Reon Suddaby
Two Hawke's Bay companies have offered to help out Havelock North man Jack Kane, the victim of a tree-felling debacle. Mr Kane was left $3700 out of pocket after having a tree on his property trimmed by Steve's Tree Service almost two weeks ago.
The man working for Steve's
Tree Service, Steve Phonga, turned up at Mr Kane's property unsolicited, insisting he had visited earlier.
Neither Mr Kane nor his wife Sue could recall meeting Mr Phonga.
After completing 12 hours' work on a pine tree on Mr Kane's property, Mr Phonga charged $3700 and insisted on a cash cheque.
Feeling pressured, Mr Kane wrote out the cheque, which was cashed within 10 minutes.
Mr Kane has not seen Mr Phonga since, despite the job being only half-completed, with severed tree branches left on his property.
Mr Phonga refused to answer questions put to him by Hawke's Bay Today.
Today Stuart Drew, the Hawke's Bay regional manager for Hirequip, offered free use of the company's equipment, including cherry pickers and chainsaws, to clean up the mess.
Mr Drew said he was keen to help Mr Kane after reading of his plight in Hawke's Bay Today.
"It was a pretty crappy thing they did to him."
Mr Drew said he knew of several incidents in which people had been ripped off by bogus tree-fellers.
Professional Silviculturalists and Garden Maintenance owner Darcy Kitchin said he knew of Steve's Tree Services, and took exception to the way they got work by pressuring people.
Mr Kitchin had offered to finish the work at Mr Kane's property, free of charge.
Mr Kane said the offer from the two companies was "very good" and said he had been inundated during the weekend with phone calls, with most people offering support.
One man, whom Mr Kane had never met, rang yesterday before travelling to Mr Kane's property, and cutting and removing some of the leftover logs.
