JP Wildlife Pest Control

Review: We have had occasional bats coming into our house. Paul B[redacted] with JP Wildlife Pest Control was recommended to us, so we contacted him over a year ago. He came to our home to look over the situation. Then on October 19, 2013 he blocked obvious holes where the bats were getting in and sealed all along the roof line. Everything was fine for a while, but then we started noticing a few bat droppings here and there. Several months ago, Paul came out and found a new hole which he temporarily repaired so the bats could get out but not get back into the roof. He said he would be back out to permanently seal up the hole a week later. He never came. I was seeing an occasional bat dropping now and again which I reported to him, but it seems to have finally stopped. Both my husband and I have left phone messages with Paul to please come out and finish the repair work. He still hasn't which is why I'm reporting this to Revdex.com.Desired Settlement: We just want Paul to come out and finish the temporary repair work he did.

Review: I had [redacted] of JP Wildlife Pest Control come to my home to conduct an initial bat inspection as I had a few bats in my attic. **. [redacted] charged me $75.00 for the initial inspection which I paid to him in cash. I inquired as to what he would charge to remove the bats, seal my home, and clean any bat guano that may have been in my attic. **. [redacted] explained to me that the process would consist of him placing bat cones on my home which would allow bats to fly out of the home, but not return to the home. Additionally, he informed me that he would then seal any cracks or holes in my home where bats might have been gaining access to the attic. **. [redacted] also told me he would remove the shutters, clean behind them, reinstall them, and caulk around them as there was evidence (bat guano) protruding from under some of the shutters. Finally, he claimed he would clean any bat guano from my attic. **. [redacted] quoted me a price of between $300.00 and $500.00 to complete all of this work. I then informed **. [redacted] that I thought this to be a fair price and asked him complete the work. He placed the bat cones, caulked the outside of the home, and cleaned the bat guano from the attic with a shop vac. I inquired about the shutters but he informed me that he didnt feel as though any bats were behind them. He even banged on the shutters with his hand to prove this to me. As a result, **. [redacted] didnt remove any shutters or caulk around them. I had no reason to believe that **. [redacted] would not make good on his verbal quote. I was shocked when he had completed the work and handed me a bill for $950.00. Not once during the process did **. [redacted] indicate to me that the work would cost more than the $300.00 to $500.00 he quoted me. I ended up paying $1,025.00 for work I was under the impression was to cost me, at most, $575.00. I feel that I was misled and cheated. Had I known the real total, I would not have had **. [redacted] complete the work.Desired Settlement: As I mentioned, I paid **. [redacted] a total of $1,025.00 for work he completed. However, he quoted me a price of between $300.00 and $500.00 plus the $75.00 initial bat inspection fee. Im asking that **. [redacted] of JP Wildlife send me a refund of $450.00 for services I feel he overcharged me for. This means he keeps $575.00 which was his high estimate of $500.00 plus the initial $75.00 bat inspection fee. I believe this is more than fair.

Consumer

Response:

--------- Forwarded message ----------

From: Revdex.com of Metro DC and Eastern PA <[email protected]>

Date: Thu, Oct 31, 2013 at 9:55 AM

Subject: Fwd: ID [redacted] Information for [redacted]

To: [redacted] <[redacted]>

---------- Forwarded message ----------

From: [redacted] <[redacted]>

Date: Wed, Oct 30, 2013 at 10:11 PM

Subject: ID [redacted] Information for [redacted]

