? - 4/02. I have had a termite contract with Terminix for the past seven years.  This year, I noticed swarming on two of my basement windows.  I called Terminix on Saturday, and they agreed to be at my home on Wednesday. I tried to give information to the operator regarding the area of infestation; but I was put on hold, and the operator seemed disinterested. On the day of the supposed inspection, I was never called regarding the results, and the inspector never asked to enter my home to complete the inspection.  I just picked out a jar full of termites tonight from my basement window after the “all clear” signal was given by the Terminix people. No one really came to see my home, and the termites are obviously still here. This is very disgusting to me that the agency lied to me like this. Thank you for alerting me to a problem I have had to learn the hard way.

Virginia - 4/02. This morning, I received a call from Terminix. The caller’s name was Ms. Williams.  After answering my phone and finding out who was calling, I asked Ms. Williams if I had asked her to call. Her response, after laughing:  “If you’re not interested, just say so”; and she hung up.  This CLEARLY shows me what kind of company Terminix is and the caliber, if there is one, of such low-class people with such little customer service employees.

California - 4/02. Reading your site is like a checklist of the difficulties we have been through as Terminix victims.  We wish we had seen your site before giving this company money.

Pennsylvania - 4/02. Too bad I didn’t find this site two years ago. They have failed to inspect, say they inspected but left no paperwork.  Failed to inspect per the contract... what a joke!

California - 4/02. Terminix employees routinely did not show up when scheduled; or when they did show up, did not actually do the job.  I quit the service after a few months.  I had no serious problems other than lousy customer service.

? - 4/02. For two years, I have been trying to get Terminix to complete repairs of termite damage which they continue to promise to schedule and then postpone.  They often do not return phone calls and have not put me in contact with the contractor they claim to have hired to perform the repair.  The phone number they gave me to reach him was a wrong number.  Their current stall is that we have to wait for warmer weather.

Connecticut - 4/02. Tired of unkept appointments and bad work.

Tennessee - 4/02. Before building a new home ten years ago, we paid an enormous amount to have the ground treated and later the slab treated by Terminix.  We’ve paid our yearly contract religiously. Even though it’s due by March 31st yearly, we start getting the bill in November of the previous year.

In May 2000, we found tracks in some paneling of my den and determined they were from termites.  I called Terminix, and it took them over a week to come out and treat. They did absolutely nothing to treat behind the paneling; did not look behind to determine if there was damage.  Instead, they went on the front porch and drilled a hole in my porch and supposedly sprayed something. The hole in the porch is poorly patched and looks terrible.  Yesterday (Monday), I walked into my home; and there were MILLIONS of termites all over my floors, furniture, rugs, window sills, everything.  I immediately got out my renewed contract, which I had received the week before, and called the “24 hour 7 days a week” service number only to be referred to another number, which referred me to another number for the Dyersburg, TN office.  After relaying the situation to the manager, he asked if there would be someone home on Wednesday to have someone come out and look into the matter.  Angrily, I told him I was not waiting until Wednesday for someone to come; that I wanted someone out there immediately. After repeatedly demanding sooner service, he finally said he would have someone leave Dyersburg at 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday and arrive at my home about noon.  I told him we would be unable to live in our home until someone came in and sprayed, because the termites covered everything. He told me I could use some insect spray to “knock them down” and then vacuum them up. I spent two hours vacuuming; sprayed the house and left for four hours; returned home and spent another three hours moving furniture, removing rugs, and vacuuming again. When there are as many termites as were in my house yesterday, they have got to be coming from somewhere.  It’s unsatisfactory that I’ve paid for service this many years and nothing is done until termites are sited.  No doubt, by then it’s too late -- damage has been done somewhere.  Terminix has done a good job of fooling many, many people.

