Georgia - 6/02 (C31-345/S-37).  Last April, I called Terminix to come out and give me an estimate for treating termites I found swarming around one of the posts at the front of our house. I showed the salesman where I had seen the swarm of winged termites. He looked at the post on the front porch, treated the post with an insecticide, and then dug a small trench around the cement slab just on the corner and sprayed more insecticide. He drew a graph and gave me his salesman speech.  I asked about treating the house; and his reply was, “no, what you need is the Sentricon Colony Elimination System.”  He did a walk-through inspection of the inside and inspected my backyard and the free-standing shed behind our house, which he did not include on the graph he drew.  I asked him about it; and he said, “oh, don’t worry about it. I will write it in later.” I believed him.  That was my first mistake now that I look back. He told me a trained technician would put the Sentricon baiting system in. A tech came out and started drilling holes to set up the baits. When I asked him questions, he could not answer one of them. He told me he just set up the system.  I called the office, and they tried to reassure me that he knew what he was doing.  When he got to the back of my house, I asked him if the shed had been added to the graph. His reply was, “What graph?  I was told just to put the baiting system around your house.” I called the office again; and he talked to them, hung up, and put the baiting system around our free-standing shed. When he was done, he gave me a copy of the Service/Inspection Report and left.

At first, Terminix came out in one month; then it was three months, and always when no one was home.  My dogs dug up a couple of the traps. I called to have them replaced and was told that from now on, I would be charged $10 for each bait the company had to replace.  In August, two female techs came out to check the bait system while my husband and I were home. I informed Jill and her partner that the dogs had dug up more traps. She started scanning and not opening up each one to check for termites. I asked her why she was not checking inside to see if there was any activity.  She said, “I don’t need to.”  I told her I wanted her to check each and every trap so I can see if there are any termites. She seemed she did not want to do it, but she did it and had her partner do most of the work while she talked to me as if I were a five year old. When she could not find all the traps, she asked us where they were.  I asked, “Aren’t you supposed to have a graph?” She asked, “What graph are you talking about?” I asked her to replace the traps the dogs had dug up, and her reply was that she could not because she did not have any with her.  She said she would come back Friday and replace them. I told her we would be out of town for a week or so, and she said she would call to set up a time to come out.  No one ever called to set up a time to replace the missing traps.

The next time we were home and a tech came out was in October, I believe.  I asked about the traps and was told, “They should have been replaced, but I don’t do that.” An inspector came out March 27, 2002, to do a walk-through inspection inside; but he did not check the shed, any closets, the attic, and none of the bait traps. I called the Terminix office and requested no more techs come out unless I am home; because we have four dogs, and I wished to be here to make sure each trap was checked. I was apparently ignored; because I went out of town for a week, and when I returned, there was a Terminix invoice on my front door. I was very upset.  I called and spoke to Adrian and left a message for Robbie to call me back.  When Robbie returned my call, I asked him what happened to calling me and making sure I was home before someone came out to check the traps. His answer was, “Well, it was put on the sheet”; and he said he was sorry. I asked him to have someone else come out since I am home so I can make sure the traps get checked. A young male of 21 named Chris was sent out to move the traps from my rose bed and to replace the traps missing in the backyard that I had asked to be replaced in August last year. I asked him to check each and every bait trap.  He told me, “I cannot scan them.” I said, “I didn’t ask you to scan them.  I asked you to open each and every trap and check for termites.” I called Robbie and told him Chris told me he could not scan the traps. Robbie said, “Yes, he can; and he can open and check them also.”  I got off the phone, and Chris talked to Robbie.  After he hung up, Chris told me he could do that. When he checked the traps around the side of my house, he found termites in the trap that is on the left side of our house.  I was very concerned and frustrated in seeing the termites which he called soldiers.  Chris said he was going to put a treated bait on either side of the bait trap and come back in a month to check. When he said the traps had not been checked recently, I panicked.  I started asking him questions and felt my stomach tie into knots.  I got very upset and scared like I had thrown away $1,190, and an additional $300 for renewal of the Terminix contract had been thrown away to join it.

