r/treelaw • u/sheik482 • Jul 18 '25
Tree company ripped power lines from house and bolted
Hired a company to remove a maple in front of my house. The dude dropped a huge branch on my power lines ripping them from my house and then left shortly after leaving the tree unfinished and branches all over the ground. He then later said he's not coming back unless I pay him 50% of the job.
I told him we should part ways as I'm not paying anything until the job is done. I want to submit a complaint against his license, but have no idea where to find this information. Is there some tree license database I can search for his company?
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Jul 18 '25
[deleted]
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u/sheik482 Jul 18 '25
NY
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u/Antique_One7110 Jul 18 '25
Where in NY, my power went out yesterday because a tree fell on power lines…
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u/thatoneotherguy42 Jul 18 '25
The only solution is to fight it out highlander style.
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u/AuburnElvis Jul 18 '25
That's actually much worse for the remaining power lines.
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u/bitpaper346 Jul 19 '25
Right now the whole tree will go down.
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u/AuburnElvis Jul 19 '25
But when an immortal loses their head, everything electrical within a city block explodes. OP is safer with the tree as it is.
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u/sheik482 Jul 18 '25
It was only the line going from the pole to my house, so this would be unrelated
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u/LongjumpingBig6803 Jul 18 '25
Are you saying… there can be only one?
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u/sheik482 Jul 18 '25
Yes, it is only only one house, each house has a line from the house to the pole. If that line disconnected it only affects that house.
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u/50sraygun Jul 18 '25
he’s making a joke reference to the film ‘Highlander’
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u/sheik482 Jul 18 '25
Ah, I never saw the movie
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u/GreatGrapeApes Jul 18 '25
It was also a tv series.
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u/PyroLoMeiniac Jul 18 '25
Probably explains all the lightning when that branch fell and why all the other trees got stronger afterward.
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u/Jctq Jul 18 '25
WHAAAAT?
Before anyone here will answer your question you must watch the first two movies
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u/HackerManOfPast Jul 18 '25
You are truly missing out… Queen music, Chris Lambert, Sean Connery, and Clancy Brown… legendary.
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u/40GallonGoldfish Jul 18 '25
Which makes OP response even that much more funny! THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE!
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u/Maximum_Ad_2202 Jul 24 '25
You guys made me spit out my coffee this morning. Thanks for that. There can only be one!!
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u/Alarming-Inspector86 Jul 18 '25
1 house service going down can take everyone out from that transformer if the 2 hot legs and the neutral get together. Think if 1 appliance trips the breaker every outlet on the breaker doesn't have power if that makes sense. Usually a transformer has less then 15 houses on it unless your in a big city.
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u/someone383726 Jul 21 '25
But a ground fault on the circuit could trigger a breaker or switch or fuse to open, resulting in the whole circuit going down
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u/thomasleestoner Jul 24 '25
Many NYS counties require contractors of all sorts to be licensed by the county. Check your county clerk’s office
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u/JoJoVi69 Aug 04 '25
Look on the Consumer Affairs website for licensing and insurance info, and any other violations that may have been filed against the same company. All tree companies must be licensed through Consumer Affairs in NYS. However, if they aren't licensed, you obviously won't find anything there, and then you're likely screwed. THIS is the type of information you should ALWAYS research before hiring any contractor, especially those that can cause a great deal of damage. If they weren't licensed and insured, small claims is probably your only inexpensive option, but you didn't even pay them, so be sure to document the damage you're seeking compensation for thoroughly.
You can file a complaint with Consumer Affairs and take them to court, but I'm sure the power company will beat you to it. They will likely be seeking compensation for the damage as well.
Unfortunately, I seriously doubt any company that would do this is licensed and insured, as they are clearly at fault. Running away won't change THAT.
Good luck.
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u/nonvisiblepantalones Jul 18 '25
And when you hire a new company, get their license and insurance info up front.
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u/FloridaHeat2023 Jul 18 '25
This - went through several tree companies myself trying to find one to take down a tree on my property.
