Suburban Exterminating

Review: I had a Termite Protection contract with Suburban. I purchased it in 2003 for approx $1200.00. I then paid yearly fees to keep the contract in force. Every time a rep from Suburban would come for a periodic inspection, they found No Activity. One visit in 2013, activity was noted in station#**, which is in the front of my house. This summer, my Wife noticed what we thought was sand coming in our basement on the side of our house. My Wife told me she had mentioned it to Suburban on a prior visit, and was told it is nothing, just sand. Upon further inspection by myself, I found approx. 12 feet of foundation sill completely eaten by Termites. I contacted Suburban and they sent someone to check. They said Yes, it is Termites. They also said they will not pay for any repairs or give me a refund. They said for me to read my contract. When I purchased this Sentricon System, the sales rep. [redacted] told my Wife and myself that our house would be protected from Termites and if anything happened, they would take care of it.

I feel this company did nothing except, take my hard earned money. I would have never signed on if I was told the system does not always work and that if it fails, we will not do anything to help you with the damage.Desired Settlement: I would like Suburban to refund the money I have paid them over these eleven years as they did not do what they said. They told me they would protect my home from Termites and fix any issues. I have paid them over $5000.00 since they onset of my contract.

Business

Response:

We at Suburban understand [redacted]'s concerns, he signed an agreement with Suburban on 6/*/2003 to have the Sentricon System installed. The Agreement states there is visible termite damage, possible hidden damage, conducive conditions and evidence of the property being previously treated. Our Suburban representative added additional comments on the agreement for us to wood treat the sill plates, which was completed when the system was installed. A wood treatment is typically performed when termites or termite damage is present. In March, July and September of 2004, May of 2008 and June of 2010 termite activity was found in the Sentricon system and baited for elimination as per the label. In June of 2014 a field supervisor went to the location and observed damage to the sill plate in the same areas indicated on the original agreement. There was no live activity observed during this inspection. Several days later one of our technicians treated the repaired sill plates and box plates as well as applied a complimentary ant treatment around the perimeter. Upon receipt of this complaint we have contacted the customer and reached a mutual understanding and will continue to service the Sentricon system around his home. Sincerely, [redacted]

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# [redacted], and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

[Your Answer Here] I have found many false details in the statement from Suburban. In spite of that, I was willing to accept an offer made to me by the [redacted] at Suburban, [redacted]. As of this date,and three days after I sent an e-mail to [redacted] stating I would accept his offer and continue doing business with Suburban, I have not heard from or received any part of the offer given. I will not close this compliant at this time, as I only have 6 days to respond. If the offer is not forthcoming, I will continue to move forward with this matter.

In order for the Revdex.com to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.

Sincerely,

Business

Response:

There is a check waiting for the customer in our main office located at [redacted] in [redacted], NY. We apologize for any miscommunication in our attempts to amicably settle this matter.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me and the matter has been resolved. It seems there was a misunderstanding as to how this resolution would take place. This has also been resolved. I will continue to do business with Suburban and wish to thank the Revdex.com for your assistance in resolving this matter.

Sincerely,

Review: On 5/**/13 I renewed a termite protection agreement with Suburban after many solicitations from the company. The warranty period ran from 5/**/13 to 12/**/13. Regular termite inspections were to be provided under the warranty agreement. Only after my request, an inspection was allegedly completed on 6/*/13. The report left by the technician indicated "monitors/stations were changed and/or removed". After several months elapsed, I called Suburban again to request an inspection of the system. I made sure I was at home all day to be present for the inspection and, when no one showed up for the scheduled appointment by the end of the day, I telephoned Suburban again. During that conversation I became aware that a technician went to the wrong address ([redacted] - I reside on [redacted]). It was necessary to then schedule another appointment. After the technician came to my home for a second time, no one ever returned to inspect the system as is required under the terms of the warranty agreement. Interestingly enough however, I continue to receive solicitations from the company requesting I renew a warranty agreement.

On 5/**/14, while cleaning out a shed in my backyard, I was shocked and disgusted to find several used "termite stations" lying under some gardening supplies in my shed. Obviously a technician removed the stations from the ground, opened up the shed (which is my personal property) and then hid this used and disgusting waste material under my gardening supplies. Not only is this completely unprofessional, and unacceptable, but most likely is a health hazard as well. This waste was lying in my shed for an unknown number of months. I contacted the company on 5/**/14 and the response I received was "do you want me to send someone to pick them up". A completely outrageous response, in my opinion. I paid Suburban $253.64 for a termite warranty agreement, which they failed to honor. In addition, they disposed of "waste material" in my shed, rather than removing it from my property. I believe I was defrauded by Suburban.Desired Settlement: A refund of the $253.64 paid to Suburban for this warranty agreement, in addition to an assurance by a qualified professional that the waste material left on my property was not hazardous and did/does not pose a health risk.

Business

Response:

[redacted] had signed an agreement for the control of termites on 01/**/2012. Prorated renewals for the 2nd year were sent out on 01/**/2013 and 2/**/2013. After no response , we removed the customer from the service schedule. The customer contacted us on 5/**/2013 to pay the pro-rated renewal and informed us that she had recommended her sister for service, for which we credited her account $30.00. She paid the amount of $253.64 for coverage to 12/**/2013 and we placed the customer back on the service schedule.

At the customer’s request a full inspection of the system was performed on 06/**/2013 and 09/**/2013. On 07/**/2013 we sent a technician to the home to inspect a swarm by the rear door, which was identified as flying ants by our technician.

To prevent removal from the service schedule we sent renewal notices out to the customer on 1/**/2014, 4/**/2014 and 5/**/2014. We received no response from the customer until 5/**/2014 to inform us of the reason for her cancellation and to let us know that she had found station(s) in her shed, which is not a standard business practice. At this time we did offer to dispatch a technician to the home to remove them.

Upon receipt of this complaint I contacted [redacted] via telephone to discuss and resolve any issues. We agreed to a refund of the full amount ($253.64) paid for the pro-rated termite renewal. I informed the customer that there are no health hazards associated with the station housing(s) that had been left behind, which were already discarded by the owner at the time we received this complaint. I apologized for any breakdown in our services as the events that occurred at the home are not a standard practice of our company.

Again, we are sorry for the misunderstanding and hope that we may be of service to you in the future.

If there are any questions regarding this matter, please contact me directly at ###-###-####

Sincerely,

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me and the matter has been resolved.

Sincerely,

Please be aware that some of the information provided by the business is "false" and misleading. They did not provide any service to me in July, 2013 for flying ants. As was stated in my original complaint, the service call was made to another customer's home - it was NOT a service call to my home.

Since they have agreed to send me a refund, I will accept their response, with the above correction.