Paramount Pest Control

I had a termite contract with Weir Pest Control and suffered termite damage. They have refused to pay for the repairs. I have a termite contract with Weir Pest Control. In March 2014, I suffered some termite damage. I informed Weir of the damage and the existence of live termites in my house and an employee was sent out to inspect the situation. The Weir employee was accompanied by Weir's "repair man" (third party sub-contractor). The two men assessed the damage and let me know I could expect a call in the next few days to set up a time for the repair man to come out and fix the damage. After speaking with the Weir employee further, I learned the repair man was not insured or bonded, he did not possess a business license to practice business in the State of Tennessee, and essentially was your every day "handy man". My homeowner's insurance policy will not cover any damage to my property by an uninsured contractor and will not cover any medical expenses should said uninsured contractor become injured on my property. Essentially, I would be held liable if anything went wrong because Weir is hiring[redacted] from around the corner to perform repair work in houses all over the Memphis-metro area. Once I learned this, I informed Weir that I was not going to be able to use his third party sub-contractor "repair man". I proceeded to have another company (one that was bonded and insured and possessed a business license to operate in TN) come to my house and provide me with an estimate for the necessary repairs. Weir did not approve or deny the estimate provided. In fact, Weir did not do anything. I had a 5 ft. by 1 ft. hole in my living room wall for close to 6 weeks while Weir ignored me. This hole was letting in air from the outside, the 2x4s that were visible were completely demolished by the termites, the wall was crumbling onto my mantle and fireplace, and damage was just a general inconvenience. Finally, after hearing nothing and receiving no correspondence from Weir at all, in mid to late April, I requested that the contractor go ahead and complete the required repairs and forward his invoice to Weir. Now, nearly two months later, Weir is refusing to pay for the repairs. This is a clear breach of contract on behalf of Weir to me, as the customer. My termite contract states that should I suffer termite damage at any time while my contract is in effect, the cost to repair the damage will be covered by Weir. It is not my fault that Weir was hiring an uninsured and unbonded[redacted] to perform repair work. I have a right to refuse to allow a[redacted] type person onto my property. I wanted a real company with real experience and real insurance to complete my work and now Weir refuses to cover the cost of the repairs. Desired SettlementPer the stipulations of my contract with Weir, I would like the invoice submitted by my contractor to be paid in full immediately. I would also like Weir to be required to hire only insured and bonded contractors. In the alternative, I would like for Weir to be required to disclose to its customers that its repair man is not insured and should anything go wrong the homeowner would be financially responsible. Business Response We here at Weir Pest Control pride ourselves on customer service. This complaint hurts deeply for us not because it's a complaint but because we have a single customer not happy with our service. She has not canceled her contract with us and I hope she does not, over this issue. We never refused to pay for the damages due to the termites, I have the check stub to show that. I had an experienced remodeler of 20 years estimate the damage and cost of repairs. He estimated it to be around $150.00. The clients brother is a contractor himself, and he asked to put a bid in, his bid was $900.00. I was afraid I was being taken advantage of so I contacted my lawyer for advice, together we decided that keeping a customer happy is more important than money so I gave her brother the job and he was nice enough to lower his estimate to $800.00. My lawyer drew up a release and settlement agreement which is typical and the client mentioned to me that is to general, so we drew up an addendum to the original release and settlement agreement and she agreed to it. During this time myself and the client were talking quite a bit and she never once mentioned being upset or dissatisfied at any time to me. We were both very professional and cordial to each other. I never guessed she was upset. As far as the hole in the wall, in her complaint, that hole was put their by her brother the contractor. Any person who has a termite contract with a company should call their termite company at the first signs of termites, not make a large hole in the wall to investigate. Chances are your termite company will NOT pay for that because it was not done by termites. I'm sorry she had to live with that hole while this was going on when she most certainly did not have to. My contract states that I will cover any and all damages created by termites at NO charge to her. Most other companies would have charged her a $1,000.00 deductible to treat and repair the damages. I did not charge her that deductible and I paid to fix the damages caused by her brother the contractor. She was not asked to pay a single penny. If there was any hold up on the repairs it would be on her brother end, because he was granted the job. The repairs would have been completed the same week she informed us of the termites. The hold up was waiting on her brother to send me a estimate, and negotiating with him, and working with my lawyer on it. Normally it is done within a week. I personally do not feel a need for a complaint due to the fact that her brother was paid in full and was allowed to fix the damages. I'm left with the impression her brother was trying to make a quick buck. I mentioned to the client several times I wish this had gone smoother and had been over sooner. I hate having things linger, I'm so very sorry she is upset, and I humbly ask her forgiveness for any hold up on my end. I lost sleep over this issue and I strive to make sure all my clients have the best of care and the best contracts, and the best technicians. I'm deeply sorry she is not satisfied with all we have done. I will be contacting her by phone to see what else we can do to see that she is happy with our service, again I will publicly apologize to her and ask her forgiveness for this not going smoother.