Termite Contract RipOff
 

So, we just closed on a pre-owned home. The owner, God Bless Them, left us the receipt and the contract they had with Dean's Termite Control. On the contract, it specifies a $1,000,000 termite damage policy and transferable to new owners. The previous owners paid for another year contract in February of this year.

I contacted Dean's. The girl on the phone had one of the techs call me back. I thought this was strange to start with. All I needed to do was change my name with them and get on with other matters.

The guy calls me back and explains that I have to start over and pay for a whole NEW contract with them and they are using a different 'system' now. I asked him if the original owners were still there, what would THEY be doing under the current contract? He said they'd just start in with the new system in February of '25.

Besides the "new system", He also said they will bring over 3 beagles to sniff around the house for termites. WTF? :1rotfl:

I basically told him this sounds like a scam and a ripoff and if I decide to go with a new contract, it isn't gonna be with Dean's. You gotta be whackin' me!

As I understand it, Dean's only provides an annual contract, and they do a "partial" treatment every year. I have a 10-year contract with Massey, but you would need to get a full house treatment to start the contract. It cost me $400 for the initial treatment and about $90 per year to renew. Personally, I prefer Massey to Dean's because of the long term contract, and I don't like the partial annual treatments. The Massey treatment lasts 10 years, and they pump chemicals around the entire perimeter of the house, every 16 inches.

That's good info. I am confused as to why a TRANSFERABLE contract would require me to buy a WHOLE NEW CONTRACT! I'm skeptical

Most of these so called contracts are a scam.

In Florida, it is a personal choice. In other states, like Georgia, you really do need it. Termites are rampant. If you try to sell a house and the home inspector finds termite damage, you may have a real problem.

Nothing like a warranty that calls for annual payments.

Dean's is a scam.

OP, contact Seniors Against Crime, show them the documentation and ask them to get involved, also the BBB, this should get Deans at least to explain what is going on. Full disclosure: I use Deans (for over 12 years) for several services at our house, I gave up lawn mowing.

These are scams and they both are getting wealthy with them. After my first year in our new home I chose not to pay Deans or Massey for doing nothing, Deans tried to scare me into keeping them so I called Massey and they wanted $350.00 to transfer it over to them plus the annual fee which at that time I think was $140.00 so I researched how to treat my home for subterranean termites on my own have been doing it for over 6 years. I sold our home, yesterday had the inspection and today got the report, no trace of termites in or around the house and no trace of any other damaging pests. It works and for $49.00 I can treat my house for 2 years, takes about 10 minutes to do it. I'm leave TV next week and if I were staying I would not use either of them for any of their services, there are much better and cheaper options available for pests as well as lawn care.

Care to elaborate on how you treat yourself and product you use?

They do use a fear factor to sell overpriced services

Make a complaint to the Florida Attorney General’s office
 

Please take a few minutes go online and send a complaint to the Florida attorney Attorney General‘s office. It will only take a few minutes and you don’t have to get on the phone and talk to them. Thank you.

So what do you use and where do you buy it from?

I have the opposite. I had Massey for termite, lawn, sprinklers and more. My lawn looked like cr@p - full of weeds. I had to beg for them to do pest control when they appeared. When I went to cancel they were COMPLETELY inflexible. I reported I was moving and they still renewed me - and took an auto pay 3 days before I did. I have Deans. The termite contract was far less than Massey and my lawn looks GREAT. I had fire ants recently and they were here within 90 minutes.

A scam is a dishonest or fraudulent scheme designed to deceive people, typically for financial gain. Scammers often use various methods to trick victims into giving them money, personal information, or access to resources. Scams can take many forms, such as phishing emails, fake investment opportunities, online marketplace fraud, or identity theft. The primary goal of a scam is to exploit the victim's trust or lack of knowledge for the scammer's benefit.

Would you care to elaborate?

Two things about Dean's that make no sense to me. They do not offer a multi-year termite contract. Basically, you are getting a new contract every year. So, they can raise your rate or cancel you at any time. And, they only treat about 20 percent of your house every year. That is absurd.

Massey treats the entire house and guarantees it for 10 years.

WARNING- DEANS is a complete rip off - if they mow your lawn and you go away for a period of time they don’t mow - SCAMMERS YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!

Termidor SC
 

We use Termidor SC around the base of the house 3 times a year and it’s only 70 dollars for the concentrate. I think the bottle makes 25 gallons? Haven’t had an ant or any bug near the house since we started spraying the base of the home.

And how do they know you went away? We get a detailed report every time Dean’s treats, which is bi-monthly. Their new system is for monthly billing, but still bi-monthly treatment. If you have any issues, they are onsite same day or next day.

I swear I do not work for Dean’s, but I don’t understand all the negative comments here. If they are so bad, why are they so prolific in TV?

A house is treated for subterranean termites by inserting a metal rod about 18 inches deep into the ground and pumping a chemical into the soil every 16 inches around the entire perimeter of the house. This process poisons the soil and creates an underground poison soil barrier around the house. Subterranean termites live underground and travel up and down into the house eating soft woods, drywall, and carpet. You never see them because they cannot stand the light. Once they move in, they never leave. The only time you see them is once per year when they mate and some of them fly away to find another house. Spraying chemicals aboveground will do nothing to kill or deter subterranean termites. Aboveground spraying may kill ants and other insects, but it will never kill any subterranean termites because they never come to the surface.

