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Diane of Boswell OK (06/11/08)
We hired Orkin to treat termites. They charged us $2390.00 to spray under the house and put bait monitors around the house. For two years they ocassionally checked the baiting and always said that since there was no activity there were no termites.
Less than four years later, we are replacing the floor in 2/3 of our house. The carpenter could easily put his pocket knife half way into the joists and flip it out to expose the live termites. The carpenter pointed out that there are no trenches around ANYTHING that goes from dirt to floor. David from Orkin came out and crawled under the house when only 1/2 of the flooring was demolished and said the damage was from water and that there were no termites. We pulled one out of the joist under which he entered.
Plus, when our contract was up, I called Orkin twice to have them pull up the bait monitors; they are still there. NOW they find it important to remove them. David was so very condescending to us. At first the lawyer said that the contract we signed wouldn't hold up with a jury because Orkin obviously didn't do their job. He has since said that the contract is binding. If you don't sign their contract, they won't do the job. This is a standard procedure for businesses.
We had to replace 2/3 of our floor, and we had to take a loan out for $30,000. Our family of eight was displaced from our home for more than a month.
Dollie of Garden City MI (06/05/08)
i originally signed up for 1 year of service because I was told I had an infestation of carpenter ants, I paid for one year in advance, after 8 months of treatment, I still had ants, had them come extra to work on it, used an over-the counter product that worked better than what orkin used,
i cancelled my contract and have been trying for several months to receive a refund of $54.00, they told me they originally issued a check and sent it, I have never received it, they were supposed to overnight a check a couple of weeks ago, never received it, i was just on the phone with Kathy, for the millionth time, and she doesn't know what is taking them so long so in future, for those of you who have ant problems, DO NOT CHOOSE ORKIN
Vanda of Fairburn GA (06/03/08)
Signed a conract for one year and renewed it yearly. Orkin said they will come out every three months. However, they never came to inspect the termites they came approx. once yearly. After writing to the coperative office they did give me back 3 months payment. I will never ever use them again. Marie in the College Park office in GA. scovers up for the guys when they do not come. She gave me a date in June that they came and the guy gave me another date in the aid month. Needless to say, no invoice was ever left. My son also made an appointment with Orkin and his appointment was between 9 am and 12 pm. It was a No Show after calling Marie and she called him she said he just woke up Will you like to reschedule.
Lot of stress.
Michelle of Mukwonago WI (05/09/08)
We had a conract with orkin to provide services at our residence in Hales Corners,WI to come every other month. We were told that we could cancel our services anytime as long as we gave a 30 day notice prior to our next scheduled service. I called just prior to our next scheduled service in 1/7/08 and told them that I wanted to cancel our services. They informed me that I could cancel at that time, but would be responsible for the next schedules service on 1/7/08. (Which I understood).
We sold our house and bought a new home on 1/25/08. Much to my surprise, I recieved a charge on my credit card for a so called service that was provided on 3/28/08. I immediatly called Orkin and spoke with the so called supervisor named Gary. I explained that I had cancelled all of my services with them back in January.
I told his that I found it hard to belive that any services were provided to me, considering that I didn't even own that house anymore. Every time that we had a scheduled service, I had to be home to let someone into my house, as well as sign an invoice. So, as you can see that this service was NOT provided, yet they charged me for it. I was told by Gary that my credit card would be credited for the amount of $84.80, and that my services were going to be cancelled on 5/1/08. I had this conversation with gary on 4/25/08.
I called my credit card company to see if my account was credited on 5/5/08, and nothing was done. I called Orkin again on 5/5/08 to see why nothing was done and spoke to a woman by the name of Beverly who assured me that she was going to cancel my account and credit me th amount of $84.80 and also send me a screen print off showing me that my services were cancelled.
On 5/8/08, I checked my credit card co. angain and STILL no credit from Orkin. I called Orkin again and spoke with Gary again who said that he would have Beverly do it first thing in the morning. I feel like I keep going round and round with this compancy and NO ONE is doing what they say they are going to do. I am very frusterated! Still no credit.I don't know what else to do at this point. I will NEVER recommend this company to ANYONE else for the hassle that they have shown.
I ended up having to pay the amount charged to my credit card for the amount of $84.80 to avoid any finance charges because Okin did not credit my account as they said they were going to do.
