Royally screwed by propane company - What can I do?

[KubotainNH]

Wow, this is pretty poor business. Good luck with it.

 

[Domush]

Well, it appears this is going to go to court. I got a call from them last night saying I owed them even more, now, including a mystery charge they refused to elaborated on.

$120 for the propane they upped the price on after I paid for it.
$20 to remove the tank (I expected this)
$32 propane transfer charge (which they never did, the whole basis of this BS)
20% restocking fee (which they refused to explain and is nowhere in any of the contracts) - 20% of what, only they know.

I'll be contacting lawyers this morning.

 

[LD1]

Well, it appears this is going to go to court. I got a call from them last night saying I owed them even more, now, including a mystery charge they refused to elaborated on.

$120 for the propane they upped the price on after I paid for it.
$20 to remove the tank (I expected this)
$32 propane transfer charge (which they never did, the whole basis of this BS)
20% restocking fee (which they refused to explain and is nowhere in any of the contracts) - 20% of what, only they know.

I'll be contacting lawyers this morning.

Let us know how it turns out.

These kind of threads are real eye-openers for all of us and even though it is a PTIA for you to deal with, it makes us ALL more aware and dilligent in the long run.

And I must be in the wrong business too. I wish I could sell something to a customer, then go take it back, and re-sell it to someone else, and so on.

How many times does the same gallon of propane get paid for with that company:confused2:

 

[forgeblast]

Something similar happened to us. The house when we had it had 2 100# lp tanks. Fine for cooking but throw a three brick burner next to the water pipes to keep them from freezing and you used all your propane (cooked dinner on a woodstove that week).
That being said I called for a larger tank, and they hooked up a snowman tank, but that was only a week or two after filling the other tanks. So i got charged twice. Now I dont pay to rent my tank i just use that company to fill them. My mistake was not realzing it sooner, then I just kind of took it as a learning experience. Since then I have had nothing but good things to say about my lp company, they even put another larger tank in and hooked up my propane (jotul firelight dv) stove and made sure all my propane lines were hooked up right/tight (we ran 3/4 black pipe to hardline in the system).
It seems that your company is on a whole different level. Renting the propane tanks, I can see is a way for the propane company to double charge you, fill it they charge you, if you dont pay and they take it they can still charge you. Nasty system, I am going to look into buying these tanks this summer just so that I own them. As far as blocking them they came with everything they needed to set them up.

 

[Western]

I second what everyone else has said pretty much. Personally the 3-4 companies I have had to use over the years have been straight and honest with me.


Only thing I wonder about is the "Police" incident, When the police arrived was the tank already loaded? If so I can understand the officers view point, in that case the officer wouldn't have seen the tank "attached" to your property.

I would also ask the lawyer about a news paper article as a fore mentioned, others should be made aware of this kind of business people, but I would ask the lawyer so as not to put another wrinkle in your case yet.

 

[greasemonkeyok]

Its Fall, prime propane season.

Call the consumer reporter at the local TV stations and see if you can get one of them to do a story.

 

[LBrown59]

1*I personally cant see how they could take the tank without a judgment.
2* Once its installed on your property they cannot just come and remove it.
3*If you owed money they would need a legal judgment to remove it.
4*If i install a set of stairs on your property and you don't pay me, i cant LEGALLY just remove them. I have to sue you and get a judgment prior to removal or its theft.

Easy to second guess, but I would not have called the police. No way they would have left the premises with that tank without running over my vehicle. You need to file a formal complaint with the police. No way somebody should be able to confiscate your property on the basis of a story that you owe them money, with no proof. The police should have order them to put the tank back where they got it and let the court decide who it belongs to. You'd think a cop would err in favor of the property owner rather than the trespasser.
5*This makes my blood boil.

1*-2* they can when the law takes sides against the victim .
3*Or just a cop with a gun who says other wise.
4*A cop with a gun changes that equation.
5*Same here.

 

[Car Doc]

That's a bad deal I would be seriously pissed too.

All I can say is get plenty of pics and as much in writing as possible and document every thing anybody says because you will have to convince a judge who couldn't care less about either party stick to the facts and what you can show proof of.

In the mean time find another propane company and buy your tank this time that way you can change venders any time later on you want and the tank stays put. good luck

I am somewhat curious about the police involvement I almost understand what happened its like a domestic dispute someone is usually going to jail sort of thing but it is unusual for them not to get statements from both party's at the scene unless they had an order from a court in hand allowing them to keep it as long as they were able to get it loaded, possession is 9/10's of the law sort of thing?

 

[two_bit_score]

Well, it appears this is going to go to court. I got a call from them last night saying I owed them even more, now, including a mystery charge they refused to elaborated on.

$120 for the propane they upped the price on after I paid for it.
$20 to remove the tank (I expected this)
$32 propane transfer charge (which they never did, the whole basis of this BS)
20% restocking fee (which they refused to explain and is nowhere in any of the contracts) - 20% of what, only they know.

I'll be contacting lawyers this morning.

You have gotten hold of a tar baby. The worst thing you can do is strain against a tar baby. It takes experience to know when to recognize a tar baby. After this expensive lesson you will have some additional experience in recognizing and avoiding and getting unstuck from a tar baby. It's always interesting to see how someone fights a tar baby.

 

[LD1]

You have gotten hold of a tar baby. The worst thing you can do is strain against a tar baby. It takes experience to know when to recognize a tar baby. After this expensive lesson you will have some additional experience in recognizing and avoiding and getting unstuck from a tar baby. It's always interesting to see how someone fights a tar baby.

I give, what is a "tar baby"