TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Allen Willingham, owner of Allen’s Tree Works, has been in the tree business for decades. But for the first time ever, he says a commercial client hasn’t paid him.

“Each time I go back, ‘We’re working on it. We should have your check pretty soon,’ Willingham said. “Then all of a sudden the woman I was dealing with is no longer there.”

Back in June, Willingham’s company completed a $19,200 job at Lexington Club Apartments in Clearwater. He said he and his five-person crew worked three days in blistering heat to trim more than 80 trees and remove 17 trees. Other trees were trimmed and lifted.

He said he was told to expect payment in July but he hasn’t seen a cent.

“I did the job,” Willingham said. “They were very, very pleased too. Very pleased. And even some of the tenants were out there when we were doing the job and they were amazed at how we performed our work.”

Consumer Investigator Shannon Behnken went to the complex looking for answers and was told the property management company, Cushman & Walkfield, was responsible for making payment. A spokesman from that company returned an email to say “no comment.”

However, a representative from the local office said the payment fell through the cracks and the check is in the mail.

Meanwhile, Better Call Behnken also reached out to the property owner, Lincoln Avenue Capital, based in Santa Monica, California, and is continuing to press for answers for the tree company.