AN ENDORSED AFFILIATE SITE OF HOMETIMEMEDIA

The following complaints regarding Sentricon* are some that have been submitted to Terminix - Consumer Alert! The information contained in the complaints is unverified. You can judge for yourself if you believe them, as I do.

? - 1/00 (C8-104/S-9).  After having a few companies come out to my house to give me estimates for termite control, I chose Terminix because of their name and their price was quite a bit lower. I was told by another company at the time their price was lower because I would never hear from them again after I had them install the Sentricon system.  They were right.  I wish I had listened. It’s been over a year, and they don’t come out and monitor the system like they promised. I was told they would come out every month.  I call their branch office every month. They tell me they only come when they feel it’s necessary. Now I know why they were $150 less on their yearly fee. Now I’m stuck with them because no other company can take over my system unless I start all over.  I only wish I had believed the gentleman that gave me the higher estimate.

Illinois - 2/00 (C8-108/S-10). Who do I write to in my area or at the national level regarding my dissatisfaction with Terminix employees, service, the “bait” system, and extensive damage to my home since the “bait” system was installed?

Michigan - 3/00 (C10-132/S-11).  I’ve had the Sentricon system in for one year now and there are no results.  The local Terminix manager has made many promises to no avail.  He doesn’t even show up when making appointments.

California - 3/00 (C10-133/S-12).  In July 1999, I purchased the Sentricon system for my new house. This is where the nightmare began. I chose to finance the system. The contract was lost for many months. In November 1999, they called us and asked us to sign another contract.  Since there would be issues with the warranty if I signed another, I refused.  I did offer to send them a copy of my contract, which I did. Month after month, the service person comes out to the house -- usually when we are at work.  They put comments on the Service/Inspection report, like the “gate is locked.” Well, yes, if they called first, we would make arrangements. Finally, last month, the representative (Jimmy) that came claimed to have checked all of the 19 stations at my home.  Seven of those are in my back yard, which is protected by a 10-foot fence and a 150-pound dog. He insisted that he did the work, and his supervisor, Frank Spiers, agreed.  They could not explain the Houdini trick, but insisted that he checked all the stations. Frank said that he could not explain how Jimmy got in the yard but agreed that, in the future, appointments need to be made. Today, I got home from work to find another “Gate Locked” slip on my door.  They checked 12 of the 19.  At this point, we have been lied to and our wishes ignored.

Update:  We filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. They told us there were lots of complaints in the Sacramento area. The manager of the local office assigned us our very own representative to check our Sentricon system.  That worked for one month.  We have not seen or heard from him in the last two months.  We wrote to the Terminix main office via the Internet and made a complaint.  We never got a response.  We called the local office, and they set up an appointment for June 15 at 1:00 p.m. He never showed up.  Finally, at 5:00 p.m. that day, we called the local office and told them not to come, we had another engagement.  These folks never learn.

New Jersey - 3/00 (C10-134/S-13).  Two years ago, we noticed swarmers coming out of the eaves of our newly-purchased home. Naturally, we called Terminix; but I wish I had seen this site before I made that mistake. The Sentricon system has been a $1,900 waste of money. We had swarmers again last year; and Terminix refused to do anything about it, saying they take up to 24 months to kill the nest. We just received our yearly renewal for $260 and feel trapped to a service that doesn’t work. This has been the biggest scam and rip-off.

Ohio - 5/00 (C13-149/S14). I also have had a terrible time with Terminix. Service tech rarely, if ever, the same. Scheduling is a nightmare. The tech tells me that he gets invoices and does what he is told. After numerous complaints to the home office, I have now written Terminix and doubt very seriously if anything is resolved.  I have the Sentricon system as well as “in house” monthly service. I am now told the Sentricon system will only be checked quarterly! I am in Ohio; and in the winter months, the canisters are under snow.  This service costs in excess of $400 per year. I do believe that checking this system a few times per year for over $100 per check is EXCESSIVE.  The canisters were active last year!  I, like you, believe in freedom of speech, and I applaud your efforts.  Someone has to point a finger at these companies that advertise one thing and do another.