Carol of West Orange NJ (04/22/08)
In October of 2007 I called Orkin to get rid of mice problems in my house. I have a two family house and the tenant and I were and are still seeing mice. I would like to contact another pest control service because I don't feel that this company is getting rid of the problem. Orkin comes to my house every quarter since I made the contract and I've had to call them for extra treatments because the visits don't seem to catch or kill the mice. I called to cancel the contract, because I truly don't see what I'm paying for and the receptionist want's to change fee's for breaking the contract. My contract says I should see results therefore they're breaking their agreement.
I constantly clean up mice droppings and I'm still see ants etc. in my basement. I want this problem resolved before my six month old grandbaby starts crawling around the house.
Reginald of Baltimore MD (02/22/08)
We entered into a 12-month contract with bi-monthly visits from Orkin. We paid for both inside and outside service. There was NO inside service for 6 months or 3 services. Although, we did not receive the complete service we had expected, we paid twice during the six month period. We complained to the company and refused to pay the third payment. Instead of working with us to resolve the issues with the missed services, the company sent us a delinquent payment letter. I called again, and they said we had to initiate the visits ourselves, by making appointments to get caught up with the services missed. They also said that we needed to pay when the next service was rendered.
I'll be glad when the Orkin contract is finished in July. I'll make sure I let others know how bad the service was. What happened to "the customer is always right" or at least "let us work with the customer to resolve issues"? I'll be looking for another exterminator real soon, and next time I be sure to check with Better Business Bureau and other Consumer Complaint agencies (looking for good as well as bad experiences) before making a decision.
Lasondra of Los Angeles CA (10/22/07)
I purchased a home in 2005 and the Orkin life-time service agreement was transferred. During that time I've never received an invoice indicating a payment or a cancellation of service. Up until 10/2007 Orkin did not have the correct information even after repeated converstions where I've given it. They say my account was canceled in 2005. It was transferred to me at the time of the home sale with one year's payment. I heard nothing from them until they sent a representative to the home for 2006 payment and inspection. I paid the inspector and again no invoice and no information concerning my account until I called for an inspection in 10/2007. Orkin customer service is not suppling any information on the account other than the contract has been canceled.
No termite service as of this point; currently scheduling Terminix to come out and inspect property.
Gary of Cutler ME (09/22/07)
We have a weekend house in Maine. Orkin said they would come on Saturday morning between 8 & 12 to deal with carpenter ants. They called on Wednesday to confirm we would be there because they had a technician coming for sure. We flew to Maine to be there and waited until 11:50 before calling the office. They said they would page the technician who would call us. At 12:30 I called back and was transferred to the national call center who told me the local office was now closed, but they would look up who is in the area and have them call. Ten minutes later that person called to say that his technician had called in sick but that he didn't know that until just then. He wouldn't send someone, but only offered to reschedule. I explained that he had cost us hundreds of dollars and hours of time, that I wasn't going to go through that over a seven month process, and to cancel the order. Now we are starting from scratch a week later. Orkin is a terribly run business that treats people terribly. I hope others read this and stay away.
Michelle of Rochester NY (09/14/07)
I had mice in the basement and called Orkin because they advertise that they are the best in the industry. They had me on the phone for over a half hour trying to sell me things that I did not need and failed to give me information on what I was requesting. I finally got a service scheduled. To date, not one mouse has been caught by orkins tools yet I have caught them with cheap glue traps from the store. Every month I have a service call but they don't confirm. So when I call to make sure they are coming, the people are rude and say that I do not have an appt. I say that the technician scheduled it last month and they argue saying that the tech is not coming, and someone will call you. No one calls back.
Nancy of Wesley Chapel FL (08/26/07)
I have had Orkin for the past year or so. At first they did get rid of the bugs and ants but the last couple of months I have had to call them back out and they still don't get rid of the roaches and then they charge me.
Keith of Buna TX (04/12/07)
After contracting with this Orkin jobber in 2003 to protect and rid our home of termites we have experianced an astounding level of non-service and 3 re-infestations causing damage in several locations . We have been battling for almost a full year to have the damage repaired to only hear, repeatedly we're gonna get it done. Severe damage to hardwood flooring -- 2 rooms, wall and subfloor damage, stud and header damage, water damage due to tub sinking after support wood under tub was compromised by termites.
Kenneth of Kinston, NC (03/04/07)
Termites have severely damaged our residence since we signed a contract with Orkin in March, 2002. We believe Orkin failed to properly reinspect and treat our house, plus improperly advertised that they could guarantee termite protection.
