I hired Vista Pro Scape Landscaping and Concrete to build three retaining walls, install drainage, demo/haul away, and excavate the dirt on my existing hill. I was working with Emmanuel Martinez (a.k.a Jesus Emilio Valencia). He made promises such as guaranteeing the work would be done in four days, which was appealing given I had another home project pending completion of the hill. He stated that he had another job nearby and could use the same team to get my job done quickly. However, in three days, Emmanuel basically showed up only to collect payment. He requested roughly half of the contract amount and only had workers come to my home roughly 2-3 hours on average in the four days they worked. The project began on 3/26/26, and since 3/31/26 no one has been at my property. I have asked repeatedly when our materials (i.e., concrete, wall blocks, rebar, etc) would be delivered, and Emmanuel has told us future dates, but we still have not received any materials.
Another red flag was when the owner of the bobcat Emmanuel was using came to my door to advise us that he needed payment for the rental. We advised him that we paid for the bobcat rental in an installment payment to the business, but he stated that he was taking the equipment back due to nonpayment. He also threatened a mechanic's lien due to nonpayment.
My yard is currently in shambles, full of dirt, debris, and broken sprinkler lines that this company damaged. I am out thousands of dollars because of Emmanuel and Vista Pro Scape Landscaping and Concrete. I must hire another company to finish the job, and am so disappointed. To my dismay, I also found lawsuits and judgments through public records from other clients that this company, and Emmanuel Martinez/ Valencia specifically, had harmed. Same story, they collected money, didn't finish the job, and then ghosted the people who hired them. I attached the URL links to the cases if anyone would like to read about the horrible practices of this company.
https://www.docketalarm.com/cases/California_State_San_Mateo_County_Superior_Court/24-SCS-00363/MARK_LEE_et_al_vs._JESUS_EMILIO_VALENCIA_et_al/
https://unicourt.com/case/ca-sj-silas-richardson-et-al-vs-jesus-emilio-valencia-et-al-628355
Lastly, I am deeply disappointed in Yelp for their response to this incident. I went with this company because they had Yelp Guarantee to submit a claim in the event a project is subpar, unfinished, or not to industry standard.
After I submitted the claim, Yelp stated, "While Vpro Concrete is now participating in the program, they were not participating when you initiated your messaging about your project. For that reason, your project is not covered, and we won't be able to issue a payout."
If this incident does not qualify for any type of protection, then I don't know what does. I attached pictures of how this business left my hill and the mess that they created. I don't want this to happen to anyone else. read more