Avoid Cedar Oaks Tree Care - Sam Evergreen

How it started

We had booked a tree surgeon for urgent work on a cracked willow and removal of a massive conifer (60+ feet). Sam came to the house out of the blue, claiming the local farm estate had sent him because they wanted the trees sorted. Our cracked willow had fallen into the farm estate field, so this did not seem unreasonable at the time.

We showed him the work and told him the quote we already had from another company. He quoted £3,200, which was £200 less than our original quote. Based on his price, and the claim that he had been sent by the farm estate, we agreed to go ahead.

The work itself

Most of the tree removal and trimming was fine. The huge chunks of conifer were all removed from site as expected.

In the process, another tree was damaged, along with some bushes and climbers. Our ladder was broken and a rose arch was bent beyond repair. We also lost a rake.

During the job we were asked to pay an extra £650 for work on the willow that he said he had not anticipated. Somewhat reluctantly, we agreed. At the end of the second day, everything appeared to be cleared away and the gang all left.

What we found afterwards

Since then, we have discovered more problems:

• The work promised had not actually been finished. There was still much of the broken willow hanging over into the farm estate field.
• Massive logs, far heavier than my wife and I could manage, were left dumped in our hedges or on top of plants.
• Most seriously, the farm estate rang us to say that timber had been fly-tipped straight into their field, blocking the entrance.
• Logs were also dumped into crucial drainage ditches.

The excuses

At this point, the lies and excuses started coming out:

• "A farmer had said they would take it and now turned it down."
• "A truck was coming to take it away."
• "I want another £1,700 to dispose of it."

Some of the material was collected, but a lot was still left. Over the following three weeks, there were many calls and texts, and many more excuses:

• "Truck broken down."
• "Can't get another one."
• "Coming Tuesday."
• "Coming Sunday."
• "Coming Friday."

The bulk has now been cleared, but there is still some left behind.

Insurance and identity

I was shown an insurance certificate over the phone. In hindsight, I have no way of knowing whether that was genuine. Sam Evergreen, if that is his real name, claims to live in the Forest of Dean.

Company name changes

A company called "Cedar Oaks Tree Care Ltd" is registered in Spalding, and has gone through several name changes in just a couple of years:

I strongly suspect the repeated renaming is a way to disguise or bury reviews, and that what happened to us has likely happened to others.