...to feel uncomfortable about paying upfront

[ohime]

Dear collective wisdom, please tell me if you would pay upfront for this? and apologies that this is a fairly boring one - it's just rather a lot of money.

I've contacted a garden designer in my area about creating a planting plan for the garden where I live. (It's not even my own garden, I'm doing it for my landlord who's also a friend, so if money is lost it will be their money but my fault - thus, perhaps, the excess of caution!) The garden designer's business model is apparently that one purchases a 'plan' that includes an evaluation and a deliverable, costed based on the size of your garden, before they do any work at all, including coming by to see the garden and discuss your needs.

I've only paid upfront for garden work once, many years ago, and that person promptly disappeared without doing the work. The garden designer seems to think I'll be comfortable paying quite a lot, sight unseen. Granted, they do seem to be legit and who they say they are, if you believe LinkedIn, and they do seem to have 30 years of gardening experience etc (LinkedIn again), and they do give their business address on their website... The only red flags are that I can't find any reviews of their work - they have a portfolio on their website, but those images could be from anywhere - and the request to pay upfront.

So... Has anyone actually used a garden designer and is this how they all work? The designer in question also offers their entire service via video, meaning you'd never meet at all, so perhaps this is simply how business is done now and I'm just being paranoid??

We lost about £10,000 this way. He moved to Canada.

Don't pay up front!

No way. They need to do soil tests, see where the shade it etc. they need to be in the garden, not in poxy Zoom. Talk to local nurseries to get a recommendation or the RHS

There is no way I would do this , if they need money for materials then pay for those directly with the suppliers and have them delivered to you

No reviews is of serious concerns with that experience. Be very cautious. I wouldn't pay up front in your situation.

Sounds like a scam - you'd be better off finding a local landscaper etc

Ask to visit two previous customers.

Noooo!!! A deposit for materials or a small fee for some proper drawings to be done is fair play, but full payment upfront absolutely no chance.

Why would they not come to see the garden if they are in your area? Surely they need to understand shade, soil, existing plants, chat about what you want etc. My experience is they spend ages on that bit. Can't see how video would cut it.

Get someone else.
The most I'd do would be a deposit and then staged payments.
All clearly documented.
And make sure you know the legal entity you are dealing with.
Ask them are they a sole trader.
Or a partnership.
Or a limited company.

Eek, it seems there's consensus already. Thank you all. I certainly didn't feel comfortable, but thought perhaps Covid had changed the way things work...

Sorry, more detail which I should have included:

They are scheduled to come by on Thursday to see the garden and have a chat, as I did not select the video option. (If their business address is correct, they're 30 minutes from here.)

Apparently the site visit is not a precursor to giving a quote though. An email containing the quote - almost certainly based on a Google Earth survey of the property - arrived today, with a link to pay now and the implication that the site visit is part of the package... which I would be purchasing on faith from someone with no reviews...

Find another designer.

Omg don’t do it.

Not a chance.
Experience has taught me to be so suspicious.

Wouldn't dream of having ANYONE on my property that hasn't been highly recommended to me by someone I trust.

Ask around for a recommendation.
Don't take this job on if you can't find one..

Utterly thankless task.

My OH is an architect. He does the occasional job outside his firm. He will do a meeting, a bit of a concept and a follow-up meeting before charging.

Ask for references of at least 2 former clients that you can visit and see their garden - that should be straightforward and if it isn't, I wouldn't be parting with any money!

Get AI to do it in various styles - ask landlord which they prefer. Scop out more designers with their reviews. Get an all inclusive price. Don't pay upfront.

Nope. Dont do it. There’s something fishy here.

Don’t pay up front & cancel the appointment

This email could be interpreted as you accepting their terms of business

You've got 'garden designer' and 'landscape gardener' mixed up.

A garden designer will create a garden design for you. The design artwork itself is what costs you the money. They want paying for the work they have done in creating the design.

A landscape gardener will ask you what you want, scribble something on the back of a fag packet, and then cost it up, agree a price with you and set about building the thing.

Totally different animals.

@ohime Whereabouts in the country are you?

New Forest-ish...

Update: I wrote to the designer cancelling the appointment as I wasn't comfortable paying up front. Surprisingly, they wrote back and said they're happy to handle payment however I'm comfortable - so we've worked it out, and they're coming by to see the garden and have a chat before I decide whether to hire them. So I've gone from thinking 'potentially a scammer' to thinking 'potentially doesn't know what they're doing, and I'm perhaps their first customer??' - but it's an improvement, I think.

@thatsawhopperthatlemon I did indeed mean to engage a garden designer to produce a planting plan, rather than a landscaper as I'm aiming to do much of that work myself, she said optimistically. I can dig holes and hammer stuff, but I know next to nothing about plants or plant maintenance and it would take me forever to learn. (I'm from the rural US, where 'garden' means you're growing vegetables. US country people don't have gardens, they have back yards - which are just expanses of grass carved out of the surrounding woodland, and the only care they require is mowing once in a while. Where I'm from, plants either grow however they grow without human interference, or someone cuts them down to make way for buildings or agriculture - so there isn't much call to learn how to cultivate them :)

Suggest find someone local who has had garden work done & get some local recommendations

My friend had some major work done by a very local builder/gardener (this means that you are not paying for their travel & staying overnight)

The same builder/gardener came round & provided me with a quote
We agreed on the work & price
Builder provided timescale to do the work
Work half carried out & I paid half
Work completed, I paid full amount
Job completed everyone 😊 happy