Tree service companies price gouged customers after severe weather, Michigan AG says
Despite devastation from last week's tornado touchdown, Gaylord is still open for business and tourism
The local economy of Gaylord not only needs support to help with storm clean-up, but small businesses, hotels, golf courses, still need the commerce support as well from tourism. www.gaylordmichigan.net www.otsegofoundation.org
(FOX 2) - A Florida-based company is accused of leading a "group of storm chasing tree service" businesses that deceived customers in Michigan after being victimized by severe weather and hazardous storms in 2021 and 2022.
The business Canary Date Sculpting, which was known as Canary Tree Service, violated Michigan's consumer protection act while working in Oakland and Washtenaw County while doing work in 2021, the attorney general alleged in a new lawsuit.
The company also exploited a resident in Gaylord after a tornado tore through the northern Michigan town, carving a path of destruction in the process.
Dana Nessel said Canary Tree Service recruited two other contractors from Mississippi and Kentucky, as well as a firm out of Michigan, to do storm clean-up work after weather emergencies caused property damage.
In the suit, she accuses Canary Tree Service, Garrison McKinney Tree, Bridge Service, LLC, and Holtslander and Sons Tree Service, LLC, of price gouging customers. They also misled people about their legal rights and what would be covered by insurance, Nessel's office said.
"After major storms, bad actors take advantage of vulnerable residents desperate to repair damage to their homes and clean up debris," Nessel said.
Anyone who has done work with the following companies and believes they were unfairly treated, they're encouraged to contact the department's Consumer Protection Team at (517) 335-7599.
Paralyzed Gaylord tornado survivor credits U-M Health for his recovery
"I turned around to warn my son to brace for something, and I had a tree come through my house. Next thing I know I was being sucked out of the house through a wall," he said.