To: "[email protected]" <[email protected]>

Dear [redacted], I attached a scanned image of the invoice/receipt I received for work done by [redacted] of JP Wildlife Pest Control. I also included a scanned image of the check I wrote to **. [redacted] for the service. I was unable to locate the other receipt for the additional $75.00 fee I paid to **. [redacted] for the initial bat inspection. I will continue to look for that document, however. There was never any formal written contract for the work to be completed and I never signed any contract. During the "initial bat inspection", **. [redacted] walked around my home and gave me his evaluation of the situation. I asked **. [redacted] what his professional opinion was, and how much the work would cost me. **. [redacted] informed me that he would place bat cones and/or nets around openings where he felt bats might have been gaining access to my attic. He explained to me that the bats would be able to fly out of my home but not reenter. He told me he would then "seal" all cracks and/ or holes where bats might be gaining access to the home. During the initial bat inspection, he pointed to these cracks and holes. I showed **. [redacted] bat guano that had been oozing from under one of the second floor shutters and he pointed out the cracks between the shutters and the house where the bats could squeeze behind the shutters. [redacted] indicated that he would remove the second floor shutters, clean any guano, put the shutters back into place, and seal around them in order to prevent bats from getting behind them. **. [redacted] then informed me that he would go into my attic and clean any bat guano that may have been there. He said he would then disinfect the areas where he found bat guano and possibly even set off a "bug bomb" or two in case the bats were carrying mites or other bugs. I asked **. [redacted] how much all of his work would cost me and he gave me a verbal quote of between $300.00 and $500.00. I verified that the quote he gave to me included all of the work described above. **. [redacted] responded by telling me that If I had him do the work, he could complete it for between $300.00 and $500.00. I then informed **. [redacted] that I wanted him to return and finish the job. When **. [redacted] returned, he installed a plastic bat cone with duct tape at each end of the roof soffit at the front of my home. He then used a caulk gun to caulk cracks around the soffit. [redacted] didn't remove any shutters, so I inquired as to why this was. [redacted] put a ladder up to the shutter with the oozing bat guano and wiped the guano off the house with his gloved hand. He then proceeded to bang on the shutter telling me there were not bats behind it. In my mind, the price for his service just got a little lower as removing the shutters would have been time consuming. As you can see from the invoice, [redacted] charged me $600.00 to caulk and put two cones up with duct tape. Of course, I had no idea at the time that he had already gone $100.00 over his highest quote of $500.00 and he would still have to return to my home in a few weeks to clean the attic. When [redacted] returned to my home on October 28, 2013 to finish the job, he removed the two duct taped bat cones and in their place, put two mesh screens to prevent bats from entering through those holes at the ends of the roof soffit. [redacted] then took his shop vac into my attic and proceeded to vacuum the guano from under the insulation. He informed me that he found bat guano in only two rafter sections of the attic. I have no idea if or what he might have used to "disinfect" the area. He did not set off any "bug bombs" as he suggested he might during the initial bat inspection. **. [redacted] then put his shop vac in his truck and walked back in to my home to present me with a bill for a whopping $950.00. This of course, was in addition to the $75.00 I had already paid him for the initial bat inspection for a grand total of $1,025.00. As you can clearly see, **. [redacted] wrote on the invoice that he gave me a whole one year warranty with an exception "for fee" attached to it. This is what his website, jpwildlife.com, says about the warranty they offer: "We are the Bat experts of Central PA. Majority of homes come with a 5yr warranty on all bat exclusions" I copied the information in quotes above directly from his website. So, for $1,025.00 I guess my house must be in the "minority". I decided to use JP Wildlife's services partly because they claim to be licensed by the PA Game Commission and because I thought **. [redacted] was a trustworthy individual. So here I stand with "egg on my face" feeling rather cheated and misled. I suspect I'm not the first person to fall prey to **. [redacted]'s bait and switch tactics. But, I would certainly like to be the last. It's rather unfortunate that I didn't have a written contract but, I guess hindsight is 20/20. If I can be of further assistance to you, please let me know. Sincerely, [redacted]

Business

Response:

November 18,2013

Dear [redacted]:

This letter is in reference to the complaint about my business JP Wildlife you received from **. [redacted] ID # [redacted] on October 29, 2013. He has never contacted me with any complaint or to even discuss his bill given to him on October 28, 2013. This is the first that I have heard that he was unhappy when I received your letter. I have tried to contact **. [redacted] and left him a voice mail to resolve this matter and have not heard back from him. I gave **. [redacted] a verbal estimate of approximately $550.00 for bat removal in his home. The final bill for the removal of the bats was $600.00. That was because there was a larger hole on the right side of the house that had to be closed up. He ask about cleaning the bat guano from his attic and I told the customer I needed to see how much needed to be cleaned and the charge would be on a time basis which would be an additional charge to the $600.00. **. [redacted] said he would remove the items from the attic for easier access. When I arrived to clean the bat guano nothing had been removed from the attic. The cost for the clean-up in the attic was $350.00. When I was done with the job I handed **. [redacted] a bill for $950.00 and he paid it. The customer never said he was upset with the bill or the job I had completed for him, if he had of I would’ve resolved it. I have been In business for 8 years and have never had any issues with any of my customers. Like I said I have tried to contact **. [redacted] to resolve this.

