A week after the state farm issued a “Tree Service” warning for its customers, state officials are seeking to put a stop to it.
State Farm spokesman Steve Kallstrom said in an email to customers on Monday that the company has “received numerous reports of this type of service occurring on some of our properties.”
The company also said it will work with state regulators to identify the “root cause” of the problem.
State Agriculture Commissioner Ravi Bhadrakar, however, said Monday that he would like to see a “clear message” from the company that “Tree Services are not acceptable on our properties” and would “work to find a solution to this problem.”
State Farm did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In an email Monday to customers, Kallquist said “a customer’s call for Tree Service should be treated with respect and not a signal to stop or delay a purchase.”
Kallstrom told The Times that State Farm will “continue to work with regulators and law enforcement officials to ensure that the Tree Service issue is resolved as quickly as possible.”
The state is also investigating whether the company violated the terms of its contract with customers by continuing to call out the company for the “tree service” scam.
The state agriculture department issued a warning to customers this week after a state inspection found that some of the state’s tree service operations were not up to par.
In addition to the state tree service, there are other tree services that are supposed to be installed and maintained by a contractor, such as a service from a contractor to help a home’s natural water system.
State agencies and businesses have faced complaints from customers since 2012 about the “Tree service” complaints.
State officials said that the companies should have removed the “service” warnings from their websites within 24 hours.