Laurie of Valdosta GA (02/12/07)
We have a plan with Orkin and it has been one year and we still have not had our house serviced for last year. We have called and called but no luck. This is a service we paid for and we want service done on our house. They always say someone will call you back but they never do.
Vadi of Bethesda, MD (09/27/06)
I had a contract with Orkin for termite protection. This year we had a swarm of termites. I called to request a technitian and the call went to their message taking service that told me Orkin would call me back. No one did.
Had to give 3 more calls and wait for 4 weeks before a service rep showed.
I decided to cancel the service based on this experience. Orkin told me they do not refund money paid for annual contract. On balance, Orkin was fast to collect cash in advance and totally non-responsive in dealing with a customer.
Peter of Roscoe, IL (09/27/06)
My 86 year old mother was conned into getting her house sprayed for termites EVERY MONTH.
When her health deteriorated, we brought her to live with us. We are now selling her old house, and it turns out to be infested with termites.
It's bad enough that they didn't do their job. It's criminal that they conned an 86 year old woman, living alone on a fixed income, into having her home sprayed every month. They made hundreds of dollars, while an old lady lived in a termite infested house. Not to mention the chemicals she had to live with. Shame!
Nancy-Ellen of Gaylordsville CT (06/08/06)
March 24, 2006 signed a one-year contract with Orkin for termite control. I paid them in full, over $2,000. The sales rep said a technician would spray into crawl spaces in basement, along exposed beams and along termite tubes as well as around garage and barn. They planted 35 traps around the house with plain wood to see where the termites were. They said it was important to have a schedule and in one month (4/24) they would come back to check the traps and where activity was found they would set poison. They never came back. I called on 4/15 because I had a swarm, but they said to wait the full month. On 5/9/06 I called Rex, the service manager to complain and he scheduled someone to come on 5/12. No one showed up. I waited in all day. I called and cancelled the service and said I wanted a refund within the next two weeks. On 5/15/06 my husband called and spoke to Mike who is Rex's supervisor. He said a refund was in the works. I called 6/8/06 and spoke to Rex who said he would check with Mike, but I still have no check.
I need the money back so I can hire another, more reputable company to rid my house of termites.
Frank of Dallas TX (03/23/06)
We have been an Orkin Pest Control and Termite customer for mamy years, at least 20 years. We use montly service for pest control and annual service for termite control. Within the last year Orkin has changed our technician at least four or five times. Our agreement for pest control with each technician has been schedule our service on the first Wednesday of each month, between 8:00 and 10:00 in the morning. We also hand the technician a check for his service upon completion. He recorda the check amount and check number on his work sheet and leaves me a copy for my file. The tell each technician that I will only pay when they service the house inside and outside, not just run around the outside perimeter of the house. Also, I have to let them into the back yard. the back yard is fenced with a lock on the gate.
These procedures worked well until the main office changed the technician in December 2005. I did not receive service in December, nobody call or came by my home. A technician call about service the last week in January 2006. I told him that hen could come the first Wednesday in February. Again the technician call say he was on his way to service my home in late February. I Told him I was cancelling my service with Orkin. I have had enough og the technicians and the Main Office staff, Heather and John, Manager. I have talked with John and Heather regarding my month bill invoices being incorrect. I repeatly receive bills stating that I owe $47.30 0r $94.60. I call and talk to Heather but she is so unprofessional with me over the phone that I started to speak with John. He is very nice but nothing happens to remove the amounts no owed fron the monthly bills.
Robert of Havelock NC (02/08/06)
We have our old house at 103 Smith Circle under contract. It needed a home inspection. A report of the home inspector said that we had moisture rot under crawl space that had to be repaired before the house can be sold. I called the manager at Orkin and explained the problem. I first told him we have had this contract since 1985. Secondly that it was renewed last month for another 12 months. No mention is made on the renewal of any moisture problems. He told me that they don't pay for any repairs. My question was what was the 20 years of paying on this contact for. I obviously have moisture rot on my house and now can't sell it until it is repaired. I also have termite contract on the same house that I have been paying on for 27 years.
My agent is trying to line someone up to repair it, so at present I do not know the cost. So I am now making payments on 2 house, which as a retired enlisted Marine , I can't afford.