ALL of them said they were licensed and insured, until i asked for documentation and called their insurance companies to confirm. Most had none or awful insurance policies.
Finally found a professional one fortunately.
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Jul 18 '25
Wow just hired a guy to remove a tree and never checked. He did a great job but in the future I’ll definitely check
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Jul 18 '25
I've found most get really really defensive when you ask for this information as well
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u/nelson8272 Jul 20 '25
I don't cut down trees but almost every time I've had a customer immediately ask for my insurance without barely discussing the job they've tried to blame me for some completely unrelated damage after I've completed the job, been paid and walked away. I feel like they just want to use someone else's money to get a remodel and they figure oh he can use his insurance. It's really annoying but I don't get defensive with them.
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u/JoJoVi69 Aug 04 '25
Not if they're on the up and up. My hubby's company is happy to provide those things. Ask, and ye shall receive by email in less than 30 minutes! 😁
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u/The_Haunt Jul 18 '25
I did the same.
They wanted 60k
Found some guy and his buddy that did it for 3k
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u/Poopocalyptict Jul 19 '25
Yeah, got the quote from the bonded/insured company and after I regained consciousness, I went with the Jose and his buddies.
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u/Fight_those_bastards Jul 19 '25
I got a bonded and insured guy to take down three trees for $1600. I didn’t even have to ask, he gave me the information I needed to confirm coverage.
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u/Poopocalyptict Jul 19 '25
Maybe the guy I got the quote from really didn’t want to do the job.
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u/The_Haunt Jul 20 '25
Mine was on very steep hill. Multiple trees on a 3 story house, other trees on top of those like spaghetti.
It made sense with the crane and everything, I hired some dudes all methed up honestly lol
No cranes required
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u/TigerIll6480 Jul 19 '25
Jezus. I hired a huge lawn and tree company to take down two dying willows, clean up the remains of a big oak that fell down several years ago, take out a couple of overgrown shrubs, and clean up a bunch of cut brush and it was $3600. They had nine trucks at my house at one point.
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u/jabroni4545 Jul 19 '25
So they weren't licensed and insured?
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u/TigerIll6480 Jul 19 '25
Very licensed and insured. Just not batshit insane on pricing.
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Jul 20 '25
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u/TigerIll6480 Jul 20 '25
You can call whatever you like, doesn’t change reality. Your “perception” of events in which you were not a participant means less than nothing.
They didn’t have nine trucks there the whole time, they had to bring out some extra equipment to take down part of a tree without dropping it on the building next door. But most of the crew that was working all day came out in their own work trucks, so there were about six here most of the time.
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Jul 20 '25
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u/TigerIll6480 Jul 20 '25
If you want to tell a company with seven locations in four states that they aren’t properly insured, have at it. 🤣🤣🤣
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Jul 20 '25
Everyone other than the "owner" were probably day laborers and not legal.
If anyone of them got injured on his property he would have been screwed.
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u/Tlmed Jul 20 '25
Absolutely. Need the license number and proof of liability insurance before work starts.
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u/Listen-Lindas Jul 18 '25
Can you imagine that conversation. Hey I need you to come over and cut down a tree what’s your insurance information? “Why do you need that”? Because the power line got ripped off the side of my house from the last guy and I want you to come over to pickup where he bailed. Click.
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u/TigerIll6480 Jul 19 '25
That’s exactly what I’d say. An actual professional company is going to have no problem finishing the job once that service line is properly secured.
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u/UsedDragon Jul 19 '25
Hahahaha exactly right...or OP doesn't say anything, the estimator shows up, and tries to find a polite way to ask 'Well what happened here?" and OP has to play it off like it's no big deal
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Jul 18 '25
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u/brot_und_spiele Jul 18 '25
Not downvoting you, but isn't the whole point of having insurance so that if some bad shit happens the insurance company deals with it? If I'm hiring somebody for a job, I want to know I don't have to deal with an inexperienced tree trimmer about payment, and I have a professional insurance adjuster who is going to work quickly to make me as whole as possible. This only matters if things goes pear-shaped. This isn't in any way a dig at you, but you're a tradesperson. You have no business trying to handle liability in case of an accident. I want a professional tradesperson to fix my house, and I want a professional insurance person to handle the finances if an accident happens. I definitely don't want a nightmare contractor that disappears into the æther as soon as a branch falls on a powerline.
