Kirchner Brothers Pest Control

Review: We paid this company 1722.50 for initial treatment of a termite infestation in our home in 2008 . We have paid the company each year (2009 through 2012) about $200 to renew their Contract and Guarantee. This guarantee is good until October of 2013. We had a massive swarm of termites in late May of this year. This swarm persisted for 5 days and they covered our bathroom walls and floor. Our contract and guarantee is still in force. The company has refused treatment and will not respond to our certified letter asking for treatment.Desired Settlement: We have spent over $2500 with this company to rid our home of termite s

1. We ask that they do a thorough inspection of the home perimeter and premises and treat any infestation that is found. So far they have confined treatment to the third floor wall which has clearly NOT WORKED. PROOF OF THIS IS THE MASSIVE SWARM OF TERMITES IN THE BATHROOM .

2. We ask that they treat particularly the 2nd floor wall which has never been treated since 2008.

3. If they decline to treat our house, we ask for a full refund. CLEARLY WE HAVE A VERY ACTIVE UNTREATED TERMITE NEST.

Business

Response:

I have attached our response to the [redacted]'s complaint. We have made every effort to resolve this matter. However, there are alot of issues with this property. The first being 150 years old with a soil and stone foundation. This is the ideal breeding ground for termites. Also for several years after 2008 when we did our initial treatment, the [redacted]'s continued to have an issue with water leakage around the foundation and water running into the basement. Whenever you have a water issue like that it lessens the effectiveness of the treatment. [redacted] also had an issue with moisture in a second floor bathroom as recently as May 2013. We have retreated **. [redacted]'s property five (5) times since his initial treatment in 2008 and will continue to retreat as needed if signs of active worker termites should appear such as termite shelter tubes. The last time we retreated was May 22, 2013 in an area where we did see some active signs of infestation. On May 31, 2013 the owner of the company spoke to **. [redacted] for 45 minutes on the phone. At that time he thought he had resolved all current issues. The area **. [redacted] is now asking to be treated has not shown any signs of active termites and we have explained that to **. [redacted]. We will continue to treat this property as needed, but we are bound by EPA regulations and Manufacturer's specifications and can not treat unneccessarily. In the past we have not always had cooperation from the [redacted]s, such as scheduling inspections when due. They are due for an inspection again in October and we will make every effort to schedule that with the [redacted]s. In addition to retreating this property, on September 30, 2010 we allowed the [redacted]s to renew the warranty after it had lapsed for 3 months and we gave them an additional 3 months of coverage.

It is upsetting to us to have this on our record as we pride ourselves on our quality of workmanship and our customer satisfaction. This is the first complaint that we know of in the 14 years we have been owned this business.

We will continue to work with the [redacted]s to resolve this matter.

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:

The area treated in our home has always been the third floor wall and window sill. Each time a treatment has been made, it has concentrated on this wall and window sill.

The week after this third floor wall was treated again this year (2013) we had a massive swarm of termites in the 2nd floor wall and sill. We had thousands each day for 5 days. Thie sill and wall of the second floor has never been treated since 2008.

We are asking for treatment of this 2nd floor sill and wall area. Clearly treating just the 3rd floor area has not worked. A swarm of termites this large indicates other parts of the home need treatment. I ask for their help in finding them.

Treating just the 3rd floor has left many active living termites somewhere in our home.

We have tried to co-operate with this company in every way. When they made the initial treatment (2008 - $1750.00 cost) no one informed us that because the house was older and made of stone there would be any problems. They are the experts. We were told that treatment would be very successful. (AND IT HAS NOT BEEN). Each year they have treated the 3rd floor and showed no interest in the rest of the house. We have followed their suggestions and closed all the holes in the stucco wall. (Immediately ..right after the initial treatment. ) The dampness problem in the 2nd floor bathroom has been solved. AGAIN, THAT IS WHY WE ASK FOR TRETMENT OF THIS WALL.

They have the ability and the chemicals to do this. Why is this SO hard for them to do??.

Until I contacted the BB they ignored 3 attempts asking them to respond in writing.

[redacted] conversation with my husband, could have been summarized as " we do not care and we will not treat your house any further".

I can argue more with [redacted] version, but we have found them quite difficult to work with. They do not return phone calls promptly and as mentioned, they ignored our letters until we asked for help from the BB.

Our requests are not unreasonable.

Treatment of the 2nd Floor wall.

A thorough inspection looking for termite activity in other parts of the house.

Or Return of our payments so we may start over and get rid of the termites.

That has always been our GOAL. GET RID of the TERMITES.

Regards,

Business

Response:

[redacted] (Owner of Company) has called and spoken to **s. [redacted] on Tuesday July 30, 2013. He has agreed to meet with [redacted]. [redacted] tomorrow July 3l, 2013 and do another inspection of the property even though we just inspected the entire structure on May 22, 2013. At that time we treated the area where we found live termites and told the [redacted]s that it is normal to see termite swarmers up to 90 days after treatment. **. [redacted] will do what he can to resolve this issue with the [redacted]s, but once again I am stating and **. [redacted] has told the [redacted]s that we are bound by certain EPA regulations and manufacturers specifications. Unless we see signs of termite activity in the area [redacted]. [redacted] wants treated we may not be able to treat that area.

Consumer

Response:

[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response. If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]

We appreciate your inspection and treatment of our house on July 31 for Termites. Our Contract and Guarantee is valid until Oct 1 of this year. We will contact [redacted] if we see any further signs of termites.