Picture Perfect Landscape

Buyer beware: Michael Stewart cannot be trusted. I contracted with his company Picture Perfect Landscape & Irrigation (PPLI) on 3/3/09 for landscaping, a retaining wall, and fencing in my back yard. His crew began work on 4/27/09 and ended work on 4/30/09 despite leaving my yard in disrepair.



His landscaping machinery had damaged my side yard so that rainwater would not drain. He hadn't finished installing all the sod he was supposed to install. He had refused to repair a chipped retaining wall block he installed. And the dirt behind the retaining wall had settled improperly, leaving a 6-inch rift in the hill behind the wall. He left my yard in that condition for three months despite repeated requests to fix it and the fact that I had already paid him for the work.



But that's not even the worst of it. Mr. Stewart never installed the fence per our contract. He initially ordered the wrong fencing material but promised to correct his mistake by special ordering the fencing I had requested. He came back to me stating he would have to increase the price he had quoted in our contract, and I reluctantly agreed. Mr. Stewart promised to install the fence on 6/1/09 but never showed up. When I called Mr. Stewart to ask why, he claimed his fencing supplier never processed his/my order. He claimed to have re-placed the order and we agreed to a 6/15/09 installation date. Again, Mr. Stewart did not show up on the scheduled day. When I called him to ask why, he claimed to have had a death in the family and did not know when he would return to Charlotte. I waited a week before calling Mr. Stewart on 6/22/09 to suggest that I pick up the fence and have someone else install it, but Mr. Stewart informed me that he had authorized his supplier to give the fencing to another customer. Keep in mind this was special order fencing that he gave away without my knowledge or consent. Or, more likely, he lied about ever having placed an order in the first place. I tend to believe the latter since we had agreed on the fence manufacturer, Delgard, and I personally spoke to the only four Delgard dealers within a 50 miles radius of Charlotte. None of them had ever heard of Michael Stewart or PPLI.



Despite my repeated requests, Mr. Stewart had made it clear that he had no intention of correcting the problems so I contacted the Charlotte Better Business Bureau on 6/26/09 in an attempt to resolve the matter. After three weeks of foot-dragging, Mr. Stewart made a cursory attempt to repair the landscaping on 7/16/09. However, after another three weeks of back-and-forth, Mr. Stewart still had not installed the fence and the BBB Claims Resolution Manager submitted the complaint to arbitration on 8/10/09. Mr. Stewart refused arbitration, which resulted in the BBB giving PPLI a D+ rating that you can verify yourself.



After four wasted months of deception, headaches, and stress, I had to have another fencing company install the fence at a greater cost than what I had contracted with Mr. Stewart. All this because Mr. Stewart made a mistake and then lied to cover it up. So do yourself a favor. Get a recommendation from a friend or neighbor, check references, check Angie's List, check the Better Business Bureau, and find a landscaper you can trust. Just don't pick Michael Stewart or PPLI. You can't trust him.