Florida - 3/02. I am the president of a condominium association. Our property consists of six buildings with three townhouses in each. Wood construction with originally masonite siding around 1983 to 1985.  In 1995, most of the severely damaged siding (termites, dry rot, mold) was removed and replaced with plywood and foil-backed insulation, and then everything was covered with blue vinyl siding.  The original contract with Terminix is dated 1987.  Terminix has been on the property consistently in the last ten years as all buildings have termite damage or infestation to some degree.  For the most part, they refuse to pay for the repairs to our building, citing the presence of moisture in the wood substructure. They feel the moisture has been there since the late 80’s or early 90’s.  The presence of water in the wood voids the contract and their liability. We are anticipating the total repairs may cost as much as $70,000 or almost $4,000 per owner.  A couple of points to clarify some of our issues:

1. They agree the damage is from termites, and the damage has taken years to get to the state it is today.
2. The contract has been renewed every year since 1987.
3. Terminix has taken responsibility for repairing two condos in the past but can’t tell us which units or when.
4. Terminix inspects yearly; and usually we are told there are no problems, including the inspection of November 2001.
5. Currently, six condos have clear evidence of live termite infestations; eight more with definite termite damage, but no evidence of live termites; and four more with dry rot, water damage, and maybe termite damage.
6. One unit was completely repaired recently, then much drilling and spraying were done, only to find evidence of new termite infestation within three months.
7. Early this year, a Terminix employee indicated two units had evidence of live termites, and it did not appear there was any water damage. A Terminix inspector visited the property a few days later and agreed there were live termites, lots of damage, and no apparent evidence of water. In a telephone conversation with a supervisor from Terminix, he agreed they were responsible for the damage to the two units; and he would get his best contractor on the job.  Less than a week later, the contractor supposedly found wet wood or water-damaged wood; and Terminix refused to pay for the repairs.
8. Terminix told us we have had water-damage problems for 15 years; and until we fix those problems, there is nothing they can do other than an occasional ineffective drilling.

California - 3/02. I, too, have been injured by Terminix and am seeking to sue them in a Southern California small claims court but cannot seem to find whom to serve as it appears they do not have corporate status in California.

Florida - 3/02. When Sears sold to Terminix, we were not given an option to go with another company and were reassured by a telephone serviceperson that nothing would change. It has changed. In January, we received a bill of $220 for a termite inspection that had not yet been completed. I called and informed Terminix that I was not accustomed to paying for a service I had not received.  They told me this was a common practice and an inspector would come out shortly.  On February 8, an inspector came out to the house to conduct our annual termite inspection.  He did find a couple of termites and indicated that a treatment specialist would come out later to take care of the problem. He said Terminix could not treat my home again with the same chemicals Sears had been using, that state law prohibited Terminix from using those chemicals again, and informed me the current treatment system was in fact inadequate. He offered me a contract for a new system, which would cost me an additional $799 with an annual fee of $350.

I initially paid Sears an enrollment fee of $1300 and continued to pay Sears an annual fee for treatment, not to mention that I paid an additional pest control fee.  I called Terminix to inquire about this new service and got what I feel was a runaround.  The person told me he was not a termite specialist.  When he called back, the information he gave was vague and confusing. I also inquired about the bond policies and again got a runaround.  They were to call back; but to date, I’ve only received a call on my answering machine indicating they need to get someone else on the problem. I’ve called twice again since that initial inspection. It’s been over a month and no one has contacted me about treating for the existing termites the inspector found. What is more alarming is that I’ve heard from several people in the county that Terminix is dumping Sears customers throughout the area. If this is true, the residents of my area need to know that. I know Terminix would like to sell me the new system.  My problem is that I already paid for the Sears system. Why should I now have to pay for a new system because Sears sold out to Terminix?  What about the bond issue?  Is it transferable as we were told by Sears?  What about the $220 I just paid for the Terminix inspection? Am I going to also have to pay for treatment?

? - 3/02. My wife and I are in the process of purchasing a home. There may be some water damage near the toilet and tub.  He won’t fix. I started looking up sites on dry rot and came upon yours. It made me very angry, but very aware. The seller had a pest inspector give the house a clean bill of health.  I now am going to ask to see the inspection report, see if it is a ServiceMaster-owned company.

Update:  My realtor returned my call and informed me that the pest inspection company that inspected the house was Western Termite. I thought OK... Went online, did an “anywho” search, and came up with about 20+ Cal-Western Termite.  I telephoned my local, and they answered, “TERMINIX.”  I said, “Oh, you guys are all over.”  She replied that Terminix had just bought/merged with all the Western Termite companies.  She sounded real proud. I thanked her, terminated the call, and contacted a local/private/independent company to do MY inspection.  I also referred the gal at the independent to your web site.  If I hadn’t run across your site, I’d be none the wiser.