To think that 800 pounds to cut down a small tree is extortionate?

[Cappuccinowithonesugarplease]

I will add some context here
My elderly uncle has been scammed by a wood chip company who cold called him saying his cherry tree was diseased, it's in the back garden, so they must have been peering over the fence to see 😡
Now, my uncle we believe has some form of autism although it's never been diagnosed, which makes him very trusting of anybody who is smooth talking and sounds plausible. Anyway he let this nobody in to do the job, he says he wanted the tree done at some point anyway, but I can get my head around 800 pounds?
The worst thing is he didn't even get a bloody receipt! The company isn't even a tree surgery company it's a woodchip and landscape gardening company.
I doubt anything can be done now but I'm so angry at this cold caller and any trades people for that matter who are so low they think it's OK to rip off vulnerable old people 😡

Paid £400 a year a go to have a cherry tree cut down. A silver birch removed and another tree trimmed back.

I thought that was expensive at the time as it only took the single guy about 3 hours or so, although he did have to cart off two loads of wood. No rich persons house premium and location was the midlands.

Was pleased with the outcome though - all happened successfully.

I'd expect something in the region of £400. Did they actually take the stump out?

I had someone quote £10,500 to put a roof on a pergola. Couldn't work out whether that was "I really don't want this job" or the fact that I look about 85.

Quite a common scam. My mum was targeted except that in her case, they entered her garden without asking, chopped down the trees and then demanded the money. She was living alone with early stage dementia. She mistakenly gave them a paying in slip, thinking it was a cheque so they didn’t manage to get any money from her but very frightening.

I paid £600 for 3 trees, 5 shrubs all chipped and taken away

Oh and stumps all removed!

That’s horrendous. Hope your Mum is ok

It was obviously a scam and a healthy tree, people seem to be missing that.

More people need to warn their loved ones about it.

No reputable tree surgeons are wasting their time driving around looking in elderly people's back gardens for work, they have no problem getting jobs or referrals in the usual ways from actual customers who want the work done.

They will no doubt have sold the wood for an overpriced amount and made money on that too.