ComplaintsforThe Pest King

• Initial Complaint

  08/17/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  Paid over $517,00 For work in mouse control and never returned to finish the work or answered phone calls or texts Would like a refund

  Business response

  08/17/2023

  ****** this is ******* I sincerely apologize for not being able to reach us. We are switching phone carriers. T-mobile to Verizon. During the switch, we have temporarily lost our numbers. We are trying to have it fixed as soon as possible. 
  

  In the meantime, I will call you from a new phone number. The number is ************. Due to it being 9:18pm, I will wait and call you in the morning. To set up a time for tomorrow afternoon.

  Warm Regards, 

  ****** *******

• Initial Complaint

  05/18/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  Last summer, we set up with Pest King to recieve their "termite package" including 4 bug sprays during the year. We recieved 2 sprays and have termite canisters around the house. They indicated they typically do not come during winter months. When we hit March, I was concerned because we were having wasps, ants, and stink bugs within the home which were also supposed to be covered in our pre-paid package. They responded once and set up an appointment in which they no showed. I have called 10x and left numerous voicemails and my husband has reached out by text with no response. I called and left a voicemail letting them know I would contact the BBB if I didn't get a response and still nothing. I want to be provided the services I already paid for or refunded for a percentage of the purchase so I can change to another company who can communicate and get the work done for the safety of myself and my growing family.

• Initial Complaint

  06/08/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I purchased a home in June 2021 and as part of the purchase the owner provided proof of termite treatment through Pest King but the job was unfinished. We confirmed before the purchase that Pest King would finish the job if I call and transfer the service into my name within 30 days. I transfered the service in July and scheduled the job. I spoke with a woman who remembered the situation. She even went as far as to confirm with (her husband) that they could provide extra coverage around an infested stump in the front yard. The job was a no show on our scheduled day and I have not heard from them since. I've attempted to call, leave vm, text, email. I can likely find the text convo but I'll need to dig.

  Customer response

  08/24/2022

  Customer called BBB 8/24/22 stating she's received a text message from the business but they want to charge her for work that should have been performed last year. 

  Business response

  08/24/2022

  Hello, 

  This is Michael R****** owner of The Pest King. 
  First of all The Pest King has NEVER had any agreement or Contract with ** or *** ******. What we did have was a contract with a company named *** **********. The agreement was for Termite Protection to be offered at **** **** ****** ****** ****. This agreement was For 1 year and the agreement was signed by *** ********** on 4/21/21. The agreement was to provide protection for the said property for one (1) full year. This agreement also had a renewal of $375.00 for the contract to start over each year. As with any contract especially with contracts for Properties that are expected to be sold there is a transfer fee associated with the contract in case the property should be sold. That transfer fee is a flat $50.00, but this contract/agreement was setup to where if a new owner should take over the contract they had 30 days to contact us and we would simply make a few changes to the paper work and the new owners would have the protection provided and of course they would be responsible for the upkeep and renewals for the property. 
  There has been a few problems with this agreement or complaint:

  1. We was not ever contacted by anyone about this property being owned by the ******** except for once when their realtor contacted us supposedly when getting ready to sign the papers for the house. We was told that the realtor couldn’t and wouldn’t ask the ******** to pay for anything more for this house let alone a transfer fee for the termite protection. We was told that she would let us know if and when the signing was going to happen. 
  2..We was NEVER notified that the ******** took ownership of the home. We had to look it up on the ********* County Auditor’s website once the first BBB complaint was filed because we had no Idea who the ******** were? Why was their name not in our system? Why had we not heard the name ****** before? Again we had no record or agreements with any such name. But now we have a complaint? Which we’ve NEVER had and had a perfect record? 
  3. On 8/19/2022 after the original BBB complaint we met with *** ****** and offer to make a brand new contract without paying for an initial service we offered to install a better system, and protection for their property for a cost less then what the original agreement of just $300.00 and we was told “we don’t think your the right company for us.” So we left and got another complaint through the BBB? 

  With all due respect to the BBB, I’d like the BBB to request a copy of ANY agreement or contract between the plaintiff and The Pest King. There is none, because we’ve NEVER had any dealings with the ******** other than offering them premium protection at a 
  very heavily discounted price, and they turned that down only to submit another BBB complaint. I sent an offer over to *** ****** via email, of which we get this another BBB complaint? 
  

   

  Customer response

  08/25/2022

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, reasons for rejection are included below.

  I believe there may be some miscommunication between Amanda and Michael at Pest King. Below is my full and accurate account of events.

  Attached is the original contract between Pest King and *** as well as confirmation of payment in full from ***. This contract included a full installation of a bait system. These documents were sent from Pest King to my Realtor on 6/18 and then forwarded to me. My realtor confirmed with Amanda of Pest King that I would not be responsible for additional fees for the unfinished job. I signed on the house the following day 6/19 and called Pest King 3 days later, June 22 to transfer service in to my name (I have record of this call). At the time, I was not ready to schedule the additional service as I had just moved in and was unsure if I would begin any yard projects (ie leveling the yard).

  I called Pest King back twice on October 6 but did not receive an answer. I called back October 15 and spoke with Amanda who remembered my situation and was kind to get us scheduled right away. We scheduled the service for Friday, October 22nd. Later this same Day Amanda sends me a text message to let me know that she spoke with her husband and he was confident we could add additional bait stations around an infested stump. I had mentioned my concern for this during our phone call. Convo Below:

  October 15 11:35AM

  --Amanda: Hi ****** This is Amanda with The Pest King. I spoke with Mike. He said we will add stations around the stump just to be safe

  --Me: Awesome! Thanks for getting back to me so quick.

