SAN DIEGO COUNTY, Calif. — A 79-year-old Poway man is out $15,000 dollars, all because of an alleged landscaping scam.
“I wrote the check, I transferred the money because I felt intimidated," said Robert Guillot.
Guillot takes a lot of pride in his yard.
So, when the Navy veteran was approached last month by a crew of landscapers offering to make some improvements for a good price, he took advantage of the opportunity.
“I got up to go see who was banging on my door so loud. And then he says, you know, we're in the neighborhood, and we see your lawn, and we'll do this, you know, for your lawn, and we'll charge you $10 a bag for the mulch. And I was thinking, they're going to only use like, about 40 bags in my yard," said Guillot.
Turns out, he was the one who got taken advantage of.
Guillot says within minutes of agreeing, three additional trucks showed up with men inside.
They got to work, and covered his grass with mulch.
Guillot was monitoring outside, but was instructed to go inside so he wasn't in the way.
Just one hour later, he received an invoice for $19,000 dollars, which breaks down to 1,900 bags of mulch.
"I said, what? And he says, 19,000. I said, no way. And so anyway, he took me to the back. He showed me all the bags stacked up on the patio. So when I was in the house, they must have gone to the truck taking the bags off and put them on the back patio and stacked them up, because there's no way full bags of mulch would have been on their little truck," says Guillot.
Guillot said the more he questioned them, the pushier they got.
"Got in my face and said, pay us, you know."
Guillot talked them down to $15,000 and was instructed to write two checks to two different people for $7,500 a piece.
Fearing for him and his wife's safety, he did as he was told.
Since then, he's reported the incident to the San Diego Sheriff's Department, the San Diego District Attorney's office, as well as the state's Contractors License Board.
He also posted about it on Nextdoor, and received a lot of comments in response from others in the area, who say people came to their door with the same mulch pitch.
"They're hitting all the different places around here," said Guillot.
The business card Guillot got reads "Danilo Martinez Landscaping."
CBS 8 called the Los Angeles-based number on it, but it didn't work.
CBS 8 also searched for the supposed company on Yelp, and came across several one star reviews, calling it a scam.
As for Guillot, while his money is long gone, he's speaking out so others don't fall victim too.
"I don't want anybody else to be scammed or hurt," said Guillot.
A spokesperson with the DA's office told CBS 8:
"This case is very concerning in that it does not involve overseas scammers but suspects here in our community that may be preying on seniors. This victim did the perfect thing. We want anyone who feels they have been the victim of any elder abuse to report it to local law enforcement.
In addition, the DA’s Consumer Protection Unit is comprised of Deputy District Attorneys, Investigators and Paralegals dedicated to protecting consumers and law-abiding businesses from fraudulent or unfair business practices. To report a consumer complaint, you can call (619) 531-3507 or email consumer@sdcda.org. If you have been the victim of elder abuse, report it to Adult Protective Services: (800) 339-4661.
Finally, if someone wants to report any suspicious business providing contracting/landscaping/etc. services or including those using high pressure sales techniques, those businesses should also be reported to the California Contractor’s State Licensing Bureau (CSLB): https://www.cslb.ca.gov/OnlineServices/ConstructionComplaint/ComplaintFormProcess.aspx
Always be cautious and consumers should never hire anyone to do work at their house from people they don’t know knocking on their door and provide an offer to do work. Always check references or obtain multiple estimates for jobs if you do need to do any construction or landscaping project."
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