Pennsylvania - 5/00 (C13-150/S-15).  I received the Terminix Sentricon bait system in January 2000.  I am very displeased with the service (or lack thereof) I have received from Terminix.  They were extremely expedient to come give me an estimate for the Sentricon system and just as fast in installing the system. I even got my payment book in the mail in record time. However, when it was time for my bait traps to be checked, and I was told this was to be done six weeks after the installation, it took almost four months of calls upon calls to get a technician to my house. The excuse I was given twice was that the branch office did not have my correct address, even though I called TWICE to correct the supposed mistake. On the other hand, I am expected to have the correct address to send my payment.  Once my address was “corrected,” I had to call two more times to get a technician to come to my home.  When one was sent, a message was left that “the customer was not home, another appointment must be rescheduled.”  I was previously told I need not be home for the traps to be checked since it did not involve entering my home.  I called and confirmed this.

Once again, I called and was told that the technician was a new employee and there was miscommunication as to what needed to be done. That same technician was sent to my home again, checked the traps, but left NO indication as to what was done, if there was termite activity, if bait had been replaced, etc.  I have contacted my branch office to acquire a refund and to have the traps removed IMMEDIATELY. Again, I’ve had to make two calls. No one ever called me, and I had to initiate contact AGAIN. Had I not made payments after the traps were installed, I most certainly would have heard from someone quickly.  I spoke with the branch manager today; and he informed me that he would have to review my file and the “facts” and see if we are “owed” a refund. I do not have confidence in Terminix, in what I am told by their representatives; therefore, I do not have confidence in the product I was sold.

Update -- I just received a call from the manager of the local Terminix branch.  (Surprise, surprise, I had to call him first.)  He has told me that I will be given a full refund upon receipt of a letter that I want my contract canceled and the Sentricon system removed.  However, my refund check will take up to five weeks to be sent. (I suppose I will not be paid any interest on that money while it is in limbo??!!)  I’ve definitely learned a good lesson...don’t always trust that a big name company will give you the service you deserve.  I will definitely do my research from now on before purchasing any type of product that is going to cost me a lot of money!

Tennessee - 5/00 (C13-151/S-16).  I had the Sentricon system installed about a month ago. My house is about six years old. The fee was $1,462.  The sales person was a likable guy who seemed to know what he was talking about, and I have no current reason to file a complaint (he may be a little absent minded).  However, my short experience to date may be useful to people contemplating the services of Terminix or similar company. The thing that really sold me on Terminix was that they have a “damage repair commitment” that effectively insures the house for $100,000 in the event that it becomes victim to termites.  However, this would only be effective after a written statement from Terminix certifying the house free of termites. I told the sales guy that his “guarantee” was useless unless they gave me the $100,000 guarantee prior to installation of the system. He told me that because I had a relatively new house and that he had just inspected it, he could modify the contract to make the $100,000 protection guarantee effective from the date of installation. (I was a little suspicious here because he had taken less than 10 minutes to inspect the outside of my brick house and about 5 minutes to inspect the basement.) I also told him I was not yet ready to pay the high price. He then told me that I could pay in four months “same as cash.” The Sentricon system was installed several days later. I told the technician that I would not sign the contract because the “damage repair commitment” had not been amended.  A few days later, the sales guy called to say he would deliver the amended contract to my work. He did not turn up.  Over the next two to three weeks, I received two statements requesting payment in full which I ignored. A few days ago, the sales guy called me to apologize for not getting the amended contract to me and he would bring it to me the next day. He also suggested that I give him the check at the same time.  I reminded him that I had four months to pay and I would not be available to see him at that time. He then said he would leave it in my mail box “tomorrow.”  Two days later, I received the contract along with a COD note for $1,462. The contract was in its original state with no amendments. I called the office today, explained that I will not make any payment until I have the amended contract. The sales guy apologized and said he forgot to attach the amendment and he will deliver it this coming Monday.  I was now getting very suspicious and decided to search the net for consumer reports on Terminix.

Texas - 5/00. Sentricon Highlights outlines another Sentricon customer’s experiences with the system installed by a company other than Terminix.

Arizona - 5/00 (C13-152/S-17).  In an effort to limit my loss of $1400 from my first year’s Sentricon protection, I will not be renewing my account. The quality of customer service, from the moment I purchased the system to the end of the contract year, has been unacceptable.

Initially, a “system glitch” lost my first payment between the branch and ServiceMaster. I made a payment to the local branch before ServiceMaster had opened an account for me. When I responded to a delinquent payment notice from ServiceMaster, I was referred to the local branch where I sent the payment. Rhonda, the bookkeeper for residential termite abatement department, sent me back to ServiceMaster after declining my request for her to call ServiceMaster herself, saying there was nothing she could do to help me. During that first conversation, I said “Terminix’s product is SERVICE” but was told that my lost payment issue was between ServiceMaster and myself.

After ServiceMaster maintained the problem was between the branch and me, and another round of calls, Rhonda requested a copy of my canceled check.  I obtained a copy from my bank and promptly faxed it to her and mailed it to her.  For whatever reason, neither copy arrived; and over the course of a two-month period, I faxed it to her twice more.  Eventually, she said she was unable to determine which of two Terminix banks cashed my check and sent me to my bank to make that determination.  When I asked to speak with the branch manager, she represented herself as “the manager.”

After making a trip to my bank, having lost my patience and becoming angrily confrontational, Rhonda finally transferred me to “the branch manager.” After which, a single call from the branch to ServiceMaster resolved the problem in less than five minutes -- an intervention I requested initially but was told could not be done on my behalf!

As far as the inspection of the bait stations goes, there were several months inspections in which the bait stations behind the back fence (about 70% of all stations) had NO physical evidence they were and completed in improbably brief timeframes.  Four stations in the front yard are still waiting to be reinstalled as promised after having been moved for landscaping less than two months into the contract year.

The final months of this contract, a different technician showed up each month, none of whom had any record of previous activity or even a schemata of station placement. During the last three visits, I personally accompanied the technicians station-to-station, pointing out the placement and was astonished at their inability to locate the stations without my assistance.

From start to finish, the service has been deplorable. The $1400 the first year has been a waste of money.  This has been a painful lesson that even a nationally-franchised company like Terminix can misrepresent services and price-gouge consumers.  I go on record, adding my account of inferior, over-priced service, to the growing collection of similar experiences with Terminix.

Texas - 8/00 (C15-171/S18). I bought my house in April 1999, with an active termite contract from a local company; and I renewed it when it came due in July of 1999. They were bought out by Terminix early this year; and when I called in February to report swarms of termites in my house, a man from Terminix came out, told me they no longer sprayed, but would only sell me the Sentricon system.  I told him I had a contract already; but when he called his office, they couldn’t find a record of it.  I bought the Sentricon system; and two months later, got a letter from Terminix wanting me to renew the contract for subterranean termites that they couldn’t find when they persuaded me to buy the Sentricon.

A couple of weeks ago, I noticed termites in my house, called to complain, and had a “manager” come out to inspect. He said every station had fire ants in them and that was why they kept reporting no termite activity in the bait stations.  None of the techs had mentioned this, just kept leaving papers stating “No Termite Activity.”  This past weekend, I got a letter from Terminix stating that they would only come out once a quarter now, because they had “eliminated” the termite colony!!!  I called the only other exterminator left in town, they came out, found active termites, and are going to come back and spray.  I called Terminix to complain and asked for a refund this morning and got nothing but more lies. In my opinion, they are crooks and need to be stopped.

Sentricon Complaints Pages:
1   2   3   4   5