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March 2005 / Vol.2 / Issue 3
Hello and Welcome to the March Greenpest News. Each month we aim to provide you with some useful information, keeping it short, sweet and pertinent.
Contents
Pest Talk
Termite Inspections
When you have your home or your prospective home inspected for termites you would expect your report to be 100% truthful, reasonably accurate and not exaggerated. But is this the case?
In this article I will shed a little light on what your pest report is really saying. I'll point out the escape clauses, and the clever phrasing that protects the pestie and the insurer and leaves you with a fairly worthless piece of paper.
It all started innocently enough with the government's intention to clean up and more closely regulate the pest control industry. But as usual it has only made matters worse.
A new set of rules were instigated to ensure that timber pest inspectors must do extra study particularly on termites and borers and fungal decay. Good idea. The health department issue the licenses, and the BSA (Building Services Authority) become involved in additional licensing. It all sounds good, but it doesn't allow for the fact that we are dealing with people and not robots.
Here is the problem. There are fully licensed pest controllers doing termite reports who either:
- Lack the required skills. (i.e. Not fully competent) or...
- Know what to do but are cutting corners. It could be because there isn't enough time to do the work properly or simply because they are too lazy to check a difficult situation properly, such as taking the extra effort to check out an awkward roof void or sub-floor area.
All industries have their slackers and rogues, and it is not hard for them to get a licence to carry out timber pest work.
However it is easy for a member of the public to assume that if a pestie shows he is fully licenced that he must be highly qualified, honest and accountable. Is this true? If you believe it is, then there is a bridge spanning the Sydney Harbour that I'd like to sell you!
The BSA can issue fines to pesties who break the rules, but how do you police hundreds of pesties inspecting hundreds of houses every day? There is a way that I'll discuss in a minute, but at present the only time the BSA find out is when a pestie has broken the rules and is reported. Sadly this usually occurs only after a serious termite problem has occurred. This is typical shutting of the gate after the bull has escaped, and the poor home owner is left to face the mess.
Top quality pesties who have the skills to carry out top notch termite inspections are in short supply. Many of the inspectors on the job at present simply don't have the skills. How do I know? As an employer I've had several job applicants who have presented me with their full timber pest licence. But some simple questioning soon revealed a dearth of practical skills and knowledge.
Secondly, I've had several termite reports presented to me by worried clients seeking a second opinion, and what I read in the reports was shear rubbish. This rubbish can be defined in several ways:
- Erroneous findings. (Example - Stating there was termite damage when in fact it was fungal decay.)
- Misleading conclusions. (Example - The suggestion of a more invasive inspection, at extra cost, where in fact it isn't required.)
- Outright lies. (Stating that a low risk house is actually high risk.)
Why is this? Once again there several reasons:
- Self preservation. If every report is written to the extreme (and 99% of them are) then it is much harder for the pestie to be sued for inadequately warning the client.
- Self preservation of the insurers. (This is the major factor and we will come back to this point.)
- Greed. The ability to generate additional revenues from termite treatments whether they are genuinely needed or not.
- Reluctant compulsion. Pest controllers are instructed by the insurance companies to fill out a termite report form in a specified way. This is where a large group of "good guys" in our industry find themselves.
Let me clarify this most important point, by returning to the beginning. A few years ago, the BSA became involved in the licensing of pest controllers who work on new home construction including pest controllers who carry our termite inspections (a.k.a. Timber Pest Inspections). But the BSA are not involved with termite treatments for existing buildings. Talk about being half in or half out!
Here's the catch, the BSA require that all of its members are adequately insured. Easy to say and a good idea. However as of the date of this newsletter, none of the major insurers in Australia will touch the pest control industry due to the fact that it has a very high rate of litigation. As far as I'm aware, available pest control insurance is through specialist insurance companies that are partially or wholly based off shore. It's very expensive and there is a lot of fine print. Fine print that protects the insurer a lot, the pestie a little, and you, the client, hardly at all.
And where do you find the fine print? In the carefully worded termite report that insured pest controllers are compelled (by their insurers) to use when they inspect and report on your home.
Let me take you through a typical report and show you just some of the "get out of jail free" lines.
Of course I'm putting my head on another litigation chopping
block here, so I will have to watch what I say and I ask your forbearance if my
wording is chosen a little bit carefully as I exercise my freedom of speech and
tell the truth as I see it.
Here are just a few lines that you will find
in a Timber Pest Report that speak for themselves:
- "visual inspection only "
- "valid for the day of the inspection only and is in no way a guarantee against future infestation"
- "It is essential that regular inspections at intervals no more than 6 months are carried out"
- "reporting on the discovery, or non-discovery, of infestation."
- "this firm is not responsible for the repair of any termite damage whether disclosed by this report or not. "
- "No liability shall be accepted on account of failure of this report."
At this point I just wonder, what is the insurance company
actually insuring? Are they protecting you if the pestie is incompetent or lazy?
Moving on:
- "The report does not cover concealed frame timbers." These are the main timbers where termites feed. They hold the house together and support the roof.
- "If the property is furnished then no report is made for any area concealed by furniture" .
- "If it has insulation then it must be removed for a full report on the roof trusses" .
- " All inaccessible areas or partially inaccessible areas are not covered by the report" . Wow! It doesn't leave much that is.
- "Extremely important note: all live termite activity found on the property is considered a high risk to the main dwelling and it is essential that treatment recommendations be carried out immediately." Sounds reasonable, but in the report that I'm quoting from, these comments were about some termites found in the garden, a reasonable distance from the house. A house that was designed and structured to be a very low risk of termites at any time. The prospective purchasers of this house were told it was going to cost several thousand dollars to carry out the recommended treatment. They were about to walk away from the contract when they called me to take a look and provide a second opinion on the report. In fact the work was unnecessary and impractical, because as I said, the house was low risk. It only needed a little work to solve the termite problem in the yard.