I called the office and asked to speak to Rick Cassidy.  He wasn’t there.  He called me back, and I explained the whole story up to this point and asked him to come to the house so I could talk to him. That was a waste of my time. He told me they did not wish to lose me as a client. He made empty promises of making sure he would come with the tech and replace all the traps so they would number in sequence and would have the traps checked weekly and would have the house trenched and treated. He told me, “That is a $690 job, which we don’t normally do; but if that will keep you, I want to satisfy you.”  This took place June 6. On June 11, I called him to make sure he was coming on the 12th; and he said yes. He did not say anything about not accompanying the tech. On June 12, Kevin Brunson came to do the trench-and-treat, replace the traps, and do a reinsertion. I asked him where is Rick Cassidy. He said, “He is out of town in Atlanta.  He was supposed to come with me but had to go out of town.” I asked, “Don’t they have telephones?” He didn’t say anything. I told him, “Then you may as well just turn around and go back to your office, because he told me he would be here.”  I called the office and asked to speak to Ricky’s boss, Jeff Johnson. He wasn’t there. I left a message.  He returned my call while I was out; and by the time I got home, their office was closed. I called at 8:14 a.m. the next day and was told he is in a meeting.  I called back at 1:47 p.m. and was told he is out in the field.  Ricky called while I was out of the house, and I called him back at 5:24 p.m.  He was in the office with Jeff Johnson and asked why I sent Kevin away and would not let him do his job.  I told him, “Because you told me you would come out with the tech, and you did not keep your word.” Ricky’s reply was, “No, no, you misunderstood. I said I would try.” I repeated to him what he had told me; and he said, “No, no, there is a lack of communication.  That is not what I said.” Jeff Johnson was listening to the whole conversation.  He got on the phone and kept saying, “Well, I have heard so many stories, I don’t know who said what; but let’s try to get past that so we are both on the same page.” I asked him about treating the whole house; and his answer was, “No, no. The Sentricon system is all you need.  You don’t need the whole house treated by drilling holes in the bricks and the foundation.”  He kept repeating, “Let’s make sure we are on the same page.”  He turned the speaker phone back over to Ricky; and he set up a time to have Kevin come back out to trench-and-treat, replace missing traps, and reinsert.  Jeff Johnson got back on the speaker phone and told me that he and Ricky would come out on the 26th to see if the termite damage was their problem.

On June 17, Kevin came out, trenched and treated around the house and shed; replaced the missing traps; checked each and every original bait trap upon my request; and rescanned the bait traps upon his boss’s request.  When he was about a quarter done with all he had to do, a truck pulled up on the street; and a man, whom I learned was a field inspector, got out of his truck and started talking to Kevin.  I walked up, and he told me what he was.  I said, “Well, isn’t this funny.  I just called the Department of Agriculture Friday and was told I need to go to their web site, print out a form, fill it out, and put in a request for an inspection.”  He said he had an appointment at 2:00 p.m. and just happened to be driving by. He asked if I wanted to have an inspection since he was here.  I said yes and filled out the form he gave me.  He did an inspection of the inside of the house except for the closets and the attic. He told Kevin he should mention to me about drilling the slab that was our driveway next to the house and treat.  Kevin asked me if I would like it drilled and treated.  I said yes. The inspector left.  Kevin inspected the inside of the house except the closets and the attic. He found termite damage in our bathroom and on the front right side of the shed.  I do not feel that what has been done so far is going to stop or deter the termites from our home.

Update:  Jeff Johnson and Rick Cassidy showed up, and I am glad I had a friend to witness what took place; because they were high on talking and low on doing.  I had to call their boss in Atlanta, Mr. John Fullerton, to get anything done and let him know that until I got the matter resolved, I was not going to stop. He gave me two options:  1) to stay with Terminix and go to a liquid treatment and not pay anymore than the $1,190 I’d already paid for the bait system last year and the $300 I paid for this year; or 2) terminate my contract with Terminix, and he would refund most of my money and repair the damage as stated in the contract that Terminix was responsible for. I asked him to put it in writing.  He asked me to put it in writing that I wanted to terminate the contract so someone doesn’t come along and ask why Terminix terminated their contract with this client.  I went to an attorney and got him to write a letter to send.  The contractors came out and repaired the damage to the bathroom ceiling and the right front of the outside shed.  I got a refund of $1,190 by check, and Mr. Fullerton signed the letter I sent to him certified mail. Now that is done, I am going to find a pest control company that is as good as their reputation and never use any kind of bait system from any pest control company again.

