Homeowner's Rant
 

So I have termite service for my house. I also had, for a year, pest service. I paid for a year in advance. I did NOT send in the payment when they sent me the bill to renew the pest service. I got a call about them coming for service and said fine that day was ok. I assumed it was still within my last year that I paid for since why would they be coming if I didn't pay? Well... apparently they are billing me for it since it wasn't in my last year that I paid. They say that service continues unless you specifically tell them you want to cancel it. I thought that just not sending a payment was enough. I called the main (800) number and they didn't do anything besides tell me that I had to talk to the manager of the local branch and that it does say on their bill that service continues unless you specifically cancel. Does this sound weird to anyone else?! They never told me when they called to schedule the service that my previous year contract was up and that I would have to pay for the service, or I would have told them not to come.

Yeah, that sounds like a crappy business practice. It reminds me of those "book of the month club" things, where they keep sending you stuff even if you don't pay. But if you refuse to pay, they can report it to a credit bureau. I'd totally write a letter of complaint and cancel service, then be very vocal about their terrible policy to everybody you know needing their service.

Our local Gym does that apparently...my membership was supposed to cancel this month on the 18 (at least that was my 6 month anniversary, we had a 6 mo paid membership). Well in August my kids went and the owner asked them to have me call her, so I did and she said she wanted to know if we were continueing our membership and that if we were not we needed to give her 1 month notice or it would automatically renew...I was under the impression that a 6 month contract is just that.....6 months!!! But I am glad I let her know that we were NOT renewing for another 6 months, I would have been LIVID if I had to pay again!!!!! (OUR GYM SUCKS!!!)

it is weird..however on that note...it may have been written into your contract...and if it was placed in your contract...its perfectly legit...so i would call and cancle and pay for what you already owe them.

Yup, I agree that if it was in your contract then it falls on your shoulders. Got to read that fine print.

See, at least they let you know. They didn't even tell me I needed to give notice or that I would need to pay when they came out.

you need to find your original contract...and if its in your contract...then unfotunately you haven't been had...you just didn't read the fine print.

I realize that, I just think it is horrible business practice.

yeah i agree, it is a TERRIBLE business practice. But that said, they should have let you know that you were "out of contract" on that prepaid stuff, since as a sales person they should have tried to sell you another year "pre-paid"

I think a lot of termite companies do it that way. The one I had does. I don't have them now because I moved.

I don't believe in long-term contracts anyway for this stuff. And I sure don't want anyone just coming and spraying poison all over every year as "insurance."

Jay