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A HOMEOWNER was left devastated after spending her life savings on fake grass to rid her garden of weeds – only for it not to work.
Hazel Roe, 74, splashed £7,000 on an artificial lawn after claiming she was promised it would stop a rampant mare’s tail weed plaguing her garden.
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The keen gardener, from Darlington, County Durham, is no longer able to care for her huge lawn herself and thought the revamp would be a “maintenance-free” solution.
She said a fake turf company, EasiGrass, assured her the alternative would stop any new weeds growing through.
But just months after another company, Artificial Grass North East, installed it, the weeds ripped through the material – leaving Hazel devastated.
“I feel very, very upset and emotional,” she told the Sun Online.
“In August last year I had a representative come out from artificial turf company EasiGrass.
“He came up and measured everything and I said because we had this particular weed in the garden, I said, ‘will this weed come through the artificial turf?’ and he said ‘no’.”
“They came in January to do it and in April, this weed started to come through. Now in August it has taken over the garden again.
“I used my lifetime savings, it cost me £7,000 and it’s just a mess.”
Hazel, who suffers from a heart and lung condition, said the lawn looked “beautiful” at first and she was “over the moon” with the results.
But the turf is now awash with knee-high weeds lining the path which runs through it and patches are bursting sporadically through the greenery.
Hazel said: “I did phone in April and ask for somebody to come out and he said what you need to do, as soon as this weed comes through, is pull it out.
“My health issues don’t allow me to do that. I phoned again and somebody came out and he said spray it with weed killer. I haven’t heard from him again since.
“The weed killer hasn’t killed the weeds.”
Hazel said she has sent multiple emails to EasiGrass, but she has had little response.
I know mare’s tail is difficult to get rid of but if they had said to me there’s a chance of it coming through, I would not have gone ahead.
Hazel Roe
To make matters worse, she has been given quotes of £5,500 and £11,000 to fix the issue – and is considering moving house if she can’t find a cheaper solution.
Hazel added: “I know mare’s tail is difficult to get rid of but if they had said to me there’s a chance of it coming through, I would not have gone ahead.
“There’s no way. If you can just compare the pictures that were taken when it was finished and what it was like today, I’m just heartbroken.”
A spokesperson for EasiGrass told The Sun Hazel’s contract was with Artificial Grass North East, adding they are not responsible for the installation which is done by independent companies or third parties.
They added: “With all artificial grass, it requires low maintenance, which involves clearing any debris/vegetation which can lead to airborne spores germinating and resulting in surface weeds growing.”
A spokesperson for Artificial Grass North East, said: “Artificial Grass North East was an Easigrass franchise at the time of the order and installation.
“We are aware of the issue Hazel Roe has. Mare’s tail is not covered under the terms of the warranty along with a number of invasive weeds.
“We have as it happens visited the property several times free of charge to assist in trying to keep it cut down and weed killed – the latest was approximately four weeks ago but it will need a professional to look at the issue.”
They added: “If Hazel has been emailing us, we have not received any email from her since January 4 regarding her installation date.
“On one of the occasions when we visited the property it was explained to Hazel that she had a problem with mares tail and that she needed to seek professional advice on this. Hazel subsequently signed a declaration stating that she was happy with the outcome of our visit and with the advice that we had given.
“She may have been emailing an EasiGrass address but nothing has been forwarded to us. Although with our most recent visit being approximately four weeks ago I wouldn’t imagine she would have tried to contact us too many times since then.”
Hazel said the last time somebody visited her was on June 16 with weed killer – she said she did not receive a visit four weeks ago.
She also denied signing any declaration other than when the grass was initially installed to say she was pleased with the result – before the knew the weeds would come through.
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