Not a scam, but you should be able to continue the existing contract until it runs its course. The beagle inspection is real. I just had mine on my second TV home in order to get the termite insurance. It makes complete sense that, before insuring an item, that a company would protect themselves from negligent owners who try to hide termite damage using various means. Beagles can smell them, which protects Dean’s financial interests, which is just sound business if you ask me.

Thanks for bringing this up. I'm a new owner too and hadn't thought about the issue.

Thanks for that info.

BBB only protects businesses. They are useless for consumers. Florida Attorney General office gets better results.

If you have a block and stucco construction house it's a waste of money. If you have a stick/wood construction house you might need it. I have and like Deans lawn service.

Termites can
 

There are No termites in the Villages. There is one building south of the villages with a problem.

A "Transferable Contract" would not require you to pay for a new contract because the company's "policy" changes. The first "tell" is that the administrative person couldn't handle the conveyance of your contract over the phone . . . So, it Sounds like Deans is not an ethical company if they're trying to pull those shenanigans.

Cheaper than competitors maybe?

I have cinder block and attic had life time treatment.

Whose life time?

When I first bought my house, I wanted to hire Dean's but I went with Massey. The reason was that I can pay Massey whenever they perform a service. No service, no payment. Dean's requires that you provide them with a credit card that they can charge at their convenience. I have discussed this several times with the Dean's manager, but their credit card policy has no flexibility. So, they have never gotten any business from me.

Termites have been found in two locations in The Villages. In one instance these came in with some furniture moved from New Orleans. Termite distribution in Florida (updated 10-1-2023) - Google My Maps

I don't disagree that termites seem to be pretty rare in The Villages. Not so in other places I have lived. So, it is really a personal decision whether or not to get a termite contract.

I've seen Massey get some flack on this site for grass maintenance which may be justified. I had a nice talk with the Massey lady who came over to check my sprinklers and she sounded very knowledgeable and was very helpful. She told me about the treatment they do for termites. Said watch out for door to door scammers asking for payment because they may not be part of my contract. She said they treat the ground where termites breed and once they get in it could be too late because they attack the wood very quickly. She also added that they are in the large trees around the villages and it is not good to leave your garage open for long because a few could fly in and you don't want that. So I try to remember to close mine when not in use. They have been great coming out to check my sprinklers.

Subterranean termites are not in trees, they are underground. There are several different types of termites and some of them may be in trees. But, the most common treatment for termites is for the subterranean type. Massey offers an attic treatment for flying termites, but I don't think it is needed because, if you get this type of termite, you will be able to detect them before they do much damage.

Actually, what you are describing is the technique Deans uses. Massey uses the "bait" technique which draws termites to the bait traps which the termites take the poison back which by design kills the others. It really comes down to preference.

Do you want a poison barrier around your home (Deans) or a bait trap that draws termites towards your home to take the poison back to the others (Massey)?

Make sense to me that dogs could be used for that purpose. They are trained to detect all sorts of things via scent. Bombs, drugs, human remains, chemicals, etc.

It's also now been realized that dogs (and cats) can sometimes detect cancer in their human owners before the owner has been diagnosed. I don't have all the details but, apparently, the scent of the human's urine can change and that's how the animal knows.

I had one friend who had skin with new moles that appeared sometimes and she'd get them checked every year. One time she had grown two new ones on her leg and her cat would come over and press it's nose against one of them, day after day, and only that one. She went to the dermatologist and, sure enough, that mole had the beginnings of melanoma. Good cat!

Not true. I have a 10-year contract with Massey and it is NOT the bait system. They pumped chemicals completely around the perimeter of the house. I actually watched the guy do it. According to Dean's, they only treat about 20 percent of the house every year. I went over what both companies offer in great detail when my initial 5-year new house contract expired. Both Massey and Dean's came to my house and explained exactly what they would do. I specifically did not want the bait system, and I don't think Massey even offers the bait system anymore. Dean's would not provide a multi-year contract, only a year-to-year contract, and they would not treat the entire house at the same time. That was my personal experience with Massey and Dean's about a year ago. The annual contract renewal fee for Massey is $79 guaranteed for the first 5 years. The annual fee for Dean's was about $140, but it can change every year. Dean's fee is higher because it includes treatment for 20 percent of the house. The Massey renewal fee only includes an inspection and contract extension.

Some years ago a Massey employee told us not to get the grass cutting maintenance as they were a revolving door and could not keep up with their work.

Had them for a year for irrigation system and was a terrible experience. 5 different guys came and set up the system 5 different ways. Asked them to make an appt so I could see what they did and was ignored.

The guy doing the pest control has been great for the past 4 years.

The guy told me they are switching to the bait system. This was going to cost more of course and then he started off with the new kind of termite that is only killed with this bait thing. I'm gonna go with what the guy said in an earlier post and do my own work. We had a house in Georgia that had an infestation before we moved in. We used a termite company after we got there and they were great. I got a BAD feeling about the guy calling me from Deans and after reading enough comments about them here, I think I'll move on. By the way, I see several of their little signs in yards around my neighborhood. I'm assuming snow birds are living there. I would pull out that little plastic sign if they put one in my yard.