Last year I signed up with greenforce to put my Christmas lights up. I called on the phone, and apparently they look up my house on Google earth and gave me an estimate right over the phone, which I thought was pretty cool. Thinking it was a bit pricy ($765.00) but not knowing what all was involved I went with it. Here is the but, after they installed the lights (which they must of used a box of staples to do) and the GFCI (which is nothing more than a GFCI with a timer and a plug outlet on one end and a plug inlet on the other and about 3' long) something I believe you can buy for less than $50.00 at Home Depot I was greatly disappointed for that amount of money to say the least.
GFCI $125.00 labor to plug it in labor $85.00
40' of icicle lights 210.00 cost to staple them to my house labor $30.00
Outline with mini lights around two small windows $34.00 Labor $24.00
Line my walk way to my porch with 5 candy canes on each side $45.00 labor $12.00
But they said they had to order the candy canes, which held up the time to have my lights put up. In the end they couldn't find them so I told them to forget the candy canes. I found two sets at Home Depot of 5 candy canes each for about half the price greenforce wanted, and it took my 11 yr old and I about 10 minutes to install them.
And the price to take the lights down was Labor $200.00
Total material $414.00. Labor $351.00
Wait this just gets better. After the install I found about a 1/2 box of staples dropped in my front lawn. Which I had to pay my lawn guy extra to vacuum up with his leaf blower/vacuum before he would mow the lawn.
Wait this still gets better. On Feb 13 2012. I sent them an email asking for my lights to be taken down. On Feb 14 2012. They sent me an email asking for my ADDRESS. REALLY!!!
Wait for it, .... Wait yes it still gets even better if you could believe it. Now my lights are down, and were done right? Noooo I had used my credit card to put the 50% down. After they took the lights down they charged my credit card the other 50%. One problem they never took off the candy canes that I never got or were installed. $57.00 worth. Since I check my credit cards weekly I caught it right away and phoned them up and told them of there mistake.
Still gets better, they told me they would send me a check for the $57.00 but it would take 3 or 4 weeks. By this time im fed up so I just said ok.
Still gets better. On March 15 2012 I had to send them this email.
Here is a copy of the letter and your bounced check. Please send me a GOOD check for the amount of $79.00 as the bank charged me $12.00 for having to return the check to me.
This yr I asked for them to return my lights, cords, GFCI. What I got back was two small bundels of lights, some broken or missing, one bundel lit up the other did not. One string had black wires, one had green. Last yr all my lights had white wires.
My GFCI I got back was a GE model #15102. Its a cheap timer not even a GFCI, I looked it up, it costs $16.00 and its not what I had last yr. One 12' extenion cord and a 3 outlet power strip 1' long never been used still in the box. A Home Depot bag with about 100 or so plastic clips that don't go to anything I have and were never used on my house last yr, As I still have staples sticking out of my house when they removed my lights from last yr. The only thing that came back that is working is the icicles with white cord for outlinging my roof. read more