TruGreen to Return $83,000 to Washington Customers

TruGreen, a national lawn and landscaping company, will return $83,000 to Washington consumers whose accounts it improperly debited, under an agreement reached with the state Attorney General's Office.

The state alleged the Memphis-based company improperly kept customers' credit balances, failed to adequately tell customers their lawn-care services were ongoing and failed to honor requests to cancel services.

"Honesty and transparency are integral to ethical business practices," Attorney General Rob McKenna said. "We are pleased that TruGreen has agreed to make the interests of Washington consumers a priority."

TruGreen denied any wrongdoing but agreed to refund the money that had been taken from customers from 2002 to 2005. A former company branch manager is alleged to have been responsible for over 1,700 separate cases in which the company swept up over $83,000.

The case appears to have originated in TruGreen's Spokane office. The agreement requires TruGreen to contact affected consumers at their last known addresses and either credit their existing TruGreen accounts or confirm their addresses so refund checks can be mailed.

Under terms of the agreement, the company must notify consumers that its services are continuous in nature, and obtain consent before renewing a previously canceled service.