California - 6/02. One of hundreds of complaints posted to Terminix’s so-called and no-longer-available “Customer Service Center.” How many pay under duress to avoid further hassles and being turned over to collection agencies?

Your office is billing me for $59 for services never performed.  In April 2002, I contacted your San Leandro office to cancel my service.  The reason for this cancellation was that on two occasions a service technician said he sprayed; but in actuality, could not have performed the service because the gate was locked, and he did not have access to the property.  Now, I’m being billed for something that was not performed!

Florida - 6/02. We have been unable to get service from Terminix, located in Cocoa, FL, after they said they found termites in one of the bait systems.  My sister signed on with Terminix in spite of our warning to her not to.  She has not seen a rep since. We don’t know what steps to take next.

Tennessee - 6/02. I have been with this company for one and a half years now.  At first and $2,000 later, I still have problems with them coming to my home. It is like they forget you once they get your money. During the first inspection, the inspector stated any damages after today, we will fix and make them right.  As the world turns, I later found a large hole behind my headboard which they checked and gave me all the excuses why they could not fix it.  I asked them why, after over a year and a half, I still have these termites still eating my house. “I have no answer,” stated the man who was pulling the sticks out of the ground.  They only want to do as much as possible and not a single ounce more. They never call back.  I have to keep calling them.  I am getting very tired of their service.  I would say do not enroll in this company.

Pennsylvania - 6/02. We bought our house in March 2001. The house had been under “protection” with Terminix since 1996. The prior homeowners hid damage. Our home inspector also failed us.  There is structural damage in almost every room where we have opened walls (four out of five); and two rooms remain untouched, because we need to live somewhere in this mess.  It took ten months for Terminix to BEGIN construction on one room.  Now we are stalled in the second one.  Knowing there are others out there in the same situation is helpful.

Oklahoma - 5/02. We have had a contract with Terminix for over 10 years, and the termites are worse now than when they started.  They are in at least four areas of our house. We got a mortgage on the house last November (2001); and with their knowledge of existing termite activity, Terminix still issued a certificate saying there was no apparent activity. In the past, they have drilled around our house at least two complete times as well as replaced wall areas at least three separate times at their own expense.  They even hit our hot water line while drilling one time and had to do repairs for that.  We have active termites now, and all they want to do is put in a Sentricon system at no cost; but we will have to pay the yearly inspection costs. This has been going on for over 10 years with “The Experts” not ridding our home of termites, as their advertisements state they will do.

New Jersey - 5/02. [Two nights ago], I found a bunch of termites (dozen) in various rooms in my home.  I called Terminix and advised them. I currently have a termite contract, bond, and Formoson addendum with them. Today, a Terminix employee arrived while I was at work; but my wife was home. I talked to the “termite expert” on the phone while he was inspecting my home, and I asked him if he went underneath the house (crawl space) and he said, “yes.”  When I arrived home, I checked to see if in fact he did go underneath the house; and he did not.  I could tell by the 2’ x 3’ crawl space door and the leaves around it that he did not. Furthermore, I realized that the door could not be opened; because I recently had new vinyl siding put on, and the siding was installed over the top 4” of the door. Tomorrow, I will call another Terminix person out to complete a thorough inspection and advise them that their employee did not perform his duties responsibly.  I also questioned the manager of today’s inspection as they left paperwork with not one word of “termite” in it! They left a basic roach, ant, etc. inspection sheet with my wife.  I advised them that I want something that denotes termites were found in the house and that Terminix cleared the house of any termite infestation.

Maryland - 5/02. [Alleged horrendous Dursban poisoning of family. Entry deleted 9/04/04 per complainant’s request.]

California - 5/02. 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.

? - 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.