By Debbie Kerr

A DISABLED Dundee woman says a local landscape gardener has made her wait over three months to complete the upgrading of her garden, despite being paid almost £3000 for the job.

Susan Charlton employed the man—who only ever identified himself as Harry—as a garden handyman after responding to an advert that offered garden maintenance to customers including, greenery shaping and removal, fencing, gravel work and rubbish removal.

After accepting a quote for £2800, Mrs Charlton and husband David agreed that the gardener would undertake the refurbishment at their home in William Fitzgerald Way, which included laying turf, erecting a fence and gate and the positioning of decorative stones.

However, despite the job being started at the beginning of May, the family are still waiting for the garden to be completed.

As Mrs Charlton is in full-time employment, she elected to pay the gardener the full cash sum one day ahead of the day he was due to finish the job.

She is now frustrated that she and her family have been left with an unfinished garden.

Mrs Charlton, who suffers from cerebral palsy, is not only angry that the work she paid for has still not been finished but she is also concerned that the garden has been left unsafe.

She said, “They have put the fence up but have just put a string over the top without finishing it. No stones have been put down at all, and the gate posts have been put up but they haven’t even attempted to make an actual gate.

“It’s been a nightmare— I’m not the most steady on my feet anyway and the garden is just a mess.

“I signed the contract for the work to be done with the quote for £2800.

“I know I shouldn’t have done it but I ended up paying the cash a day early because I would be at work the day they were supposed to finish the job, and I wouldn’t have been there to pay him on time,” she continued.

“The next day no one turned up to finish the garden, and my husband and I have been calling and sending them letters since.

“He did turn up one day but only to leave a ladder, and left again without doing anything.

“We even went to trading standards to see what to do and they advised us to send a letter by recorded delivery requesting the completion of work.

“Unfortunately, that didn’t work either as the letter was returned to us.”

As recently as yesterday the advert promoting the garden maintenance service lists a contact address by Dundee, but further investigation by The Courier revealed that the address is actually home to a removal company in Carnoustie.

Mrs Charlton fears that it may have been her medical condition that prompted the gardener’s actions, and hopes that she can warn others of her bad experience.

She said, “I shouldn’t have paid the money early but I totally trusted him. It would probably only take them one more day to complete, but they have just left us in the lurch.

“We were happy with the turf they put down in the back garden and we have given them ample time to finish the job—it’s been over three months.

Despite numerous attempts by The Courier yesterday and last night to contact the gardener on his advertised number, he did not answer his phone.