Re: 8/21/01 - [SVM] Aggrieved Terminex customer takes her plight to the Yahoo ServiceMaster board
Letter to Ward and Board Members-Part I
by: carla_virga (51/F/California) 08/21/01 02:52 pm
Msg: 21418 of 21611
As posted earlier, I sent a certified, return-receipt requested letter to Jonathan Ward, CEO of ServiceMaster. Included were sealed letters, clearly marked "Personal and Confidential," addressed to each of the Board members. The letter was signed for by C. Martin on August 6, 2001; and to date, I have not received a response from Mr. Ward or any of the board members. As earlier promised, I am now posting the letter here.
Jonathan P. Ward, CEO
The ServiceMaster Company
One ServiceMaster Way
Downers Grove, IL 60515
Dear Mr. Ward:
In response to your letter of July 16, 2001, I am forwarding my correspondence to the Board members to you for distribution. With the exceptions of C. William Pollard and Carlos Cantu, whom I believe are aware of the facts I am presenting, I am writing to each member of ServiceMaster's Board of Directors to ascertain if the board members are kept informed and agree with the actions and decisions of the former CEO's. To ensure they receive my letters, I am requesting of each "please at least let me know if you receive this letter; otherwise, I will have to assume it was intercepted before reaching you."
Were you aware of, or do you dispute, any of the following?
-In 1991, Terminix issued an erroneously "clear" pest inspection report for the house my husband and I were purchasing. The Terminix inspector failed to report approximately $20,000 of damages he was required under California law to report and falsely certified the house free of any wood-destroying organisms. Another company issued a subsequent report revealing the foregoing to be true, and the Terminix branch manager verified the information in a second Terminix report.
-The State of California Structural Pest Control Board ordered Terminix to bring the property into compliance within 30 days. Terminix did not even attempt to comply.
-Rather than accept our offer to settle for $7,500 to avoid litigation, Terminix spent $43,297.63 for legal fees.
-Terminix made their one and only settlement offer for $6,000 – after our legal fees alone amounted to over twice that amount.
-The inspector with the State of California Structural Pest Control Board was deposed as our expert witness for the trial. He produced a pest inspection report issued two years before we purchased the house, indicating some of the damages Terminix's first inspector failed to report existed two years earlier.
-The inspector with the State of California Structural Pest Control Board disappeared out of state during the trial. With no expert witness, none of our evidence was allowed to be admitted. Our case against Terminix was dismissed for non-suit based on lack of evidence.
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Ltr to Ward and Board Members-Part II
by: carla_virga (51/F/California) 08/21/01 02:53 pm
Msg: 21419 of 21611
-Not satisfied with having the case against them dismissed, Terminix's attorneys filed a motion for court costs and attorney fees. Due to the failure of our attorney to file an opposition to one of the claims, Terminix was awarded $4,890.43.
-Faced with legal fees of over $100,000, my husband and I were forced to file bankruptcy.
-Appalled at the lack of justice and meaninglessness of real estate documents, I decided to create a web site to forewarn other homebuyers in California. I wrote to Carlos Cantu, CEO at the time, and informed him of my intentions to give him an opportunity to dispute any of the facts pertaining to Terminix I intended to publish. The response was a threatening, insulting letter from Bart Mallory; wherein, he did not dispute one fact.
-After I published my web site, entitled, "Homebuyers -- Beware of Purchasing a House in California," Terminix sued me in California for defamation. Unable to provide any evidence they might prevail at a trial, Terminix's case was thrown out; and Terminix paid my legal fees.
-I renamed the web site to "Terminix – Consumer Alert!" The site, at www.syix.com/emu, grew to not only include the above information but also numerous complaints from other Terminix customers, complaints from employees, lawsuits, and governmental investigations. The ServiceMaster companies, including Terminix, sued me in Tennessee for trademark infringement. They voluntarily withdrew their suit after learning I had pro bono representation and 60 Minutes scheduled a week for on-camera interviews. 60 Minutes dropped the story, but it aired on CNN.
I bring these issues to the board's attention because I find it difficult to believe the board would tolerate any of the events I've described for you; but then, I was surprised to discover C. William Pollard and Carlos Cantu not only tolerated them, they appear to be standard operating procedures. It is possible you tolerate them as well. Do you consider these to be wise, just, or moral business decisions? I'm also curious if you are aware of the "services" provided Terminix customers as chronicled on my web site and on Terminix's own "Customer Care Board" at 128.11.62.71. Given the harm this company has inflicted on so many families, are you proud to serve as its CEO? [To the board members, "its CEO" was replaced with "a member of its Board of Directors."]
Please be advised I routinely post on Yahoo's ServiceMaster message board. I posted my intention to write to each member of the board; and I intend to post the results, or lack thereof, of my letters to the board members. I believe the investors have a right to know if the board members are responsive to inquiries or not, if the board members condone or dispute the events I've described, and if the board members are informed or choose to be kept in the dark.
Sincerely,
CARLA M. VIRGA (MRS.)
Enclosures
Posted as a reply to: Msg 21418 by carla_virga
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