  --Amanda: You're welcome. My apologies ma'am. What's your last name?

  --Me: ***** ******

  --Me: Last name like *****

  --Amanda: Ok, thank you.

  --Amanda: Nice to meet you *****. Welcome to The Pest King Family.

  ** At no point did anyone mention money owed for service or anything about a transfer fee. It's been too long now but I'm guessing Amanda waived it or chose not to charge me during our call**

  Nobody showed up for the appointment on Friday the 22nd. I sent Amanda a text on Monday, October 25th to follow up on the no show appointment

  --Me: Amanda, can you let me know the status of my appointment? I thought I was scheduled for last Friday but nobody showed up or called

  No response from Amanda

  Continued attempts to contact before Winter...

  October 26- Call Pest King and leave a voicemail (I have phone records and duration of call indicating a vm was left)

  October 29- Called Pest King and left a message (records as above)

  Nov 1- Called, possibly left message

  Nov 1- Tried calling Amanda's number, no response

  Nov. 11- Called Pest King, no response

  May 31- Called and left voicemail

  June 1- called with no response and then followed up with an email to the company

  June 30- Wrote them through Company ******** asking for a response

  Aug 10- Received follow up from BBB letting me know they had not heard a response from The Pest King. 

  Aug 11- Amanda texts me (first communication since our schedule appointment conversation in October):

  Amanda: "Good afternoon ****** This is Amanda with The Pest King. I sincerely apologize for the delay. My husband got real sick. He was Hospitalized for going Septic. He was in ICU for 6 days. I would like to get you on our schedule for this coming week! So we can get this taken care offor you. Again, my sincere apologies."

  Aug 12 Me: Amanda, can we please schedule a call for Monday to discuss the job and possible service dates?

  Amanda: Hi ****** yes ma'am. Any particular time frame on Monday?

  Me: How about 10am?

  Amanda: 10am is perfect. I will give you a call around 10am on Monday.

  Monday we spoke with Amanda for almost 20 minutes during which she was apologetic for the failure to communicate and explained about her husbands medical struggles. She said she understood it was no excuse and would make this right. I mentioned any damage that has been done over the lack over service for the past year. She said they would claim that on their insurance and we wouldn't have to worry about any possible damages done. I also brought to their attention that I almost scheduled another company to complete the service to protect my home. She said I should not have to do that and that they will take care of me. Amanda explained they system they were coming to install and that it would be good for a full years service. After the first year can continue annually if we chose. I asked if they could throw in any extra service because of the trouble this has put us through. She did not believe they could do any additional service at no cost so we left it at that and scheduled service for the upcoming Friday at 10am. No mention of a 3 hr service window (Mike's letter).

  10:30 Friday- I call Amanda wondering where they were. Amanda said they were still in Harrison gathering materials for my job and will be there in about an hour.

  12:00- Nobody has showed up or called. We assume it's another No Call No Show.

  12:50 They pull in to our driveway and Tyler goes outside to have a conversation with them. I'm inside because I'm upset over the situation and wanted him to have the hard conversation with them.

  On our door step is the first time we're hearing about a $300 fee we owe before they will start the job. My understanding and what I read in the contract is that, that job should have been done back in April when you went in to contract with ***. I was told the service was paid for but incomplete and I need to transfer the service in to my name within 30 day in order to have them complete the baiting stations outside. I believe I fulfilled my side of the bargain and I went above and beyond to communicate with Pest King about this service. Contacting BBB was a last resort for mediation and not an attempt to punish the company.

  Pest King left our property and did not complete the service without their $300 being paid upfront

  I called Amanda shortly after they left and had a discussion about what had just transpired. Concluding the call, Amanda said they were just down the road at Frisches and she would discuss with Mike and call me back. 2 hrs later I have not heard back so I call Amanda. She says she's back at their office drafting a new contract under my name and she'll email it to me tomorrow. What I receive Saturday is the 4 page document submitted already by Pest King. It is not a contract and contains an inaccurate account of events.

   

  
  Regards,
  
  ***** ******
  

  Business response

  08/26/2022

  Here’s what The Pest King doesn’t understand, we both Myself and Amanda stood on the porch and spoke directly to *** ****** directly. I stated that we would not only DROP any transfer fee, we would install the newest and (in my opinion) better system for their piece of mind. Not only that but I offered drop the original renewal fee to $300.00. He stated “Thanks but No Thank.” I don’t believe your the company for us. Then day after day I get BBB complaints. The original service was completed with bora-care (termiticide) because of the concern with the ORIGINAL WDI. 
  

  My question is if we are told face to face that *** ****** doesn’t want our service, again why keep turning to the BBB. We sent an offer because the CONTRACT **** ****** is EXPIRED. Has been EXPIRED since June of 2022. It’s pretty simple we offered to service the property (again) and we were told face to face that *** * ** ****** doesn’t want our service. 

  Customer response

  09/02/2022

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, reasons for rejection are included below.
  

  Did you read my full response? Were you not shocked by the difference in our account of events?

  I transferred this service in to my name by phone with Amanda in June 2021, per the contract. At that time, nobody charged a transfer fee which means the fee for that service was waived. As part of the original contract, The Pest King was to install bait ports around the perimeter of the house (which is why I needed to transfer the "service" in to my name). The only reason for a renewal fee would be to monitor and refill "service" the ports... but you never installed the ports in the first place.

  Prior to you showing up on our doorstep demanding $300 before you could start the job, Amanda promised the service free of charge and went as far as to say you would cover any damages (caused by ignoring me for the past year) under The Pest King's insurance.

  I would like for you to honor the original contract and honor your Company's word to place bait ports around my property at $0 cost to me.

  
  Regards,
  
  ***** ******
  

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