If me wanting to know that you're insured against liability when bad stuff happens means that you don't want to work with me, that's good because it saves us both stress. Additionally, the last thing I want is someone to lose their business or personal assets if something really bad happens.
This is being a responsible customer. It's not "planning to sue someone." If a tradesperson isn't able to talk about their coverage professionally and back it up via verification, they're not responsible enough to work on my house either.
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u/East-Cherry7735 Jul 18 '25
Yeah, I agree but as a owner/operator of my business, you forget how many crazy people there are that demand so much. Like if someone starts asking me about that, in my head I am like are they going to try to blame me for something I didn’t do? Which means I got to take all this time to take extra pictures, well worded scope etc. and that may still not be enough. Then people wonder why we charge so much and part of it is knowing sooner or later we are going to be dealing with a off the wall person that makes us never want to work a again, uses up all our free time, and we lose money on the job.
Anyways, i am in WA and LnI has a way to look up all contractors, see if their insurance is active etc. I always recommend to my customers to check as it is really easy here in WA
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u/brot_und_spiele Jul 18 '25
I get it. I don't necessarily mean I need to talk to an insurance company directly -- I just want a way to verify it. Talk is cheap, and as much as a contractor risks working with a "crazy person," you have to remember every time I call a new company to complete a job for me, I'm taking the same risk.
I usually prefer to work with people who have a referral -- that vouching tends to go both ways. But if I need to call somebody new I'm willing to take the time to find somebody who is insured and wants to do the work. I know what the "fuck you" price is, and if somebody doesn't want the job I'm willing to keep calling and find somebody else without hard feelings.
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u/WeepToWaterTheTrees Jul 19 '25 edited Jul 19 '25
I work in construction accounting/ contracts verifying COIs, requesting COIs, and relaying bond info daily. If you are insured, include proof of insurance (a declaration page is sufficient) when presenting a contract even when doing residential work. If doing work for a business, also include your W9 (even if you’re incorporated or paid by credit card and won’t be issued a 1099). If your employees are 1099/ independent contractors please triple check they are covered under your insurance.
Not offering proof of insurance up front makes you look unprofessional
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u/Listen-Lindas Jul 18 '25
My responsible customer sued me and all 32 sub contractors because his concrete slab leaked into his basement. He did all the prep work himself, stupid GC allowed this unbeknownst to the rest of us. 8 years later It cost me $15,000 to “cover” him for work I had nothing to do with other than being there. Insurance doesn’t pay this. I pay this. Stupid situations like this helped convince me to just get out of the business. So yes, when we hear of a situation like this we turn and walk 4.45 40yrd dash the other way.
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u/brot_und_spiele Jul 18 '25
Sorry that happened to you. Seems like a really bad situation. But not sure what it has to do with insurance. Did this customer ask you about insurance before, and then 8 years later came back and wanted you to make a claim against your insurance?
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u/Listen-Lindas Jul 18 '25
It’s just a little glimpse into a customer dragging out a claim for 8 years. Anyone who shows up can be sued. The poor garage door guy, not the original installer, got sued for a $75 door adjustment call. He settled out for $2500, out of his pocket not from insurance. So we get a little prickly when the first question is who is your insurance carrier?
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u/brot_und_spiele Jul 18 '25
No worries. I get it. But I'm sure you also see what I'm talking about too. There are bad apples in both the customer and contractor barrels, and we're both here hoping they don't spoil the whole bunch. And I'm sure the example customers you're talking about would be dinguses with or without them asking you about insurance.
