Pennsylvania - 3/00. Finally, someone has the guts, time, money, perseverance, and brains to take on that unscrupulous, unethical, hideous, loathsome, despicable Terminix. Tonight, I had clicked on news headlines and noticed the name “Terminix.” Full of resentment against them and loathing the sight of their name, I clicked on the headline in hopes that I would read that the company finally received what they deserve -- to go bankrupt at the very least.  I wanted to quickly add my name to the list of disenchanted, cheated, incredulous former customers of that should-be-put-out-of-business-company Terminix.  Thanks, and once again, congrats on your great job of persevering against a company who thinks they are above the law and can tromp all over us powerless peons.

Maryland - 3/00. I, too, had a run-in with Terminix.  It took me something like five months of angry phone calls to get an incorrect billing changed. I became convinced the employees I was dealing with lacked the most rudimentary understanding of what they were doing.  Absolutely the worst company I have ever had to deal with!

Alabama - 3/00. My experience with Terminix as an owner of several properties on which they hold the termite bonds has also been negative. Their annual price increases are totally out of line with their competitors, and their charges are far higher.  This is one company I would loudly steer consumers clear of.  The regulation by the State of Alabama appears to be in favor of pest control companies. Why else would they make it financially very expensive to transfer a termite bond? Only to protect the installed base of the existing companies.  Heaven forbid that they have to compete among themselves, service might improve! I would never (and you know what they say about saying never) recommend anyone use Terminix given the chance.

New York - 3/00. I have, as recent as last week, dropped Terminix.  Mostly because about 15 years ago I hired Terminix to termite proof my house because of seeing a few termites at one spot in my home. I paid the $1,200 (in 1985) for the service. Since that time, I’ve paid every year a service contract fee that goes up every year.  The recent bill has come in near $200.  A few years ago, I had some remodeling done to my home and found termites and damages. Terminix told me they would re-treat the area but would not pay for any damages because my contract does not cover any damages, only re-treating. I think they are running a huge scam and should be investigated thoroughly. The main reason I had not dropped them sooner is that my wife and I argue every year the Terminix contract comes in. I end up paying it, because my wife does not want to lose the coverage. This time, I will no longer pay that company.

Tennessee - 3/00. We, too, received a clear bill of health from Terminix on a home that had multiple sites of damage from termites.  This happened to us three years ago.  We bid on a home that was repossessed by the Veterans’ Administration.  We were told we had no recourse in the matter and to just absorb the cost of repair and renovation while doing other work on the house. This is not fair for the homeowner already struggling to keep costs down from the purchase and moving into a new home.  It also shows the lack of integrity of businesses like Terminix and ServiceMaster. Our own Attorney General refuses to look at the wrongdoing of this large company. I guess this AG’s office is afraid of losing financial and political support from one of the largest companies operating in this state.

Tennessee - 3/00. Our house in invaded EVERY year (but one) for the last 15 years by swarmers, and Terminix has never discovered it.  Our problem now is we feel we have to stick with them for the inevitable HUGE repair bill we will be seeing sometime soon.  This is, if the house does not fall down on top of us before then.

Georgia - 3/00. Terminix treated my house for six months.  There was no improvement. I am a seventy-year-old widow without any more money to pay out to Terminix or for repairs on my home.  Terminix insists that it was existing damage to my home; therefore, they are not responsible. However, more termites have been found since they started treatment.

Tennessee - 3/00. I’ve lived in Tennessee for the last five years, and I had not known of the danger of termites in this part of the country.  I have no idea what the insect looks like or anything.  A man from a Terminix branch came out to do a free inspection on my home and told me that I had swarming termites and needed an immediate treatment. Being scared to death, I wanted to jump right on getting a treatment fast, but something told me to get a second opinion about the termites. I then called another pest inspection company. A man from their office came out and informed me that I had a carpenter ant infestation and not a termite infestation.  I quickly became angry at the Terminix inspector for his dishonesty and wanting nothing but to sell me a termite job.

Tennessee - 3/00. How can Terminix justify charging $85 for a termite clearance letter?  I have had termite coverage through Terminix for the past eight years.  The contract is still valid.  Now, as I am getting ready to sell the house, they charge me $85.  The inspector was only in the house about 30 minutes, then according to customer service at Terminix, they spend about 30 minutes doing the forms when they get back to the office.  This is $85 I am being charged for one hour’s work. This is unheard of. A physician does not even make $85 an hour.  How can Terminix get away with charging this much?

Web mistress note: In California, our pest inspection report was $95, so I don’t think $85 was out of line. I included this complaint for two reasons: 1) I think what may be out of line is a 30-minute inspection; and 2) it relates to the next posted entry, providing a cost comparison.

Ohio - 2/00. We had our house destroyed by Terminix in February 1997. They broadcast sprayed massive amounts of Dursban during what was supposed to be a “light flea treatment.”  My wife has suffered serious health issues from this exposure; and, of course, this has made the last three years a true torture.  We have just forced our equally unethical insurance company to honor our homeowner’s policy.  Now we face Terminix and the arbitration process.

