Scotts offering refunds for damaged SC lawns

Scotts is offering refunds to South Carolinians for a pair of its grass-care products that damaged some lawns this spring.

Scotts pulled two products – Turf Builder Bonus S Southern Weed and Feed, and Snap Southern Weed and Feed – in several states after reports that they damaged lawns. The company said it has replaced them with fertilizers made from the original formula after marketing a new mixture this spring.

Scotts said it has received reports about damaged lawns in South Carolina, Louisiana, Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, Georgia and North Carolina.

The Columbia and Greenville areas experienced only a fraction of the problems users of the two Scotts lawn products in the Charleston region experienced, the company said Tuesday.

Several hundred Charleston users reported damaged or dead lawns after putting down the new formula of the two Scotts products.

Scotts said a few dozen customers in the Columbia area sent alerts about problems since mid-May after the company released a consumer notice. A few complaints have been reported in Greenville

The biggest impact seems to be confined to centipede grasses, which are common in the Charleston area, said Jim King, a Scotts Miracle-Gro Co. spokesman.

“The issue seems to be centered around two very, very targeted geographies – one in Charleston and the other in Louisiana,” King said. “We’re still trying to get to the bottom of the problem.”

Scotts suggests customers who purchased the new formula fertilizers not to use them and contact the company for a refund. Pictures showing the different bags of the products are on the Scotts website.

The company also has set up a telephone hot line at (877) 309-9560 to address concerns about the two products that caused problems this spring.

This story was originally published June 9, 2015 at 8:07 PM with the headline "Scotts offering refunds for damaged SC lawns."