Ward Pest Control, Inc

We have owned two homes over the past 32 years and have used Ward Pest Control for all of these years. In fact, we were referred by my wife's parents who used them for many years prior. We have an annual contract which is very reasonably priced for the service we get. Anytime we have a new bug or rodent issue, they come the next day. Mr. Ward himself is an expert and wonderful man who we trust implicitly. He runs a very honest business that does the job they were hired for and as much as needed.

Review: In January 2013, I contacted Ward Pest Control and some other pest control companies for free estimate. For other companies, they are indeed free and never caused any trouble. But Ward Pest Control has been pesting us since then. They called my husband to ask for payment for the free estimate. So I called back and explained the free estimate thing to the lady on the phone and she said she would note it and remove the balance. After a few weeks, they called my husband again. I had to call back and the lady on the phone confirmed with me that there was no balance on my account. I thought there might be a glitch in their system and it was not updated timely. Then in October and Novermber 2013, my husband got their call again and again!! He asked them to double check.They were quiet for a while and today (Nov 20, 2014), they called again and threatened to move our balance to collection company. We are totally outrageous by this company's practice. By its name, Ward Pest Control should control and remove pest, but not be a pest itself!Desired Settlement: Correct our account information in all Ward Pest Control system and stop contacting us!!!

Business

Response:

December 18, 2014Dear [redacted],We are totally sympathetic to your frustration with the bothersome collection calls from our office that you have received over the course of nearly two years. Speaking in defense of our company, this is not usual or expected behavior.My only explanation is poor follow-through on the part of the person making the calls in our office, to make sure corrections or adjustments are made to the account in question. We work through Temp Agencies to identify individuals to make these calls. Because they are short-term and temporary, they are here to do their work and not especially to look after the best interests of the company. I can verify that your account now has a zero balance.All I can say is that [redacted] and I are chagrined about your experience with our company. This is simply NOT the way we ordinarily work. We’d like to offer you $60.00 off any future pest control service that you may need. This has been noted on your account.Thank-you for bringing this abuse to our attention.Donna WOffice Manager

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.]

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

Regards,

Review: In October 2011 Ward Pest Control was hired to seal our house off so that bats would not return to our attic. In March 2012 we contacted Ward Pest Control because the work performed was not effective; the bats returned to our house. We waited until October 2012 to have the house resealed since the bats cannot be removed during mating season. The gentleman who assessed our house to determine why/where the bats were entering the house from stated that the original work performed by his company was incomplete and that several areas that should have been sealed off were not. He walked us around the house and demonstrated the areas of concern. The work was completed free of charge under the company one year warranty. We waited a month then another person from the company came to our house and confirmed that there were no bats in our attic anymore. We then hired another company to remove all insulation and sterilize our attic (this was necessary considering the considerable amount of guano in the attic). Another company was hired to blow in insulation with an R factor of 56. We also hired someone to install a new set of attic stairs since the company that sterilized our attic thought it best to start fresh. Now we have bats back in our attic and guano beginning to cover our new insulation. I contacted Ward Pest Control and discussed the situation. They claimed that only the work performed in 2011 was warrantied and the work completed in 2012 was not under warranty. They offered to have me pay for them to do the work again and to pay them to replace the new insulation. I view the work completed in 2012 as new work that should be warrantied since it was not even completed in 2011. I also believe that a confirmation that the house is bat free should mean something. I spent over $3,000 to make my house sanitary and now it is filling up with guano again - especially since I have to wait until October again to have the house sealed properly.Desired Settlement: I would like Ward Pest Control to seal my house properly and replace the insulation free of charge. I only replaced the insulation after having faith in their service and confirmation that the house was bat free. I would not have paid two different companies to do such intensive work if there was question of the efficiency of the services provided.

Business

Response:

August 26, 2013

Dear **. [redacted],

Thank-you for forwarding [redacted]’s Statement of the Problem and her Desired Settlement (ID [redacted]). In reply:

[redacted]’s statement relating to the dates, and what Ward did to remove and exclude the bats was essentially correct. When she called the office the end of July to report that the bats were back, she spoke with a trainee who has a “prompt sheet” to read from. Looking at her service record, the trainee told her the warranty work was done in 2012, and there was no further warranty, that she would have to pay for additional work. [redacted]’s complaints should have been referred directly to the Office Manager, or Senior Service Representative, rather than having been handled by the trainee.

Our technician went to [redacted]’s on August 1, following our normal operating procedure to check all customer problems and complaints, without our prior knowledge that **. [redacted] had contacted the Revdex.com. He reported to the office that the rake board had continued to warp, opening up previously closed areas. He told [redacted] that Ward would redo the exclusion at no charge. There will be no warranty on this work.

The house was “bat free” after the warranty work, but it is impossible to declare a house “bat free” indefinitely. As a house ages, the wood weathers, and the rake board along the roof-line increasingly separates from the house. Maintenance of a home dictates that a professional replace the rake board/s, fitting it/them tightly to the house, thus not leaving any possibility for bat or rodent entry.

Bats usually hang in the same places in an attic, close to the entry points, and their quano collects below those areas. If asked by homeowners, Ward recommends cleaning up the guano, removing (if possible, but not necessary) the insulation in those areas only, and sanitizing the area. We do not recommend replacing all of the insulation in an attic for a bat problem; companies that do are over-selling. On the August 1 visit our technician told [redacted] that we could not replace the insulation because it is blown-in, but we willclean up the guano and treat and sanitize the area. There is no need to replace the insulation and Ward respectfully declines to do so.

The exclusion and cleanup is currently scheduled on September 5, but we will be asking to change that to September 30 because of the maternity period. As stated above, there will be no charge to [redacted] for this work and there will be no further warranty. The original price of work was $695.00. I’m not sure I understand the noted Purchase Price of $860.00 Or the Disputed Amount of $ 1500.00.

We sincerely hope that this reply will put this matter to rest.