Tennessee - 2/00. Terminix has things in their service contracts that are so unfair you can be killed and not be able to do much legally.  Anyone who signs this contract is put at risk of losing everything they have, including their lives, without any recourse. This part of their contract was tried and held up in court in Memphis, TN. While what happened to me and my family was worse than a nightmare, the fact they can have a contract that gives them this court-proven protection must be stopped. The public is at risk from this powerful company.  I have court documents and photos of what they did to my home, me, my wife, my dogs, and most of all my wife’s child that is still suffering physically from what they did.

In July 1994, our house was fogged to kill roaches.  My wife and I had only been married for 10 months.  We were told to wait for 4-6 hours before going back in.  We waited.  When we went back in, there was a cloud hovering about 3 ft. from the floor, which I though was odd; so we waited another 2-3 hours.  When we went back in, the entire house and everything in it was coated with an oily-type substance. This coverage was so thick, it was dripping from ceiling and ceiling fans, etc. At that point, I called 1-800-terminix and was told it was harmless and wait until morning and it would evaporate.  I asked the person when the last time she had seen oil evaporate!

My wife and I started cleaning and cleaned all night, and she cleaned while I went to work the next day. The stuff would not come up and could not be cleaned.  The area manager came over and again said it would evaporate in a few days. At this point, we had no place to live and our house was saturated with an oily poison. My wife had a burning mouth and throat and had a rash. I had a swollen face like George Foreman had beat the @@$# out of me.  I called their corporate headquarters and spoke to Jerry Cooley, who set us up with a room at a local motel while they had ServiceMaster’s disaster restoration team of five people clean for two days. We went home, and the house was clean as a pin.  My wife’s oldest boy, who is asthmatic, and the rest of our family went in, including our dogs that, in my opinion, saved our lives.  Within 30 minutes of being in the house, we noticed the dogs laying on the floor by the door, almost dead. We got out in a hurry, rushed the dogs to the vet, and they were saved. While at the vet, I called Mr. Cooley and told him of the events and that something had to be done now! Brian was having asthma attacks and had broken out in a rash again.  I told him I wanted my family to be seen by a doctor; and he said go wherever we needed, they would pay for it, and go back to the hotel. We went to a local doctor, and he said he didn’t know what to do, that we needed to see a toxicologist. I looked frantically and could not find one.  I called Mr. Cooley again, and he said he would help us find one. He did -- three weeks later.  They were also cleaning again and removed every single thing we owned from the house. I mean everything -- toys, clothes, furniture, bowling balls, tools, everything! He told us our belongings were being treated in an ozone chamber and not to worry.  We went to see Dr. Merigan, the toxicologist he recommended at UT medical center; and he gave us drugs and told us this is a dangerous substance and being stored in our fat cells. He then called Cooley behind a closed door, which I could hear some of his conversation, and told them they couldn’t clean it, they would have to remove all walls and ceilings or demolish the house. They tore the entire interior out of our house the next day, including the bath tub! This went on for months and we continued to see Dr. Merigan at UT. The last visit we saw Dr. Merigan, he had another doctor and a woman there, in his words just for observation. Well, we never saw Dr. Merigan again.  We saw the other doctor that was there on our last visit with Dr. Merigan. We saw this new doctor for several weeks.  My wife and I had been off work for awhile at this point due to unbelievable headaches, nausea, recurring rashes, etc. Cooley was paying us this whole time.

One day I went to the doctor alone; and out of the blue, he asked me if I had an attorney. I said no, because they were doing anything we asked at this point. He then told me that Merigan was not our friend and not to repeat it or he would lose his job as he worked for Merigan. In tears at this point, I pushed for more information; and he caved and told me Merigan was the medical director for Terminix, and we had been purposely delayed from seeing him for that three weeks it took Cooley to find him.  Now, remember, the three weeks were after three previous weeks living in a motel while they cleaned.  The stress on our family is beyond description; and even after our house was rebuilt, the stress was still unbearable.  We talked to attorney after attorney. All but one were not into battling a powerful company like Terminix.  He took on the case.  We fought for over a year and lost. We went through arbitration that is totally unfair and were screwed and forced into a settlement that I still didn’t want to do; but after 4-5 years of this battle, my life was so stressed out, my marriage on the rocks, etc., I caved in an attempt to save my marriage, which didn’t work.  The stress was directly from all of this, but three attorneys made us look like we were problems to begin with and drug us through the mud and defaced us beyond belief. I was mad enough to keep fighting, but my wife was not. When we settled, they wanted a gag order placed on us in the terms, which wife or no wife, I would not accept; and they finally removed it.

I still have headaches and pretty bad tremors all the time, as does my ex-wife; Brian still has major asthma problems; and they are free of us.  Why does a company that deals with dangerous chemicals have the right to take our right to a jury?  Auto companies can’t, and other very large companies can’t, so why? My life has been totally destroyed mentally and physically by this loose canon. I’ll survive one way or another; but this nightmare will follow me, my ex-wife, and her children forever.

Tennessee - 2/00. I’m glad to see that I am not the only one who has had Terminix lie to them. They lost my $250 renewal fee for my termite contract, then found it, and somehow lost it again. It has been more of a pain to fight with them than to just find another company.  I had termite damage that, on their inspection, they had not listed.  It took me more than four months of arguing with them to get them to come out and fix the problem. They first stated that my contract had lapsed and that they were not responsible, then finally came out to fix it.  Too many phone calls had to be made.  Maybe they have time to sit on the phone all day, but as a single parent of three boys and a full-time job, I don’t.