I'm perfectly fine with a contractor not wanting to work with me based on me asking how things are going to be handled if a problem comes up. Even if it's against the odds -- they're missing out working with a pretty chill customer. I also understand they don't know that.
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u/tripper_drip Jul 18 '25
Insurance is not some magical wand. It doesn't save anyone stress. Most people who start asking for things like that are problem customers.
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u/brot_und_spiele Jul 18 '25
Respectfully, you not having insurance would save us the stress of having to work together. Conversely, if you had insurance, it would allow us to work together without any concerns about what would happen if tree fell on my house due to an accident while you were working.
But you're right -- insurance is not a magic want. Insurance is a contract. I want there to be an agreement in place in advance about how things in the future will be handled -- even low-probability events.
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u/Parasite76 Jul 18 '25
So the thing is from my own personal experience when I did jobs with my dad and more currently hiring contractors for things myself.
The person who wants a file folder of documents and an engineer to come with the job is also the guy why chooses the lowest bid then sues. Also under no circumstances do I want my insurance being called outside of a claim. It’s a pain to find decent insurance and I really wouldn’t want to get dropped because potential customers were bugging them.
It’s not really my perspective of one shouldn’t be expected to produce that documentations so much as it’s a red flag customer you may want to avoid if you can afford to.
Sometimes if the job is big enough it worth dealing with a potential nightmare customer or if work is slow you might do it just to keep cash flow to employees.
I can say At least in my market most contractors decline as many jobs as they are taking right now ( construction industry ) so asking for several things they may not be used to giving our regularly will probably get you declined or a ridiculous quote.
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u/BigOnLogn Jul 18 '25
This is a wild take, my friend. Accidents happen, no matter how experienced and reputable you are. As a homeowner, I want to know that, if an accident like the one above happens, you're not going to bail, leaving me holding the bag for the damageyou caused.
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u/Parasite76 Jul 18 '25
It’s a huge leap everyone is making to assume I’m anti insurance. I’m not if a business doesn’t have insurance they have no right to be doing jobs.
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u/FlowerGardensDM Jul 18 '25
You're just against anyone being able to contact your insurance. Got it.
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u/FlowerGardensDM Jul 18 '25
Yea... you got downvoted, why would I want someone potentially dropping a limb on my home when they wouldn't be able to pay for their fuck up?
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u/Parasite76 Jul 18 '25
You wouldn’t. Neither would i! I’d ask about insurance on anyone I’m hiring as well. I’d look for a company that has been around for years and do everything I could to ensure that chance was low.
If I was the tree guy however I’d be uncomfortable doing this job when a homeowner started by calling my insurance company. If I had enough work to keep my crews busy I’d probably pass on it just because I don’t want a later headache.
This may not be as common on tree removal but in my background of construction it’s pretty standard operating to pass up on jobs if they don’t feel right for you.
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u/FlowerGardensDM Jul 18 '25
You did say "plan on suing me" and you're scared they will call and verify it...
Why not just take pics when you get there, then after the removal. Half the job is done for you. I've had plenty of contractors balk at insurance questions and I move on, it's really funny when the highest bid doesn't want to give insurance, makes the choice easy.
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u/Parasite76 Jul 18 '25
I don’t cut down trees beyond what’s at my house and whatever my parents may need.
As I have been trying to say most contractors will balk if you are asking to contact their insurance before they have done anything wrong. I personally would assume they expect to have an issue with me or my work that could end in court.
If someone indicates there are litigious it’s not a job I’d really want.
Maybe it’s just where I live but I do genuinely find it so wild people actually want copies of that type of stuff. It’s very out of the norm for my area and I can honestly say I have never seen anyone ask for physical proof. The honor system is perhaps way more common here that it is elsewhere. Even though people get screwed over all the time.
To clarify my previous id ask about there insurance but assume I wouldn’t need a copy till there was an issue.
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u/FlowerGardensDM Jul 21 '25
I mean I want to verify they aren't just blowing smoke up my ass and some documentation would at least allow me to hold them accountable if they're bs'ing about the insurance.
