requested and were promised. We needed plants that would stand up to large dogs. We made that perfectly clear, but the majority of the plants put in the ground were succulent, not woody, and so easily trampled by my 75 pound dogs. As a result, many of the plants are already dead.

I contacted Angie’s List about Lawn and Beyond Landscaping Solutions credentials which had supposedly been verified by Angie’s List Trade Licensing Department. They looked into it and found Lawn and Beyond Landscaping Solutions does not have the licenses required to  provide the services they are soliciting on Angie’s List. Angie’s List has subsequently removed this firm from their searchable database and given them an F rating.

Only about 40% of the work I paid for was completed before he (Ben Barnes) quit showing up or sending his crew. He told me it would take On top of not finishing, not providing appropriate type and number of plants, not bringing dirt to make raised beds, not providing enough mulch (all things we paid for), messing up the pavers and drainage, the layout of the space that was landscaped is best described as common in the ordinary sense, not creative or artistic in any way. Plain, blah, h*o hum are other words that come to mind. If you want a visual, think of the landscaped islands in Walmart parking lots or the entrance to Shady Pines Trailer Park. three weeks to landscape a 7,500 SF area and lay pavers in a 12’ X 25’ area before he had money. It has now been 10 weeks and I have given up hope that I will see this firm again. I believe it was his intent all along to steal my money and never complete the work I paid $8,000.00 for, in advance.

I have filed complaints with the State of Florida Attorney General’s Office and the State of Florida Office of Business and Professional Regulations, providing evidence that theft and fraud was committed against me. I have opened a case with the Orange County Sheriff’s fraud unit and plan to open a case with the Seminole County Sheriff’s office. I have also logdged a complaint with the BBB.