On November 5, 2020, the Attorney General of Alabama announced that the state had reached a settlement with Terminix, the US’s largest pest care company.
The state described the outcome as a $60 Million Settlement with Terminix Over Illegal Business Practices Targeting Alabama Consumers.
FairShake is a leader in helping customers get justice when big companies rip them off. Here are some of the common questions we hear about the Terminix settlement.
What Terminix did:
According to the statement from Alabama’s AG, the settlement covers the following behavior:
The state says that these actions by Terminix violate the state’s Deceptive Trade Practices Act. Every state has its own consumer protection laws, which may cover the same sort of behavior if it took place in other states.
For Alabama Customers:
This settlement may provide you compensation and/or impact your rights regarding your complaint. Start here for information from Alabama’s Attorney General on what Alabama Terminix customers may receive from the state’s settlement.
For Non-Alabama Customers:
If you are not from Alabama, you do not appear to be eligible for any compensation from this Terminix settlement.
But you should still know about this Terminix settlement, particularly if you’ve had something like this happen to you — where Terminix has failed to deliver promised services, overcharged you, or jacked up your rates to avoid providing service. If a shady business practice is taking place in one state, that can be evidence when similar consumer complaints arise elsewhere.
If you have a Terminix complaint in another state, your contract probably says you can’t sue Terminix in any court except small claims court. But you can initiate a consumer arbitration claim, and FairShake can help you get started!
The Better Business Bureau lists thousands of Terminix complaints from around the country. Most of these complaints appear to be hidden because Terminix provided a written response, but we know that the most frequent issue of complaint was a problem with a Terminix service or product.
Whether Terminix behaved in the same way in other states as it did in Alabama is ultimately something that you as a Terminix customer are best positioned to know. If you’ve experienced failed promises, overcharges, or crazy renewal pricing, you can start a claim.
Your Legal Options
This seems like a simple question, but the answer isn’t. Technically, lawsuits against Terminix are possible, but you likely can’t file one if you are a customer. Most service providers, even home security providers, have special language in their contracts that prohibit customers from suing them if something goes wrong.
That doesn’t mean you are left hanging. You can file a lawsuit against Terminix in small claims court or file for binding consumer arbitration.
Consumer arbitration is a much easier and more convenient way to hold Terminix accountable when the company makes a mistake and you can <<<submit your complaint today>>>.
A class action lawsuit is a type of legal suit filed by a group called a class. If a large enough class has the same issue, class members can start a lawsuit that allows other people who have the same issue to join.
As a customer of Terminix, the problem is the wording in your contract prohibits you from joining an ongoing class action lawsuit or starting one yourself. Instead you are bound to take your claim to them individually.
Rather than trying to file or join a class action lawsuit, FairShake can <<<generate a personalized legal claim document against Terminix>>>, and then help guide you through the next steps.
There are a lot of ways you can file a claim against Terminix for common issues. Many people, for example, lodge official complaints with the BBB so that others are made aware of what problem was caused and what was (or, in most cases, wasn’t) done to fix it. If the issue is financial, you can always file a dispute with your bank.
But what about other issues? Legally, you have two options:
Start your legal demand against Terminix below.