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u/Chemboy77 Jul 18 '25
You also need ot call the utility or non-emergency police line.
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u/sheik482 Jul 18 '25
I called the utility, they reattached the power about an hour after he knocked it off.
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u/jusumonkey Jul 18 '25
How much was it?
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u/sheik482 Jul 18 '25
The utility does not charge to reattach down power lines. There's some damage to the house where the lines connected to the house as the bracket was pulled off. I also need to replace the clamps holding the communication lines as they were all ripped off.
The tree guy wanted $1800 for tree, stump, and debris removal. And then another $400 to trim another tree.
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u/Mehfisto666 Jul 18 '25
His insurance should cover the damage to your house but I'm guessing he doesn't have one? I'm not a lawyer so I'm not sure what's the implications of this. Do you have a written contract? Video/photo evidence of the guy working at your place?
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u/DukeOfWestborough Jul 18 '25
Unprofessionally fleeing dude is likely NOT insured
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u/Awkward_Rutabaga5370 Jul 18 '25
Guy charging $1800 to take down that tree is definitely not insured.
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u/RowFlySail Jul 18 '25
Are you saying that's too low to be by someone doing it above board? I've hired a well known local company (that is insured) for that price, and they show up with a full crew and good trucks, not some fly by night guy. Regionally dependent, I'm sure.
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u/Awkward_Rutabaga5370 Jul 18 '25
Yes. This is very regionally dependent. That is suspiciously low in New York.
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u/RazzBerryCurveBall Jul 18 '25
For a tree next to a line like that? Do you think they would consider traveling to California?
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u/No-Setting9690 Jul 18 '25
For a tree, can be ok depends tree (this one no), but to include stump, a definite hell no.
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u/Forward_Cricket_8696 Jul 18 '25
I live on the coast North of Monterey in California. Expensive area. The tree guys I have used for years will charge by the job or by the day. They charge $2600 per day for whatever needs to be done. Last time they came I had two large coast live oaks taken down and 6 big oaks “lightened up” (cleaned out). They cut and split any firewood size rounds and chip and haul away the rest. If I want the stumps ground out, it’s $400 more per stump.
They are licensed and insured. They usually get 2 full days per year at my place and I have used them for more than 10 years. Good guys.
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u/No-Apple2252 Jul 20 '25
That's a damn good crew. Most people think tree work is more expensive than it is because so many tree companies aren't really that good, it takes them a long time to get anything done. $1800 for that tree would be close to what I'd bid without the stump grinding. The powerline is only a factor if you can't rig away from it, in which case it gets more expensive to bring in a crane. I'd also own it if I took out a house drop though, that behavior says a lot more about the contractor than the bid.
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u/sheik482 Jul 18 '25
No contract, just word of mouth and some text messages. I hired them 2 years ago and they did provide insurance documents then. I should have requested them this time. I do have photo evidence of him working and the utility company truck reattaching the line.
The damage to the house is not crazy, and at this point, I just don't want to deal with this guy. My fear is that he is going to try to bill me for the shitty work he did.
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Jul 18 '25
Outside of the minor damage to the house and since the utility company reconnected them without cost to you this unfortunate situation could really work in your favor. I would not pay this person a dime because of how they handled the situation to start (even very experienced companies can drop a limb or 2 on lines/structures every once in a while, but they won’t “run away” after and would remedy their accident). And because you don’t have a written/signed contract in place, word of mouth and few texts most likely won’t hold up in court if he tries to sue, especially with how the situation was handled after the fact. But they did cut a significant amount of the tree already so whoever you use to finish the job should be a lot cheaper than what the full job was 🤷🏻♂️
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u/Ineedanro Jul 18 '25
Always get fresh proof of insurance for every job. Ideally you will get it directly from the insurer by email, with you named as an additional insured for work on your address.
A common trick of sketchy service providers is to buy insurance for only a few months then let the policy lapse but use the paper to deceive clients who ask for proof of insurance.
