An Arizona mother and daughter received a landscaping makeover free of charge after a local landscaper heard that the two had been scammed out of $8,100 by another landscaper – or at least someone claiming to be a landscaper.
David Bell, owner of Advant-Edge Decorative Curbing and Landscaping in Peoria, Arizona, heard about Rita and Kathy Roe’s plight after they were featured on Channel 3 TV’s “3 on Your Side” segment.
The mother and daughter had wanted their backyard remodeled and hired Jake Henige, owner of Strategic Marketing & Promotions.
“He seemed very friendly,” Kathy Roe told 3 On Your Side. “He seemed very honest. He said he was military, and we are a military family. We try to help our vets.”
Although Henige was unlicensed, the Roes decided to hire him. Henige planned to charge them $9,100 for the installation of artificial grass, pavers and shrubbery. Before doing any of the work, he requested $5,400 and asked for $2,200 more after planting some shrubs.
A third time he told the Roes he needed $500 for more materials, asking that the check be made payable to his girlfriend, Sami Palmer.
Over a two-month period, Henige put down some artificial grass and started installing pavers, but eventually he stopped coming altogether. When 3 On Your Side got involved, Henige claimed he had no idea that it was against the law to be landscaping without a license and said he would return some of the money the Roes had paid him.
When Bell discovered that Kathy and her 88-year-old mother had been taken advantage of, he reached out to the TV station for their contact information and set about redoing the mess Henige had left behind.
“I mean we had about 12 people on this,” Bell said. “My guys started at 5 a.m. when they arrived at my shop and we got to work here at 6 a.m. and we worked almost to 8:00 at night getting the yard done.”
Starting from scratch, Bell and his crew installed all new pavers, plants, irrigation, artificial turf, and a fire pit. Other companies, including Rock N Rollin Rock Sales, Belgard Hardscapes, and Grand Materials also pitched into help by donating materials.
“Now they can come outside and make s’mores with their kids and grandkids,” Bell said. “They can sit on the patio. This is now an entertainment place for their family and friends.”
Bell estimates the job cost around $15,000 to $17,000 to complete, but he wasn’t looking for a paycheck.
“I like helping people more than making money, I guess,” he told the Peoria Times. Bell said fly-by-night operators who claim to be reputable landscapers “make it hard for the rest of us.”
Bell often does four or five donated projects a year. Rita and Kathy Roe were grateful for Bell’s work and try to send new customers his way.
“I couldn’t believe it – how much he did,” Kathy said. “David, his family and workers are such nice people. We tried to pay him back, and he said, ‘I don’t want nothing.’ He’s just fantastic. The whole family’s the same way.”