A Florida homeowner has proved the value of surveillance with a public apology and a refund from his garden maintenance company.

Surveillance is often thought of as a national security issue, but video surveillance evidence has helped in a huge number of civil actions and even social media campaigns that have caught thieving carers red-handed, identified vandals, located dognappers and more. Video, in combination with a world connected through social media, has proved to be a powerful asset to many homeowners and businesses.

Rich Kleber, in Weeki Wachee, is the latest to prove the value of keeping an eye on your property when he returned from a week away to find a sign from TruGreen stating that his lawn had been serviced. Kleber’s home surveillance, however, showed that the employee simply walked around the property and sat in his truck for a while, when he was meant to be servicing the lawn and spraying pesticides.

The story has gone viral and reached these shores after Kleber posted his findings to Facebook. After the video received 20,000 views and a huge amount of negative publicity, TruGreen contacted Kleber directly and offered a refund. With 2 million customers around the US, TruGreen simply could not afford to have this kind of negative publicity and has taken immediate action to dismiss the employee and make a gesture to Kleber. 

Until the video went on Facebook, though, Kleber claims that TruGreen simply did not accept his version of events and then tried to claim the employee was a seasonal, casual hand. In fact, he had worked at the company for 16 years.

It’s yet another example of the power of solid surveillance video and shows that surveillance can be employed at any level to monitor the population of a country through to the most menial task. In the event of a dispute, it’s much more difficult to argue against video evidence and that’s why many homeowners and small businesses are investing in advanced systems to make sure they have a record of everything that happens within their four walls, and just outside.