Avoid Nigel the gardener at all costs. He is untrustworthy and leaves very shoddy work.

[darluthier]

I used Nigel the gardener via this forum. And I really, really wish I hadn't. PLEASE, PLEASE BEWARE!! Before I go any further I feel it is very important to point out that I was actually a professional gardener for 8 years, but unfortunately now I just don't have the time for my own gardening as I run a much more successful and lucrative business. I see positive feed back on here for Nigel, but it utterly discombobulates me as to how this can be possible?! Maybe it is because about 70% are posts by himself, and people feel there in no anonymity and therefore they shall be too personal to complain? Also, at this stage, I shall state that everything in this statement is the absolute truth.

Unfortunately I had Nigel and his team of young lads maintain my garden twice. The first time they did very little in the 2 hours that all three of them were here, and what they did do actually quite upset me as it was very shoddy and they totally destroyed my honeysuckle in the front garden - which is now dead! The honeysuckle had been growing like a privet hedge, in a rectangular shape, but after they had finished with it it looked like a horizontal pear with a siamese twin! The edgings around the lawns looked as though they has been gnawed-out with a corrugated spade, and the excess earth and turf from them was just strewn all over the beds. However, I really, really wish this were my only gripe!

As I had struggled to get anyone else to even come to see the job - I guess everyone else was/is just too busy - I was forced to use Nigel again. Sadly it was my partner who had been the one that paid him and saw them finish the 1st job, she just doesn't know anything about gardening unfortunately. And as we were struggling with time and I knew I'd have to get someone in, I thought I'd give Nigel a second chance before complaining about the 1st job, but now I just wish I had trusted my instincts. I had left keys for Nigel this 2nd time, I was very reluctant to do so as I really wanted to oversee the work, but sadly circumstances got in the way; so, anyway, on my return that evening, I noticed that my motorcycle covers had been partially lifted. I had told Nigel previously, to the point where he had to stop me and say, "It's ok, you really won't have to move your bikes", that I was concerned for my motorcycles. I had assured Nigel it would not be a problem to move my prize, collectors motorcycles for them to gain access more easily. He insisted they could lift everything over them. Well, when you view the attached pictures you will see what they did to my prize possession in life. It took me 3 years of searching the world to find this bike, and it is very valuable, sentimentally and in a monetary sense. I told Nigel and showed him the damage, then he said it would have been the lads and he agreed to pay for the damage. Inevitably a drama ensued. A very long story short: he had actually just left his lads on their own to do the job, they denied it, and he has now bumped-me-off and totally ignored me despite me telling him I would post complaints on the internet. The damage cost ?257.73. He had told me he had insurance but then informed me that his excess was ?250.00, so he'd just pay for it himself. I have tried on several occasions to let him rectify this issue, he procrastinated several times, but has now just completely and utterly ignored me for the past 10 days. I feel it is also very, very important to let everyone know here that he just used my terrible Flymo mower to cut the grass, which I know takes 2 hours in its self as it is terrible. The very reason I called in a pro is to use pro tool, so the rest of the 2 hours can be spent on the rest of the garden!! The tools the lads used were left for Nigel to collect when he came for payment on this 2nd visit, after the damage was done - they consisted of a sweeping brush, an extension lead and a "shovel", which was absolutely covered in 1 inch of concrete - no exaggeration, really! They turned-up in a hire van, and he told me his mower was broken. That's just amateur! The lads didn't even put my mower and tools away after they had used them! Nigel is an amateur gardener, with even more amateur lads, who are dishonest and disrespectful. DO NOT RISK USING THEM FOR YOUR OWN SAKE!! I am now having to fork-out ?257.73 to get my bike back on the road.