Royally screwed by propane company - What can I do?

[chopped]

Right just what i would have imagined the warranty..Well they said it was out of warranty.As far as returns went but that he didnt have any plan to cover this problem. I guess you would have to understand that he doesnt have all the thoigh processes he once had, and is still old school. He thiks all people are good and wouldnt screw anyone..

 

[bruceha2000]

OK, I'm with everyone else.
IF you can PROVE all that you say, make sure you have it all down in an organized fashion. We all believe you but you MUST have the paper/picture/recording trail documented.
- I don't know that you want to get the lawyer. They will charge more for 1 hour of their time than what you are out. You can sue for actual loss and lawyer fees but if you lose, you are out thousands and thousands. And they would probably counter sue (unless they know they got caught with their pants down) and hang their lawyer fees on you if they win. This is what scum like your ex propane dealer rely on when they screw you. A lot of people will eat their several hundred loss rather than go to court, SC or 'big'.
- Go to small claims. The more rational you are the better. If they get hot, it only makes them look worse.
- Be careful with the letters to the editor or whatever, you MUST be able to prove what you say or they could sue you for libel when they lose business.

Back to the original premise - IF you can prove it: Whether or not you go to SC court, but especially if you do and win - put it in the letters to the editor. I suspect a LOT of people will read it and say "I'm not the only one?!?"

Also remember that the person who cuts your hair (and that of your SO if you have one) knows WAY more people than anyone else in town. I work for a large company and the lady that cuts my hair ALWAYS knows something is up before the 'little people' at the plant and her info always turns out at least 80% accurate as to the details. Management can't/won't tell us but they blab it either to their hairdresser or tell their spouses and they talk. Make sure you rant a little bit to them. You don't need to go into all the details you have here, give the RD condensed version. Word will get around and you might hear "I have heard they were sleazy" from them as well.

Send the people who own and work for the propane company to the unemployment line. The legit workers will get jobs with the other propane companies who take over the low life company's customers.

 

[two_bit_score]

Somehow I get the impression that Domush has been down this road or one really like it before.

 

[ragkar]

Before you go any farther on the small claims court route, it might be a good idea to go to Amazon and buy a book on it. I got the one entitled 'small claims court' but I'm not going to recommend it as I decided not to go to court on my little difficulty.

I've got a grumble with my propane company too. They've got about twenty surcharges that raised the price of propane to $12 a gallon for me. Things like tank rental, fast service (i.e less than five days), increased diesel prices for their trucks etc, etc. I bit the bullet and bought a tank and then I put a cable and lock on the cover so they couldn't sneak in when I'm not around and fill it. Currently I have $34 credit with them but I'm not about to use it.

A side grumble with this company is that their man installed that tank with a leak in one pipe connection. I've been losing propane through that leak faster than I've been using it for my propane logs. That's fixed now and tonight I turned on the logs for the first time in two winters.

 

[grsthegreat]

Yeiks.....i love my propane company. Have had them for 16 years. I Just pay a small rental charge yearly and a few bucks a gallon. They fill once a month. I hope they dont get bought out.

 

[Car Doc]

I am not the devils advocate here I have already posted my advice on what you could do.

By any means 150 gals of propane isn't the end of the world $300 is a lot to lose and would upset me also but in the long run it may run into thousands.

It is getting into heating season so finding another propane vendor and buying more gas is probably the best route. good luck

btw just for conversation my propane contract this year is 1000 gal @ $1.97 and my tank rental is $36 a year they come around once a month to check the level and add if necessary. This is only my second season with propane and I am looking at farm auctions etc for a 500 I can buy so I can shop around for the best price during the off season. fwtw