Little refund, big frustration ends for Oceanside homeowners

For an Oceanside couple, a long-awaited refund is finally in hand after months of frustration over a landscaping project.

Thomas Marino and Suzanne Cooper say they paid more than $9,000 to Moon Valley Nurseries to plant dozens of flowers around their new home, including bougainvilleas and jasmine.

Thomas Marino and Suzanne Cooper from Oceanside describe their landscaping makeover for their new home.

“They just came in there,” Marino said. “Everybody’s digging holes at the same time, and they’re all doing their stuff. They put it all in. They were in and out of here in less than an hour.”

While they were happy with the work itself, they said they were overcharged for plants they never received.

Owed refund

They were billed for 65 jasmine plants, but only needed and received 61.

“The installer went back over there and said, ‘Yep, 61,’ and the guy goes, ‘OK, no problem. Since she paid by check, it’ll take us about 30 days to get your refund,’ like, no problem,” Marino said, adding they were fine with waiting a month to get their $300 back.

It took less than an hour to plant 61 jasmine plants in the ground, but that was four short of the 65 Marino and Cooper paid for.

Frustration takes root

The money never arrived, however.

Weeks turned into months, the couple said, despite repeated calls and text messages from the company promising payment, until they eventually stopped receiving responses altogether.

“It started to feel personal because I wasn’t getting anything,” Marino said, adding that his wife suggested reaching out for help.

“She’s like, ‘You know, you gotta call that guy. What’s his name? The NBC guy?” Marino said, amused by how she couldn’t remember the name.

“Sergio! He could help us!” Cooper quickly interjected with a laugh.

NBC 7 Responds intervenes

NBC 7 Responds contacted Moon Valley Nurseries several times to ask about the delay.

The company sent us the following statement –

“Providing an exceptional customer experience is one of our top priorities. We fell short here and have since come to a resolution with the customer. We are always looking for ways to improve and will use this as an opportunity to refine our refund process.”

The resolution? The refund check was sent a week after NBC 7 Responds contacted the company.

“He sent me a picture of it, and I thought, ‘You’re lying.’ ” Cooper said. “I couldn’t believe it. And he opened it up. I’m so happy.”

“And then I said, ‘No, it can’t be the NBC people,’” Marino added, surprised by how quickly the issue was resolved once NBC 7 Responds got involved.

While the refund amount was relatively small, the couple said the issue became huge on principle.

Now, they can turn their attention back to their garden — and their plans to line their fence with blooming jasmine.

“We’re going to cover the fence with jasmine,” Marino said. “I’ve had jasmine before, and it blooms, and it smells real nice, and it grows pretty quick and relatively cheap.”

This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC San Diego. AI tools helped convert the story to a digital article, and an NBC San Diego journalist edited the article for publication.

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