Complaints

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• Initial Complaint

  Date:11/28/2022

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I called this company because I had bees in my home. He came out & said they were in the wall by a window with swollen OSB behind siding. He took off my siding & broke pieces, cut into OSB, cut into electrical wires & left it exposed that could have started a fire and never informed us. There were no bees in this window and no rotting OSB board. The thermal heat was coming from my vent below the window and wiring in the wall. He was supposed to come over the next day to pump dust into these holes. Did not show up & stopped responding when he was told bees were still entering the home. I received a bill for the DAMAGE done to my home. I have had to hire an electrician to fix the wire he cut, a real exterminator who found the bee entry in 5 mins & took care of the problem when it was really at the back of my chimney and a company to repair siding and fix the damage outside. I’m now spending almost $2 THOUSAND dollars in damages that he did to my home. I should be receiving a check for these repair costs not receiving a bill.

  Business Response

  Date: 11/28/2022

  On 11/12/2023, Mrs. *********** contacted us about yellow jacket wasps entering her home. She explained several other companies she had called turned her down saying treatment was too hard this time of year. I advised Mrs. *********** that they are correct, but i would be happy to come do an inspection the following day and see what we can do. Out of courtesy, both the inspection fee and emergency service charges were waived, and we scheduled a sunday inspection on a day we are typically closed. 
  
  Upon inspection, no visible entry point was observed. Mrs. *********** advised that the wasps go and in out at a rear exterior window. Thermal imaging on the area was performed showing a circular hotspot anomaly. Mrs. *********** was advised we can't be certain there is a nest in that spot, and we advised they could absolutely be in an inaccessible area for removal. A written estimate was provided with recommendation to drill small holes to inject the wall voids with powder insecticide product to see if it resolves. E-mail conversation also shows that Mrs. *********** was told we cannot guarantee successful treatment and will return to retreat if the problem is not resolved. Mrs. *********** declined the recommended treatment via email on 11/13/2023 and requested that we open the walls in an attempt to locate and remove the physical nest. A new written estimate was then provided via email. 

  Upon the start of opening the exterior wall, i advised Mrs. *********** that in an effort to save her money, I will be making just small cuts into the wood to be able to get a camera into the void to confirm a nest. Upon opening a small square hole, coiled electrical wire was found creating heat from the resistance of the coil. No nest was found so no further cuts were made. The entire process, and conversation are both documented via GoPro video footage, audio recording, as well as email/text conversations prior to work being performed. 

  When it was confirmed the nest was not in the void by the window, an additional thermal inspection was done showing a heat anomaly near the fireplace. I advised to Mrs. *********** that i would treat the voids in the fireplace and that she should keep an eye out for where there are entering the home as that will give us an easy opportunity to treat successfully. The fireplace voids were treated the same day as indicated by the product usage notes on the invoice in question, an agreement to return the following day on a day when we are closed is incorrect as products cannot legally be applied 2 days in a row. I advised her to keep looking for where they are coming in, and keep a close eye on whether or not they have a white powder on them indicating they have crawled through insecticide. Mrs. *********** sent a text the following day saying she had more yellow jackets in the house. We responded asking if they had powder on them, to which she replied no. A few days went by with no contact from Mrs. *********** so we had assumed the treatment had worked and the problem had been resolved. At that point, even though we had an agreed upon price for the work done, we felt bad we were unable to remove the physical nest, and sent her a reduced invoice of approximately 50% of the quoted and agreed to amount. 

  Unfortunately, we are unable to work for free. To not only devalue our time by refusing a more than reasonable invoice, but also request compensation for "damages" in which were requested to be done by yourself is beyond our comprehension of a "reasonable" request. We have over 10 hours total clocked into the property via a GPS/Satellite check-in and check-out system. We have absolutely bent over backwards for you by rescheduling other jobs, straying from standard processes, working in the dark and snow, and saying yes when all others said no. The invoice sent was highly discounted, and the true service value greatly exceeds $1000 which would be felony theft of services. Failure to pay invoices may also result in legal action, and/or 3rd party collections which may result in additional fees owed. 
  
  
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 11/30/2022

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  1. The invoice is not close to 50% off of the quote. The original quote I received was incorrect. I never received a revised quote where the scope was reduced which would reduce the cost.

  2. The invoice even shows the area is the wall which was incorrect. There was no thermal scan of the fireplace that was ever shown to me. I was told no heat was coming from anywhere else in the home. The fireplace was ruled out and I was told he scoped the chimney with a camera as far down as he could and nothing was found. He looked in the chimney in the home and nothing was found. Sticky pads were placed on the outer areas of the fireplace along with dust in case this was the area. Which was not accurate since they continued to appear in my home with no dust and never on these pads if they came out this area. As a new business, this was clearly a learning experience situation attempting to find the source of these bees and he stayed in search of the bees but did not find the source. I had family and friends texting and calling me concerned for my safety that an exterminator had not found the bees yet and was still at my home. The original window heat thermals were the only ones I received and he did tell my husband and I when he arrived that he heard them in this window, saw their entry point when removing a piece of the siding due to the swollen boards per documentation from the company which is not accurate per photos of the boards. 

  3. Small holes were not drilled into the osb boards and the wire was cut and left exposed. I had to pay for an electrician to build a new outlet so it could be boarded up safely without a fire and the breaker downstairs had to be turned off.

  4. Initial call was placed on 11/12/22 a Saturday. I left a message, he called back and asked if we would be available at 5pm that night. We were and that is when the window as the source of entry was told to us. On Thursday, 11/17/22 he wanted to know my availability to come out to do a thermal scan of the window and home. He arrived in the evening after work. He told me Saturday 11/19/22 was the day that he could do it if his morning job finished on time. Sunday for sure he was available. He showed up on 11/19/22 in the afternoon. An entire week went by from the original consult so this was not an emergency. The business is also open on Saturday and Sunday’s. The new company I hired came out within 2 days of my initial call to them to treat the issue. EcoPest took 1 week.

  5. I informed him my husband was frustrated and that we would be calling another exterminator. When he left I was told he was coming back on Sunday to repair the wood he cut and treat the outside of the home. If the bees were to come out the next day from these areas, they would have white powder on them. They became coming out in the afternoon. After telling him they did not have white powder I began trying to find other points of entry that had not been treated or looked at. I sent texts that they did not have white powder and later that they were still coming in from another point of entry. No response so I made no further contact with the company as we called a new exterminator on Monday like we said.

  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***** ***********

  Business Response

  Date: 11/30/2022

  No further information can be provided to the BBB due to a criminal complaint and active civil litigation against the customer.