Many propane gas customers in Connecticut as well as the rest of the country are regular victims of unscrupulous business tactics some of these firms practice.
The reason they can do it is because they convinced officials in every state to give them unprecedented control over who can deliver propane to your tank.
By claiming that propane is so dangerous that only the firm that owns the tank can fill them – and then making it difficult for consumers to buy their tanks – the propane industry has a stranglehold on the propane business. In Connecticut, propane companies own 96 percent of all the tanks.
The latest example of how a major propane company tried to take advantage of a customer involves AmeriGas, the largest in the country, with 1.3 million customers in almost every state.
Liz Viering of Stonington wrote me, and the state Department of Consumer Protection, complaining about AmeriGas’s Colchester outlet, where employees twice charged her $159 fees for unnecessary service calls.
“I own a cottage in N. Stonington where my son currently lives, that uses propane for cooking. We are required to call for gas delivery, as the usage is difficult to predict. Both times in the past year when he called for a delivery, they came and delivered the gas, then put a lock on the tank, requiring him to call again for a service call before he could use the gas. Each service call was billed at an additional $159,” she wrote me and state officials.
“The last time this happened, in September, he was in the house when the delivery was made. The truck was in the driveway. The delivery man never came to the door. He (my son) was able to light the pilot light while the guy was still outside, so assumed everything was fine, till he went to use it the next day, and found the tank was locked, and the pilot light was only able to run on the leftover gas in the line.”
She wrote that the first time it happened, “the service man told him that this is standard operating procedure for the company, who finds it a useful way to take more money from their customers. I find that unconscionable.”
After many phone calls, in which the Colchester office denied that it was standard practice, she was credited for the $159 when she threatened to file a complaint.
However, the second time it happened Colchester AmeriGas officials blew her off. They refused to return her voice mail messages, but they did tack on a $35 late for on the $159 service charge.
It was at that point she wrote to the state officials, who told her that her complaint was sent to the wrong department and they could not help.
So she contacted me and I contacted AmeriGas to get their side of the story.
AmeriGas refused to comment but they quickly got back to Viering.
“Thank you!! Whatever you did worked well, because I got a call about a half hour ago from someone at their headquarters, who took care of crediting the charge, and wanted to know all of the details so he could straighten out the Colchester office, and ensure that it didn’t happen again.”
If I were a betting man, I would bet that it will happen again, in Colchester or at another office.
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There MUST be some way to get these sleezy businesses and business practices under control! I like the way the state came to this customer’s aid when she really needed them! Even if she DID contact the wrong office, they didn’t have the intelligence to direct her to the correct department. Were they too busy standing in line to get some state aid that they weren’t entitled to? Exactly what “state officials” DID she notify the second time if not the Department of Consumer Protection which is the agency that I would think could handle this?
This is outrageous. I hope she CONTINUES to fight them to get to the bottom of this and stays on the case until the LAW is changed and the stranglehold the propane industry has on people of Connecticut is BROKEN once and for all!
First of all, if you are on a “will call” status with your fuel supplier, then YOU are responsible for monitoring the tank level and to call for a delivery within a reasonable amount of time to ensure you do not run out of fuel. If you do let your tank run dry, then your provider by “code” must do a system leak check to ensure that the tank being empty is not due to a leak. This is for your safety. Your tank was locked so you could not use the propane before the test was done and avoid a possible problem. Most companies do charge for this service. The only thing Amerigas did wrong, was to not communciate this to you and tell you in advance of the fee. Otherwise, they did the right thing as all propane companies are required to do by fire and safety codes. Tell me the name of any company that works for free. Their time should come with a fee. But it should be fully disclosed to the consumer. Lesson here is: Do not let your tank run out again, consider having the company deliver “automatically” to avoid another runout.
Please do not suggest to your readers that it is “OK” to light the pilot on a system that has been out of service. The national code, and CT law requires a system pressure leak test before it is placed back in service anytime the gas supply is interrupted due to the tank being empty, or any other reason in which the gas is turned back on after being out service.
It is EXTREMELY dangerous for her son, or anyone else to attempt to put this back in service without a full leak check with a pressure device to ensure it is safe.
Yes AmeriGas has many fees, and consumers should compare prices and seek the best deal. But they should NEVER attempt to place the system back in service after it is out of gas unless their propane provider has completed a leak test. If the driver fills an empty tank, he MUST lock the tank if he is unable to perform this test. Most drivers are not equipped to do so and a qualified and trained service technician must be dispatched to do it after it is filled. Should the company charge for this because of the extra cost due to the customer allowing the tank to run out? This is between the customer and the company. However, since this was the second time she ran out gas it looks to me the lady would have understood the process at this point. Regardless, this publication should release a statement in another post to inform and encourage all propane users to NOT place any system back in service without a leak test. DON”T DO IT!
I also have had problems with Amerigas in Colchester. I have a house in their area which was constructed in 2011. I had Amerigas come in late October to set the tanks.
November 8th they returned and filled my tanks.
November 29th they returned and gave me an additional 43.2 gallons of propane.
December 12 they returned and gave me an additional 53.1 gallons of propane
I called before Christmas and inquired as to how an empty house with the thermostats set at 55 degrees could have used 96.3 gallons of propane in just over a month when the temperatures had not been very cold? I spoke with one of the ladies in the office and she agreed and said she would inquire with the driver and I should call back after the new year when everyone was back in the office. I called back and was told that I needed to speak with Mark the manager. I asked her to please put me on “will call” so the regular deliveries would stop. She told me she would do this.
I received an email invoice notice on January 7th that on January 4th I AGAIN received an Amerigas delivery of an additional 64.6 gallons of propane.
I called Amerigas in Colchester and was transferred to Mark (the manager). He apologized for the last delivery, admitted it was their mistake and offered to credit me for the last delivery since it was their error…this has not been done as of today (01/22). He told me that the “computer dictates when the deliveries will occur and that a ticket is printed the week before the delivery”. So I asked him to explain how the computer decided that two weeks after my tanks were filled that there could possibly be a need for a delivery when the temperatures were not cold and there was no history for my location? He had no explanation. I think that they deliver as often as possible so sales are up for his location. He even went so far as to tell me that he normally doesn’t like to send his trucks for small deliveries as it is not cost efficient however this has been done to me now three times! He agreed to send me copies of the tickets that are supposed to be left at the house when a delivery is made, still waiting on those.
I am absolutely certain there are questionable business practices going on at this amerigas location…I have other accounts with amerigas in Bristol and Litchfield and have NEVER had anything like this happen.
Someone needs to investigate this particular Amerigas.