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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.
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Pennsylvania - 2/01 (C21-213/S-25). After paying $2,000+ for the Terminix services upon finding a swarm in our basement, they sprung into action in April 2000 with monitoring stations outside the house. When no activity was reported by July, my wife wrote a letter questioning their not doing anything inside where the swarm was found. They responded with, “It is common to go as many as six months with no outside activity.” Also, they did not check the stations every month as promised in their contract. When I pointed that out, they said they were having some staffing problems. In January, we received a bill for the renewal of services even though we had paid up front for three years. As of now, I have informed them of my dissatisfaction and am asking for a refund, explaining that if I bring another service in and they find termites in my basement, I am going to hold Terminix responsible.
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California - 2/01 (C21-214/S-26). I am currently a Sentricon customer in the middle of a second year extension of my service contract and have had four months of trap checks with no termite activity after having reported activity every month for over a year. My big beef is that I can’t find out from Terminix whether this means anything or not as I have had several phone calls go unreturned. Then, after deciding to contact the company’s home office, I became very frustrated when I continued to run into roadblocks when all I wanted to do was talk to someone about my issues. I finally e-mailed Terminix and received an e-mail back stating that I would be receiving a call from a local representative within 48 hours. Of course, it was the “local representative” whom I couldn’t get to return a phone call in the first place. Needless to say, that was months ago; and no one has called yet.
Hands down, the absolute worst customer service I have ever received from a supposedly reputable company. They’ll send someone on the front end that will glad-hand you and answer every question you could possibly imagine; but, man, try to get some follow-up service and you can flat out forget it. Absolutely ridiculous. I angst over using them in the first place and am way sorry I did. I will never, ever use Terminix again.
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Missouri - 3/01 (C21-217/S-27). We had Terminix treat our home in 1995. Then they charged us $110 a year but never came to inspect. After three years, it went up to $126. We asked the salesman why it kept going up; and he said, “We want to get you to drop your coverage, as now you get repair costs.” We did drop it in 1999, as their annual inspections were every two or three years. Now, the termites have returned (or never left), and they came out with a $1,100 charge for Sentricon and would not spray for under $1,500. As that contract states, “In some circumstances the Terminix Termite Baiting System may not eliminate or control the termite colony.” After reading your web site, we decided to pass up on this offer and hire a local person to drill and spray for one-third the cost.
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New Jersey - 3/01 (C21-219/S-28). I have had a contract for the Sentricon system and have not received any service from Terminix. They come by, leave an invoice, but have done nothing to help with the termite situation. In fact, my situation is much worse. Now, they are swarming in the house, so much for bait traps, which I don’t think they even did. I have requested them to remove their traps from my property, or I will. I have contacted corporate Terminix with no results. Have contacted local company with no results. They are the worst company to do business with, and I would not recommend them to anyone. The worker advised me that there is no proof that this system even works. I think some kind of action should be taken to stop them from misrepresentation of products and service; because there is no service, and the product doesn’t work if the service isn’t there.
Web mistress note: Based on what I’ve heard from others, I agree with the worker who advised this person “there is no proof that this system even works” -- service or no service.
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Texas - 3/01 (S-29). Do you know of any class action suits against Dow Chemical for Sentricon? I, too, have been ripped off; and the exterminator (Mesquite Pest Control, Mesquite, TX) won’t do anything unless I pay the renewal. The treatment is TOTALLY ineffective.
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Indiana - 3/01 (C22-232/S-30). I currently have a protection contract with Terminix. I believe they have been handling my service negligently. After termites repeatedly returned (or maybe never left), Terminix installed Sentricon systems around my house. I have come to the conclusion, after checking up on their inspection, that they aren’t even correctly checking these stations.
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Texas - 3/01 (S-31). I am just beginning a similar peril with DowAgro and Sentricon. So far, I’m 15 months, about $20K in damages, and four hours of legal billing just to get them to reply with a polite “screw you.” I am in contact with the BBB and the Texas Structural Pest Control Board. The bulk of my correspondence can be found at http://users.ticnet.com/rakstr/dow.htm.
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New York - 5/01 (C23-255/S-32). A handyman who did some work for us recommended the Sentricon system, and it was the biggest mistake I ever made. Have had it for four years and only once did they find termites in one of the stations. Have seen termites swarming in my garage and pool house; but when I call Terminix, they tell me if they were termites, they would have been picked up by the stations. They also don’t come out every month like they should, and I have caught their service people not even examining the bait in the stations which is fraud. Utterly dissatisfied with the service. Paid $2177 to have it installed and have paid $380 a year to continue the service. Didn’t read the small print in the contract at the time I signed it and missed the fact that if I terminate their service, all the stations belong to them and they can come and pick them up. I would also definitely be interested in participating in a class action.
Update 6/01. The AG office sent out a representative from the NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC) who took videos of the stations and found at least one that looked like it hasn’t been touched in ages even though they were out for an inspection just three days before. Unfortunately, an attorney for the NYS DEC told the rep it’s not strong enough evidence (what more do they need?) In any event, the rep sent in his report to the Consumer Fraud Division of the AG office. I received a form letter from the AG office which didn’t please me. It starts off that they have received and reviewed my complaint but doesn’t tell me what they will do other than they will intervene if they believe their mediation might help bring about a resolution. That sounds like if Terminix says they don’t want to consider an adjustment, the AG office will just throw up its hands and say, “Oh well!!” They did say they are forwarding a copy of my complaint to Terminix and “request” a statement of their position and a possible adjustment. I was hoping they would demand an explanation. The AG office sounds like a bunch of wimps to me.