William of Lawton OK (01/20/06)
Orkin has the worst customer service I have ever experienced in a company. I sent in a question months ago about an issue which I can no longer remember. I have been an Orkin residential customer for about 15 years and have been reasonably happy for the most part with the local office. However, the response from Orkin.com customer service was rude and unresponsive. When they initially responded to me they even referred to me as a female, even though my name is most definitely a male name. When I complained about the rude and arrogant response, their action was to completely ignore me.
I was only reminded of this because I received a call today asking when they could come by and do my annual termite inspection. The local office, to include the manager, has always been very courteous and easy to work with. The manager had me forward a copy of the message, which he then forwarded to his regional manager. He stated that he did not know they failed to respond. I informed him that I would no longer do business with Orkin, even though he graciously offered an apology in behalf of his company.
It is a shame that a local office that is attempting to build up good will and do a good job has to suffer from arrogance and rude behavior by their parent company, but I do not intend to tolerate it.
John of Cedar Hill TX (12/06/05)
I contracted Orkin Pest Control to rid my house of roaches last year. After two months of calling & complaining the roaches finally seemed to be going away. I continued to pay my monthly bill ($86.87) & receive monthly treatments. In May of 2005, I noticed that the roaches were getting worse. I called and requested extra treatments to eliminate the roaches, but they continued to grow in numbers.
I withheld my July payment as it seemed pointless to me, to pay $86.87/ month and the problem is getting worse. I decided, the first week of August, to give Orkin ONE LAST CHANCE, to do what they have been getting paid to do & KILL THE ROACHES. So August 3rd I made an electronic online payment to Orkin. I then call Orkin’s Customer Service Department to schedule a Service call. I conveyed my dissatisfaction with the service & explained that if they couldn’t kill the roaches I would be wanting a Refund. When the Orkin Tech came to my house & refused to treat saying that they had not received the payment yet! I called Orkin’s Customer Service Department, again, while voicing my displeasure told the CSR that all wanted was for them to kill the roaches!
The CSR indignantly said that they would have the tech go back & do the treatment. The Tech pulled back up in front of my House sat there for a couple of minutes & left. I then had a supervisor call assuring me that he would deal with my roach problem personally. They came out & treated the areas where we had the most activity & a week later I still saw roaches. I want my money back so that I can contact an exterminating company that can kill the roaches!
Charles of Vacaville, CA (11/15/05)
Month after months we paid for Orkin's service, then we found out that half the time no one ever came to perform the monthly service. One day I caught an Orkin representative ring my doorbell and then run to his truck to fill out a bill! He came back and put the bill into the door without providing ANY service!
We told Orkin we planned to file a complaint with the police dept and they laughed at us.
Carol of Shreveport LA (9/9/03):
I have been under contract with Orkin since 1986. We did everything they told us to do and spent a lot of money doing what they told us to do to keep the termites away. But they just keep coming back. Orkin has had to repair our home in numerous places over the years and each time my husband had to fight with them to get them to do the repairs.
My husband died three years ago and now I have to fight them on my own. In the process of trying to sell my house, a huge amount of termite damage was found and I have tried to get Orkin to take responsibility but they say they cannot find any live termites and the damage was already there. The person that is supposed to buy my house had someone else come out to get a second opinion and was told that the termite damage was maybe 2-3 years old at the most and probably the reason they could not find live temites was because they probably sprayed and disrupted them.
I am going to take a big loss selling my house due to this damage. I am a disabled widow and just do not have the resources to fight them on my own.
Judy of Springfield VA (7/23/01):
In February I used my Visa credit card to pay my account. My card was billed twice. In April I faxed a copy of the bill to Orkin. I was told in May that this had to go through the coperate office in Atlanta. Since then I have spoken to at least three people at the offices in Atlanta and this matter has yet to be resolved. I simply want this amount credited to my Orkin account or my credit card.
Johnny of Arcadia CA (7/28/01):
They claim to be termite control specialists. Maybe. However, the way they handle their clients' houses is subpar. When they carried this huge tank of chemical into my nicely carpeted house, stains and dripping formed a trail following them into the house. They made no apologies. They wanted me to clean it up afterwards.
My carpet is off-white color, and it is very difficult to get the stain out. So there went my entire afternoon cleaning the mess they left behind. There was no advance warning that this would happen. If they had told me about these things, i could have covered my white carpet with cloth to prevent the stains.
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