I had been with Northwest Propane since 1997, and Amerigas bought them out several years ago, so I began receiving their service by default. Propane is one of those things you do not think about much, until you either run out. The bills came, and I paid them. During the past winter, I suddenly noticed that the bills seemed very high. I only have a 150 gallon tank, that has a fill capacity of 120 gallons, and a receive a bill for $443.47, to deliver 101.9 gallons! That calculated to over $4.35 a gallon! The bill showed $4.17 a gallon, plus "Haz Mat" and "Fuel Recovery Fee." The next bill came in at $363.31, for 87 gallons. The final straw came when I received an annual "tank rental" bill for $101.05. With these figures in mind, I decided to shop around.
I checked with several companies. Suburban was slightly less, but other local companies, such as Shasta Gas and ER Energy were far lower in price. I was shown their historical fuel prices, and I had been overpaying by well over a dollar a gallon during the previous winter. Neither of these companies charge the "Haz Mat" or "Fuel Recovery Fee" either, describing those fees as simply "extra profit" fees. I decided to switch to ER Energy, who promptly delivered a new tank and regulator with an annual rental of $59, nearly half of Amerigas' rate. The tank was filled at their regular rate at the time of $2.39 a gallon, with NO OTHER additional fees. Every fill will be for simply the rate per gallon, without the Amerigas "Extra Profit Fees."
On August 22, 2015, a request was Faxed to Amerigas advising I was discontinuing their service and advising them that their tank and regulator were waiting to be picked up, having been empties and disconnected. I waited and did not hear anything, but the tank still sat and had not bee picked up. I received a "Late Notice" bill from Amerigas, saying my tank rental fee (for the upcoming year - you pay in advance) was still due. I called on September 22, 2015, and was told by Charlene that for some reason they did not show my FAX as having been received, but that she would cancel the tank rental fee and would have someone come and pick up the tank. She said that there would be no further charges and to ignore the bill that had been sent. I waited while the tank still sat. On October 5, 2015, I received a Past Due Notice saying that not only did I still owe the rent, but that a late fee of $36.00 would be applied, making the annual tank rental $137.05. I again called Charlene, who apologized for the misunderstanding, expressed surprise that the tank had not been picked up, and again told me to ignore any further bills, and she would insure that the tank was picked up within a week. Finally, on October 15, 2015, the tank was picked up.
On October 19, 2015, I received two bills from Amerigas, one stating Final Bill and the other "Past Due Notice." These bills showed the tank rental being removed, but a new charge of $39.99 for a service call. I called Charlene at 4:55 p.m. and she was not quite as charming as she had been before, pretty obvious she wanted to get home by 5:00. I explained the entire sequence again and the fact that she told me that there would be no further charges. She stuck to the company line "the contract states there is a charge of $39.99 to pick up the tank." No discussion, did not want to hear anything else. She then began threatening to hang up every 5-10 seconds, and did so just as I asked to speak to her supervisor. I guess she really did need to be home at 5:00.
Something that struck me with every conversation with Amerigas was that never was I asked why I was leaving their service. Everybody asks that when you tell them that you are leaving. Sometimes as a sales tactic, other times with a genuine concern regarding you choosing a competitor, and what they may have done wrong. Amerigas does not need to know, they already know. I would guess that I am among many clients that have simply woken up, done some research, and decided that the gouging has to end. And as a sign of desperation, they even have to gouge you $39.99 as the price to LEAVE them. If I decide to pay the fee to quit, it will be because it will be worth it to not have to deal with this company ever again. read more