To continue with the same house,
- "a subterranean termite treatment is considered essential."
- "a chemical termite protection program is considered essential." One look at this house would tell any pestie that a chemical soil treatment would be impractical and impossible, yet here it is being recommended! Why? Well because he has to. Why? To cover his arse! Pardon the French.
Finally here is the clincher,
- "the degree of risk of subterranean termite activity to the overall
property was considered to be high." If he was allowed to be truthful he
might have said 'low to moderate risk'. But the report doesn't contain a 'Low
risk' box, or a 'Low to moderate risk' box for a choice.
It just has 'moderate', 'moderate to high', and 'high risk' boxes to choose from.
Do you believe there are no low risk homes? I've seen plenty.
Of course you can build a home that is low risk of termites. So why isn't 'low
risk' an option on the report? Why was 'high risk' selected for the patently
low risk house?
If you have a recent termite report to look at, go and
check out the box that is ticked. I'll bet is says that your house is high
risk. This is ticked to protect the insurance company and the pestie, but is it
true? In most cases if your home is built on a concrete slab then it probably
is high risk, but there are plenty of other styles of construction that are low
risk.
If pesties are compelled by the insurance company to cry wolf,
sorry, to cry "high termite risk" on every report, then how can you the client
possibly get an accurate idea of whether the home is truly in need of
preventative termite work or not?
I've only touched on a few points here to try and keep it
brief. I can't speak my mind as clearly as I would like for obvious reasons.
(Note; March 06, since this newsletter was written a year ago,
I have had many phone calls from other concerned pest controllers who support
the comments presented here.)
I'd like to see termite reports become
more honest and accurate. And I'd like to present a way for it to happen:
- Timber pest inspectors need to be assessed on the job by a suitably qualified and experienced professional appointed by the government. This may sound difficult, but there is an easy way to achieve this and I'd be happy to discuss some workable ideas with any government official who has the power to set the rules.
- Inspection reports need to be completed in triplicate. One copy for the client, one for the pestie and one to send to the BSA. The BSA then needs to randomly spot check the accuracy of the reports. Again this sounds like a paperwork nightmare, but there are simple ways to carry this out.
- Finally, legislation should be passed that prohibits pest controllers from being sued in relation to timber pest reports. Impossible? No. Unlikely? Yes. Why do I suggest this? It is simply the fear of litigation that has created the need for extreme clauses to be used throughout every current timber pest report.
- And finally the same legislation should also establish a set of fair and appropriate fines for pest controllers who through either laziness, incompetence or greed, write inaccurate timber pest reports. No honest and competent timber pest inspector will fear being fined. And the shonkies will soon be seeking employment elsewhere.
I'm a dreamer. I see a problem and I look for answers. I
doubt if anyone would deny that the present system for Timber Pest Reports is
not working. Top pesties are frustrated with high insurance premiums and
senseless paperwork. They are paying the price for the incompetent and the
scoundrels in our industry.
Some pesties love the current system. It means they can say
what they like, whether it is true or not. They can easily scare customers into
additional and expensive termite work. They can screw up and simply point to all
the "get out of jail free" clauses in the report - a safety net for
them and the insurance company - but a lions den for you the client.
Finally I'd like to defend the insurance companies that take the huge
gamble on insuring pesties. You really can't blame them for the way their
paperwork is written. If it wasn't written their way, they would be sued out of
business in not time at all. And I'm not going to point the stick at lawyers
either. They are just the enforcers that you the unfortunate client set upon
the pestie, sometimes deservedly and sometimes not.
Sadly, we live in a
litigious age. Got a problem? Find someone to blame and then sue.
Facts
are, termites get in one home in three during the life of the home, and that is
simply because we build termite friendly homes. Should we sue the builder? If
your home is fifty years old, is the builder even alive still? Let's sue the
creator (if you believe) for creating termites? Yes, I'm being silly now, but I
personally think it is just as silly to lay all the blame for termites at the
feet of pesties. Let's just accept that termites are a fact of life and stop
always looking to find blame. It's no doubt that it is bad luck to get termites
but there are preventative measures you can take to to reduce the chances of
this bad luck happening to you.
As a home owner it's your responsibility
to take appropriate and affordable steps to reduce the risk of termites getting
into your home. You should also have your house checked for termites and follow
the reasonable and sensible advice of competent pestie. You should shop around
for alternatives if the advice you are getting seems extreme or way out of your
price range.
But don't shoot the messenger, for that is what your timber
pest inspector is. An imperfect human using the best tools he has with the
current knowledge he has to advise you the best he can on a creature that is
often very difficult to detect. You see, if it wasn't so difficult, termites
wouldn't be the worldwide problem that they are.
Your feedback on this
subject is most welcome. Simply click on this link or click reply if you are reading
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The Greenpest News is Published by J & A Furnell Nominees P/L; Shop 23a Franklin Square, 60 Railway Street, Mudgeeraba, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. The opinions expressed in this newsletter are those of Jerry Furnell. The reader is encouraged to seek further information from appropriate government and statutory departments before taking any action based on this material alone.
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See you again next month.
Always... At your service,
Jerry Furnell
Green Pest Control & Green Termite Bait Systems.
Phone 1800 6 12345.
Copyright 2005 Green Termite Bait Systems & Green Pest Control. All rights reserved.
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