In my opinion, Hometurf seems to have created their own terms of contract law that states if you sign on once for prepayment, they will continue to service your property even after you have died or sold the property. This includes when you have stopped paying or responding to the requests dropped in the mailbox.
Here’s the details… person who started with Hometurf died in May 2010, and widow continues service for the home for another 10 years.
In April 2020, house has been sold and closed as widow has had reduced cognitive abilities and needs to move. Widow has no clue of any obligation that there is a “contract” and informs no family member.
What contract? – Implied? - On the basis of expectation? The bill was going to a man who had been dead for 10 years and the widow had been paying it early in the spring.
New homeowner takes possession April 15th, 2020 and while they are apparently receiving mailbox notices (bills) and flags about servicing, fails to inform Hometurf, real estate agent or ex-homeowner that servicing is still occurring – they did not order it, but are apparently receiving the service and are the homeowners.
Despite not receiving cheques as pre-payment as had been done for so many years in the past, Hometurf continues to service the property even though they have not been given any consent to do so. In fact, my conversation with Hometurf – customer service on Feb. 3/21, they never even tried to contact the homeowner until November 2020, after a complete season of service had been done. No mail had been sent, as Canada Post would have forwarded it to ex –homeowner by service paid for.
As a relative of this family who has been asked to assist in many areas of changes of life, Hometurf called me as if I was responsible for their continued service without authorization.
While I tried to explain neither that I, nor ex –owner, in our opinion, had any legal obligation beyond our ownership to some form of work that “auto-renewed”
I would try to see if the new owners would pay for some of the costs.
On February 3rd, 2021 the customer service manager was being increasingly aggressive and increasingly talking over me. Since it was not possible to communicate rationally, I asked to speak to someone else, but agent refused.
The aggressive tone of the Hometurf agents suggests that bullying people is the most effective way of getting people to pay, while she was threatening a COLLECTION agency against someone who has no obligation to the contract or property – recall person who set up program has been dead for 10 years.
When the new homeowner chooses to disregard the mailbox notices, including service flags on lawn and fails to advise Hometurf they are the new homeowners, thinking they are getting a “free” service as it is in the “old lady’s name” there is fundamentally wrong. The new homeowners think they are getting a free service and Hometurf assumes the service is still desired, and goes after the loyal customer for one more final “billing hit”.
As of the evening of Feb, 3/21, the new owners have stated that the property has not received any maintence service from Hometurf and are willing to attest to that, according to their real estate agent.
Five months later, Hometurf assumes that an 82-year-old widowed woman should assume the cost of lawn service for a property she no longer owned as of April 15, 2020. I have a hard time understanding what planet you are operating on, Hometurf.
Keep in mind that neither my relative nor I owned this property while you continued to service. The bill was in a deceased person’s name.
Note this is a recurring complaint filed on the Better Business Bureau for central Ontario with this company.
