Thanks to legal pressure brought by Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal against HOP Energy, 2,171 present and former customers of HOP Energy’s Connecticut subsidiaries are receiving $375,000 in refunds.
The money represents excess profits HOP companies like Automatic TLC made by improperly placing customers into capped price plans last year without their written authorization.
Blumenthal began an investigation into the practice after I wrote several columns and blogs detailing customer complaints while I was the Watchdog columnist for The Courant. I was fired effective Aug. 14 after some advertisers complained to Courant management about my work on behalf of consumers. I am now suing The Courant for wrongful discharge.
In case you try to locate my Courant Watchdog columns or blogs on the Internet on this or other topics, don’t bother. The Courant has destroyed most of the content or simply links it to other Courant content, like the Savvy Shopper.
Blumenthal said that as the result of an agreement he worked out with HOP Energy, about 20,000 customers were sent letters giving them the option of opting out of the capped price plan to have their bills checked to see if they overpaid for oil.
3,183 present and former customers asked for the review, Blumenthal said tonight and 2,171 were found to have overpaid.
The average customer is receiving a refund of about $172. Blumenthal said the refunds started being mailed out in July and are almost complete.
HOP Energy provides fuel oil deliveries and heating and air conditioning service to homes and businesses from New England through the Mid-Atlantic.
HOP Energy was formed in 1995 and operates several companies in Connecticut, including Automatic TLC, CRC, Valley Oil, The Kaufman Fuel Co., and DDLC
George, Thanks for your diligence in this effort. I made more progress contacting you than I did with the CT Better Business Bureau. I got my refund check a couple months ago. Best of luck!