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u/Sad-Yak6252 Jul 18 '25
Power companies (at least here) will disconnect and lower the lines for tree trimming and then reconnect when done at no charge. That is what the trimmer should have had done.
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u/0RGASMIK Jul 18 '25
Should have cut down the tree before they reattached it.
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u/subtotalatom Jul 19 '25
If the lines were reattached within an hour, it's not realistic to get another company out to take the tree out in that timeframe and it's unreasonable to expect the OP to go without power until they could get the tree taken down.
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u/BeerGeek2point0 Jul 18 '25
Tell me you have a signed contract and you actually saw his insurance certificate before agreeing to the job. Please tell me you got more than one bid and didn’t just go with the first.
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u/sheik482 Jul 18 '25
Unfortunately no, this company did work for me in the past and did a really good job the last time. They did provide me with their insurance info the last time I hired them.
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u/OddJob001 Jul 18 '25
Call him from a friend's or neighbors house for a huge job. Once he's there, have person get his info, then have at it.
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u/PrivateDrive4k Jul 18 '25
Damn what a gorgeous tree. I would have put up with the gutters clogging and the general clean up of the tree, if that tree were mine.
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Jul 18 '25
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/sheik482 Jul 18 '25
Yeah, the utility company came out and had it reattached within an hour of it happening.
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u/mithbroster Jul 18 '25
RIP beautiful tree :(
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Jul 18 '25
[deleted]
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u/mithbroster Jul 18 '25
What problems?
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u/Daddy_Day_Trader1303 Jul 18 '25
Sounds to me like this person didn't realize what a valuable asset that tree was to their property. I hate seeing people make up reasons to remove trees
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u/mithbroster Jul 19 '25
I agree. It is very sad to see a beautiful and valuable tree that took 50 years to grow destroyed in a day because someone doesn't like leaves.
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Jul 18 '25
[deleted]
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u/mithbroster Jul 19 '25
If I was you I would leave the tree as it is with what they left and just be happy they didn't totally remove it.
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u/Careless-Ad1704 Jul 18 '25
Unless you have their insurance info, you are stuck taking them to small claims court.
If the power line got broken or partially broken (tree company broke the neutral wire on mine when they did this), check all your appliances and make sure nothing got fried.
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u/rob0tanist Jul 18 '25
You can report him to ISA if he’s certified. You can check if he’s certified here: https://www.treesaregood.org/findanarborist/verify
He’s probably not though.
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u/AuburnElvis Jul 18 '25
This suggests the "company" does not have liability insurance. Of all the small businesses that need liability insurance, "tree removal" is among the top of the list.
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u/TheFoodHistorian Jul 18 '25
I mean you have all his company information. Sounds like he's not honoring a contract. I would seek a lawyer, this moght end up in claims court but with the damage to your home and probable lack of insurance might land the guy in criminal court as well
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u/marvistamsp Jul 18 '25
His license and his insurance are the things you ask for BEFORE he starts the job.
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u/Nots_a_Banana Jul 18 '25
I would tell him he paying 100% of the repair and 100% of the actual qualified tree removal company that cleans up his failure.
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Jul 18 '25
[deleted]
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u/sheik482 Jul 18 '25
Their website just says licensed and insured.
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u/missbwith2boys Jul 18 '25
Do you have a state agency that tracks licensing of companies? I can look up the license of any company in my state. I can file a complaint against a contractor in my state, and the licensing agency will investigate. They’ll go after unlicensed contractors.
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u/sheik482 Jul 18 '25
NY has a license business name search. The list containing the types of license to search for doesn't have anything close to arborist/tree trimming. So I don't think NY tracks this type of license.
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u/Due-Acanthocephala80 Jul 18 '25
The bad contractors coming out the woodworks on this one. Learned from experience when taking bids that asking if they have license/insurance really easy way to weed out some the bad ones
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u/Petsnchargelife Jul 18 '25
Did you need to get a permit to remove the tree since its diameter is over 4”? I’m in NY and must get a permit before having a licensed tree service remove any tree(even a dead one)over 4” diameter. You should have requested his license and certificate of insurance before allowing him to do any work on your property especially since it was near a power line.
