Created: 11/1/2003 3:49:27 AM 
By Jackelyn Barnard First Coast News
JACKSONVILLE, FL -- It was the house of their dreams, but sometimes Collier and Peggie Black wished they didn't live in it. The reason is that they had frequent visitors -- termites. The Blacks went looking for help instead they say they were scammed.
"They were cheating us, there's no other way to put it," says Collier Black. It all started eight years ago, when the first swarm came out of the dining room wall. Every single termite was eating its way through the walls and floors of their home.
"We hired Orkin in 1995. We bought the best package," says Black.
One year later, the termites were back. Then year after year, room after room, the termites surfaced again sometimes in the same spots.
"In 2001, the entire house was infested," says Peggie Black.
Each time the Blacks say they called Orkin out to treat and repair their home. They say Orkin used their contractors. Collier Black says he was so frustrated he called out his own contractor to take a look.
"He said Mr. Black, where are the permits? I said 'I don't know what you mean.' He said 'permits are required on the work on what I'm looking at right now'," says Black. Black went to the St. John's County permit department and pulled his record. The only permit for work on his house was the for the pool and none from Orkin. With no permit, there's no county inspector checking up on contractors to make sure they do their job.
Black says not only were his permits not pulled, but the work done on his house was hardly done at all.
"The benefit, obviously, is to increase profits for Orkin. The fewer repairs, the less money [they] have to spend -- the greater the bottom line," says Black.
Black took his problem to the courts. Arbitrators agreed there was a problem. Arbitrators say the visible damage was fixed and parts that were concealed were left un-repaired.
"We found repairs were rigged," says Black.
Arbitrators also found Orkin put the Blacks in danger by "leaving them in a home that was structurally unsound."
"To feel someone cheating you is one thing but to have physical evidence that disregarded safety of our family is unfathomable to me," says Peggie Black.
According to arbitration documents, an Orkin contractor testified, "I got chewed out for finding damage at a customer's home and telling them about it."
Orkin officials even admitted, "The most inflammatory evidence in this case are those terrible repairs."
Orkin's attorney went on to say, "It's painfully apparent that we have got a problem because the permits weren't being pulled on a lot of jobs."
Elizabeth Allen is another former Orkin customer. "I felt like I had been betrayed," says Allen.
Allen says she is part of a class action lawsuit against Orkin with a story that mirrors that of the Blacks. It's a story she says she fears does not stop with her.
"There are 1,000's of unaware homeowners," said Elizbeth Allen.
Eight years after that first swarm and more than $200,000 in repairs, the Blacks have their dream home back. It's been restored from the inside, out.
"We joke we have the most termite-free home in the state of Florida," says Collier Black.
The Blacks and Elizabeth Allen have started their own non-profit organization to help unsuspecting victims. Orkin could not comment as to the allegations but litigation is still pending. Arbitrators awarded the Blacks a $3 million judgement. Orkin officials say the company is appealing the judgement award.
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