Massey contract - beware!
 

After many years of taking Massey Pest Prevention I decided not to renew but to do it myself - $250+ a year for "sweeping the eaves for possible wasp nests" seemed a little steep when I already have a broom and can walk round the house wielding it in five minutes.

I ignored their kind offer to save a massive 5% by paying early (new customers get a considerably bigger reduction) and assumed my contract with them had expired.

Imagine my surprise when I got an e-mail from the technician saying he had just "swept the eaves" and I owed $65. I immediately contacted Massey saying that I hadn't renewed my contract and they pointed to a line in the small print that: "the contract shall renew itself unless written notice is given thirty days prior to the anniversary of the Agreement".

Yes, I had signed that Agreement but I have trouble remembering what I had for breakfast, let alone what small print had slipped past me many years ago, and I can't help but think that, in an elderly community, that clause is in there just so they can get one final bite of the cherry.

So if you want to cancel any Massey service, write to them in good time.

yep, that sounds like Ma$$ey. Pay more and get less.

Most of my neighbors have recently canceled their lawn services from Massey and replaced them with one of the alternative providers. Don't know if Massey have cut back on the potency of their treatments, but the green-up and bug eradication do not appear to have been working and their grass is looking in need of help.

Did you do something different in prior years to renew your contract? I assume most or all of my services (mowing, pest, fertilization, internet, streaming, cell phone, etc) continue unless I do something to cancel.

Did Massey discontinue your service after you called them?

Always before I had wanted to renew, so did so early with the 5% discount offered maybe two months beforehand. My other services (lawn mowing and internet) are on annual contracts.

Yes, Massey has now canceled my pest control service.

Ah, ok. I don't pay ahead so I am already accustomed to the services continuing.

I have several Massey services, but no contract. When they perform a service, I pay them. Otherwise, I don't pay them. The 5 percent pay-in-advance discount is not worth it to me.

I just started with Massey and already had to go searching for the Landscapers twice. Not gonna happen a third time. I don't have a contract on the Lawn Mowing part of the deal and never paid in advance as noted on my TOTV'S Graduation Certificate and how many people have gotten hammered over the years by doing so. Don't pay for NOTHING (ANYTHING) in advance.

Recent quote was not competitive. The five percent annual discount is the same I can earn on cash. No bueno

My house was on a Massey contract when I bought it. They gave me an absurd quote to continue, and then threatened to dig up and remove all the termite bait boxes if I didn't. I pointed out that they didn't own those boxes and I would consider it trespassing and vandalism. I also mentioned that Florida is a "stand your ground" state. I haven't been bothered by a Massey salesmen since.

I spent some time looking for a reasonable termite company to treat the house with something real like Termidore, for a reasonable $150, like the guy who treated my house and two outbuildings in the country in Texas, the year before we moved. Closest I could get was $800, so I looked around and noticed that I was living in a concrete house in the middle of a giant housing project, where every home around me had been treated to death for termites for the past 20 years. I decided to just risk it.

In Texas, pre-treating isn't even code, and that house had never been treated for termites in the 23 years it had been standing there. And yet, I could turn over a shovel anywhere in the yard and find termites. But the only reason I had to call a termite guy was that I stupidly believed that concrete siding was termite-proof, and I had left it in contact with the ground when I'd closed off a garage door opening on one of the outbuildings. Total damage before I noticed the swarm the next spring? One stud.

So is that the only thing they do your $65. We are with Deans originally just for the termite insurance, then added spraying bugs and sweeping the eves etc. We then did a third upgrade to include weed control, fertilizer and bug control in the grass and bushes. This service cost $122 every other month.

I too have moved on from Massey. What bothered me the most about their termite bond and annual maintenance was that they were only walking around the house without applying any product for $125 per year. The new home product is good for 5 years, and at that time I’ll have the company I’m currently hiring to control pest in and around the house plus the yard to take over with termite treatment.

Same here. We like them.
But as with all contractors, you need to keep an eye on them. Good & bad techs with every business.

Sadly this is common business practice. Apparently it is legal. We are all regularly offered free trial packages. The company, knows how many people will get hooked on their service and how many will simply forget to cancel.

We consumers need to learn how to win. It is easy to call, send an e-mail. Old school but it works. If a corporation you can easily find the name of the president. A registered return receipt letter to the president, by name, will get past the clerks.
You will have proof the letter was sent, even if they refuse to accept it. I'm not an attorney but from what I know do not be afraid. If, they refuse the letter you are actually in a stronger position. Legally the letter was delivered and they do not know what was in the letter. The issue will likely be sent to a bulk collection service pretending to be your friend-trying to help you. Tell them they need to find your registered return receipt letter even give them the number for the letter.

Thank you
 

Thank you for the heads up:BigApplause: