How many complaints against Terminix have been filed in Mississippi? How does the State of Mississippi rate as a public agency in providing information to the public and/or in their own knowledge of the pest control companies that spray toxic chemicals in homes?

The following questions were asked in an e-mail letter December 12, 1998, to the State of Mississippi Attorney General’s Office. On December 15, 1998, the answers shown below were provided in a letter from Terrie Ainsworth:

• What is the name and address of Mississippi’s pest inspection/pest control licensing and regulating agency?
   

Spraying for household pests falls under:

MS Department of Environmental Quality
P.O. Box 20305
Jackson, MS  39289-1305
Phone (601) 961-5171
 

• How many years does Mississippi’s licensing and regulating agency maintain records of complaints against pest control/pest inspection companies?
   

Unanswered
 

• How many Terminix branches are currently operating in Mississippi? (My records, taken from the Yellow Pages on the Internet, indicate there are currently 12 Terminix, aka Terminix International, aka Terminix Pest and Termite Protection branches operating in Mississippi.)
   

Unanswered.
 

• How many complaints, if any, have been filed in Mississippi against Terminix International (and its aka’s); including the nature of the complaints, name and location of Terminix branch involved; and disposition of complaints (dismissed, settled, fine, suspended or revoked license, probation, etc.)?


The Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division received two complaints against separate Terminix branches in 1998 and none in 1997. One complaint was filed in July 1988 against the Jackson branch. The case involved incomplete service for a termite treatment and was closed when the response from the company was mailed to the consumer and the consumer failed to reply back to our office.

A second complaint was received on November 24 and is still an active case.  Filed against the Pascagoula Branch, the consumer was requesting a $5.89 refund because he felt the increase in service fees from 1997 to 1998 was more than it should have been.

On February 24, 1999, I sent a letter asking the same questions as above to the MS Department of Environmental Quality.  To this date, I am awaiting their response.