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Pennsylvania - 5/01 (C23-249/S-33). As is true for many others, I am unhappy with the install of a Sentricon system at my new house. I did send a letter to the local office, and the president and somebody did finally come fix it, but it was some high-level manager. The day-to-day people are idiots and only care about getting my check. Fortunately, I only paid a deposit of $500 and will send them no more money. I should have been suspicious when they pressured me to pay the whole thing at once. I sent a follow-on letter asking for my money back per their service guarantee. I wonder how much I am going to have to annoy them and how much they will annoy me for the rest. I told the president in the second letter that I don’t want to deal with them any more, just give me back my $500 and call it quits. If they do, I won’t notify the BBB; otherwise, I will.
My original letter was sent in 30 days, and it took them about one week to fix it. The second letter was just sent, which is about six weeks after the initial install. The local office doesn’t even care about installing it right; why would they care to give me back my money? They originally installed all stations next to the house. I mean right next to it, which is different than what the sales guy and Terminix’s customer service told me. Funny thing was that they told me they’d get in trouble and can lose their rights to install if I notify Dow, which I am about to do; but only if they don’t refund my money.
Update 6/01. Nothing has happened since I wrote corporate. I haven’t contacted the local office, but assumed corporate would. They just send me a bill every month, and I ignore it. Fortunately, I’m only out $500. I guess I’m going to write the owner; and if he ignores me, then the PA state attorney general. They have a warranty which means nothing unless they honor it; so, it’s a “selective warranty.” What a sleazy company.
Update 7/01. I did hear back from them concerning my refund, and that was by complaining to the Better Business Bureau. They agreed in writing to give me back my $500 of $3100 bill. But of course, no check; and I won’t consider it 100% resolved until I have the check in hand. They whined and moaned big time, saying they never knew I was requesting a refund. Perhaps true, because I sent my letter to corporate to request the refund and said “you handle it” -- they’re Terminix, right? Also, customer service said I should send the request to Cantu. And then based on the letters you last sent me, they threw it in the trash. So, I am sure they never notified the local office. They did when I initially complained about the problem. They also weren’t happy giving back the $500 because it “failed to compensate them for their time and manpower.” Hey, guess what. They shouldn’t offer a money-back guarantee then! Owner claimed I basically was changing my mind -- very true, I changed my mind because I wasn’t satisfied with the quality of their service. I’ll let you know if I ever get a check. They said they were doing it in the interest of good consumerism. Yea, right.
Update 7/01. You’ll be glad to know that I finally received a full refund of my deposit from Terminix -- $500. I didn’t have to even bug them too much.
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Texas - 2/02 (C28-305/S-34). Wish I had seen your site before I bought a three-year Sentricon contract. I have had the same treatment as the others. Months without visits, calls unreturned, activity reported where there was none, no activity reported where they were eating my home, installation of 42 stations now only 22 show on reports. I am nearing the end of the contract and have termites and damage. I could have spend the money (thousands) more wisely had I known they would defraud me and my family.
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? - 5/02 (C30-335/S-35). I signed a contract with Terminix in March 1998 for $1,200 to find and eliminate the termite problem I have. Needless to say, four years have gone by; and I still have my little friends come and visit me right about this time of year. I feel like I have taken my car to the mechanic, and he charged me $1200 but didn’t fix the car. I have not paid for any renewal contracts to date. They have come every year until this year, changing the bait blocks but never getting any termites. This year, they don’t even want to talk to me.
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New Jersey - 5/02 (C22-238 Update/S-36). This is the beginning of my third year with Terminix. I had consulted with a local “mom & pop” company that is highly regarded in my area, and the owner advised me to stay with Terminix due to the investment I had made with them. He told me to hold their feet to the fire, because to dismiss them would be just what they wanted.
A Terminix tech arrived yesterday after we had a minor swarm in the family room again, and he methodically checked all the Sentricon stations. Most of the ones in the back of my house were so full of dirt that he commented that they could not possibly have been checked properly. He did find two with live activity, and he immediately baited them. He spent a total of two and a half hours with me advising me of things that I could do around the property to lessen the attraction; e.g., removing the mulch from my garden bed, etc. Just as he was about to leave, a massive swarm began emanating from my garage; and, suddenly, holes began to appear in the face board above my garage from where literally hundreds of swarmers emerged. I began to remove all the wood trim from around my garage and discovered all the underlying wood totally destroyed. We discovered mud caked under my siding shingles; and until they can be removed, there is no telling how much damage I have sustained.
Now, I don’t know how effective the Sentricon is; but if it is, its effectiveness is directly proportional to the conscientious monitoring that obviously wasn’t done. My neighbor reported that on several occasions she has seen the “inspector” come and go directly to the backyard and come out in less than ten minutes and drive away. I have 25 stations covering the entire perimeter of the house; and there is no way he could have inspected them correctly.
Our neighbors around the corner had their first swarm yesterday, and they have no protection plan. They are now discovering extensive damage. I wonder if your readers have noticed the increase on commercial advertising from termite companies and the increase in special features about termites on local news stations. The problem has evidently reached epidemic proportions.
I don’t know what we are going to do to save our home. My wife and I are trying to approach this problem logically, but we are very close to desperation at this point.
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Sentricon Complaints Pages:
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