Sincerely

Consumer

Response:

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]

Review: [redacted]

I am rejecting this response because:

**. [redacted] indicated, in his response, that I never contacted him regarding the bill he gave to me for $950.00 on October 28, 2013. I attempted to contact **. [redacted] that same day, October 28, 2013 at 9:11 pm via text message. I sent this text message from my phone, and I still have the message I sent to him saved in my phone. I attached three photographs of my cellular telephone screen showing the text message I sent to **. [redacted] on October 28, 2013 at 9:11pm. I had to take three photographs because the message would not all fit on the screen of my cellular phone at one time. As you can clearly see from the photographs, I sent the message to [redacted] at ###-###-#### on October 28, 2013 at 9:11pm. I sent **. [redacted] a text message at that same telephone number prior to the completion of his work and he received it. Therefore, I know he is able to receive text messages at that number. As you can see from the text message I sent, I clearly stated to **. [redacted] what my issue was. That being said, **. [redacted] claims he never received a complaint from me. I have no idea whether or not **. [redacted] received this text message I sent to him. I can only say that it was sent and present the evidence in the form of the three attachments above. When I did not receive a response from this text message, I assumed **. [redacted] ignored my complaint and I took the next step which was to contact The Revdex.com. After I filed a formal complaint with the Revdex.com, **. [redacted] did leave a voice mail message on my home telephone telling me simply to call him. I erased the voice mail message he left on my home phone and I did not return his phone call. This is the only part of his response that is completely true. Since **. [redacted] hadn't yet responded to my Revdex.com complaint, I did not wish to discuss anything with him personally. **. [redacted] indicated in his response to my complaint that he gave me a verbal quote of $550.00 for only the bat removal and that he had to add an extra $50.00 to that quote for a "larger hole" on the ride side of my house. He also claims he told me there would be an additional charge for the guano clean-up. This part of **. [redacted]'s story is completely incorrect. As I stated in the text message I sent to **. [redacted] on October 28, 2013 and my formal complaint with the Revdex.com, **. [redacted] quoted me a price of between $300.00 and $500.00 to remove the bats, seal the house, remove the shutters, clean behind them, reinstall the shutters, seal around them, and to clean and sanitize the attic. However, this was not the case. I found it sort of comical that **. [redacted] indicates that I failed to, "remove items from the attic for easier access". I say this because I was the one who offered to remove some items in my attic for him prior to his coming to my home to complete the job. **. [redacted] told me that would not be necessary and that he would work around the items. I would also like to mention that I asked **. [redacted] if there was anything I could do to assist him. I even offered him one of my cutting tools as he stated he would have to cut some of the insulation in my attic. **. [redacted] very politely declined my assistance. In his response to my complaint, **. [redacted] commented that I never said I was upset with the bill or the job he had completed. It is true that I did not complain about the work he did or the bill when he handed it to me. I explained why in the text message I sent to him on Ocober 28, 2013. However I was fuming. I decided it would be best to take ten deep breaths and discuss this with **. [redacted] once I calmed down. I sent him the text message later that same night hoping to dicuss the matter civily. Many of the people I have discussed this matter with told me they wouldn't have paid **. [redacted]. My response to those people was that I always pay my bills. My credit rating is impectable and I was raised to be a law abiding citizen. That being said, I hold no personal grudge against **. [redacted] or JP Wildlife. I'd simply like to resolve this matter. I've never before had an issue where I was asked to pay more than what I was quoted and **. [redacted] claims that he has never had any issues with any of his other customers. **. [redacted] has the right as a contractor to charge whatever rate he wishes. However, I as a customer have the right to decline his service if I feel the price is too high. In this instance, I believe I was not afforded that right as I was under the impression I would be paying between $300.00 and $500.00 plus the $75.00 fee for the initial bat inspection. Had I been aware that the final price was going to be $1,025.00 I would have invoked my right to hire another contractor to complete the work.

Regards,