Stay FAR away from this company! I wish I would have taken time to read other customer reviews before contacting CTS. Lesson learned! I have never been treated in such a rude and unprofessional manner by anyone I have ever consulted with or hired to do a job at my home.
A few days ago, our neighbor had a tree removed. The workmen noticed a damaged limb on the back of our large pin oak . We were told about the damage yesterday. We were unaware of it since it's on the back of the tree that we can't see from our property. The limb grows directly over the power lines and the pole with the transformer (about ten feet above). It also hangs over part of a neighbors home.
The damage the workmen at my neighbor's noticed (and Ameren's crew reported last night) was as follows - From the yard next door to the house behind mine/about 50-60 feet away from the tree - they could hear the limb make a creeking sound when the wind blew, it was weeping sap and separating from the trunk. They saw a gap between the limb and the trunk when the wind blew. It was about 1/3 (Approx) of the way through. Both crews expressed concern that it could break and fall during the next storm. Especially, with the very strong winds that have accompanied most of the thunderstorms lately. We were terrified since the weather forecast for the days following was a week of storms. We wanted it addressed ASAP so there would be no risk of damage to anyone's property (and a possible lawsuit) or the power lines/pole with the transformer.
We called Ameren yesterday (several times) and they sent a crew last night. We were under the impression that they were coming to remove the damaged branch but they only accessed the situation and made a report to the forestry division who will remove the limb sometime in the next week or so.
We decided to take care of it ourselves because we were scared to wait that long and risk the limb falling and damaging our neighbor's home and the power lines/pole with the transformer. Especially, with the bad weather in the forecast.
This morning we called a number of emergency tree services. I called County Tree Service and told him- verbatim- what the Ameren crew and the men that did the tree removal for our neighbor said about the damage. (Including their concerns about further risk with storms in the forecast for the next week) He said that they could remove it today and would call me back in 45 minutes. I never received a call. The crew just showed up. (Which was fine) However, they just took a quick look and said they couldn't do anything since they were told by the owner that it was dangling and ready to fall. I never told Ted Hooss (Owner) anything of the sort. I told him exactly what the other crews reported. (One crew being the professional arborists with 20+ years of experience and an excellent reputation) They didn't even attempt to get a decent look at the limb. They didn't go into the neighbor's yard so they could clearly see the damage. They didn't climb a ladder or use binoculars to inspect the limb since it was 30+ feet in the air. They said they would have to speak to their boss and come back another time since they didn't know what to charge. That there had been a of miscomunication.
I was confused so I called Ted (owner of CTS) to ask what happened. He proceeded to YELL at me that his crew said there was nothing wrong with the tree at all, that I wasted his time and cost him money by having a crew come to my house for no reason and told me to let another company take care of it . He then hung up on me.
I was flabbergasted. Two professional crews reported the exact same damage and it's clearly visible from my neighbors yard. If they are not capable of properly assessing a damaged tree, they should NOT be working in this field!
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