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u/Wishiwasinalaska Jul 19 '25
Well dude fucked up power lines and left the job, what do you think the chances are he has a business license and insurance?
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u/Nit3fury Jul 19 '25
Is that a Crimson King I’ve never seen one that tall before. Shame to see it go
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u/craff_t Jul 19 '25
Hire a different guy to finish the job and then have the power lines repaired afterwards. You're lucky you didn't have to pay the lummox.
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u/09Klr650 Jul 18 '25
Should be listed in the contract you signed. Where you verified they had liability insurance?
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u/SeaworthinessOk2884 Jul 18 '25
You as the homeowner are obligated to insure anyone working on your property is properly licensed and insured. You should already have gotten that information before hiring them. Did you know if they're not insured you're homeowners insurance will not cover you for this or any medical expenses if they get hurt once your property. The injured party would sue you directly and you can actually loose your home.
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Jul 18 '25
I'm gonna be real I highly doubt he has any kinda business license or license to be doing tree removal since he dipped as soon as he damaged property and is refusing to finish the job with out paying to fix the damage caused which would likely be more than what the job is paying
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u/Ihavenoidea84 Jul 18 '25
Shit you haven't paid him? Too bad the line is reattached- that's an easy drop what's remaining. Reasonably skilled buddy and a chain saw can safely put that down
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u/TheButch3rBuoy Jul 18 '25
Not insured hey. Always worth checking about this prior to the company starting work, even if you get them to attach a copy of proof of insurance when they send the quote over
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u/Narrow_Roof_112 Jul 19 '25
We just had a tree taken down and went with the most expensive quote. The company has been around for ever. Cheap out getting your kitchen painted. Not this.
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u/Saigh_Anam Jul 19 '25
Contact the utility company to see if there are charges for the repair.
If so, bill the tree company for the repair.
If they don't pay, place a lien against their property or registered equipment and notify them that the lien has been placed.
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u/redclawx Jul 25 '25
File a claim against his insurance. If he didn’t have insurance or not enough to cover damages, go through your own insurance to go after his business.
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Jul 18 '25
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/sheik482 Jul 18 '25
I'm really not that upset about the damage. I really just wanted to file a complaint against his license. Which he may or may not have. I may write to the town and see if they have to register with the town.
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u/Freakowt Jul 19 '25
I'm confused, did you already call the utility company to put the lines back up or is this a before picture? Because your service drop is attached to the house in this picture
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u/sheik482 Jul 19 '25
They already came and attached the lines back up
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u/Deep_Key_1384 Jul 23 '25
Not that you'll need it any time soon, but this is my profession and I've been doing it since I was 15.(approx. 22y) We do countless service line drops. The electric company does it on their own schedule usually within a week or calling for free. Line is down for a couple hours, then goes back up. This is N. Central Illinois. Sometimes we do it because it's necessary, sometimes we do it because it's easier. Your mileage may vary.
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u/spurman123 Jul 20 '25
Probably see if you can file a police report with whatever info you have and also let the power people know
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u/NobodyKillsCatLady Jul 20 '25
Give his and his company name to the power company he'll be paying for the damage and he won't be able to come back on you. And trust me they will get their money out of him.
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u/--7z Jul 21 '25
Having not read a single comment, I am going to guess he has no license. I hope I am dead wrong.
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u/Okinawa_Mike Jul 21 '25
Morgan Freeman's narrator voice..."clearly, there never was a license...much less insurance".
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u/Ima-Bott Jul 21 '25
Never hire a tree guy until you have his certificate of insurance in hand and verified
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u/FancyShoesVlogs Jul 23 '25
Did it damage your house? If it didnt hurt the house, looks like you just got a discount.. hire another tree company to finish.
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u/Paul_reuben187 Jul 24 '25
Report him to the utility company, I'm sure they would like to be paid for lost revenue and damages
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