Bemer Petroleum Corporation

I regret ever becoming involved with Bemers Petroleum I used to have [redacted] supply my propane I added some gas appliances to my home and the person who installed them recommended that I change companies I needed more petroleum and a new larger tank and he told me Bemers would supply me with great service and be less expensive than [redacted] I later found out that he was a subcontactor who worked with Bemers I can only say that my experience with Bemers has proved to be more expensive in the long run Every year I have to pay Bemers to rent the tank from themOver this winter they have not been able to deliver propane to me but have repeatedly told me that tickets showing delivery had gone in I got a huge bill for one delivery, called the office to find out why my bill was so large and was told that I had been overcharged about a dollar a gallon I also fond that in the summer Bemers made monthly small deliveries of small amounts of propane and each trip included a hasmat charge I asked for delivery every two months in order to keep from being billed the hasmat charge when my tank was nearly fullThe huge bill came about because I did not receive a delivery for months or more and because I was overcharged Despite my request that I receive propane every two months, Bemers made its own schedule and even though we had very little snow through December there was no delivery made until a truck came out on February 5th after the blizzard that shut the state down When the truck couldn't get up my driveway, I received a note from the driver telling me to have my driveway plowed so that the Bemers truck could access my tank In less than one week the man who plows the driveway came and plowed no less than times and sanded the driveway so that I could receive a delivery I even arranged with the snow plow driver to be here when the truck arrived He waited as long as he could before he had to pick his daughter up and the Bemers truck arrived two hours late The driver made an attempt to come up the driveway and skidded on the town road before ever getting up the driveway At this point Bemers has made no attempt to provide propane and when I asked for a service delivery, I was informed that I needed to pay an additional fee of $up front to get propane delivered with a smaller truck I asked if I could drive to pick up propane for my home and was told that I could not legally carry propane to my home I have a wheel drive truck and despite the numerous storms, I have been able to access my home Not only was the VP I spoke with at Bemers less than helpful, he was verbally abusive on the telephone yelling loud enough so that members of my household could hear him across the living room Even after telling me that it was illegal for me to carry propane, he supported a plan that his driver and my friend had that would give me a temporary supply of propane That plan was that his driver offered to drop off a smaller tank which I could transport to a local ***, have filled and that my friend could install at my house After screaming, yelling, threatening excessive charges and telling me that it was illegal for me to transport propane, he told me as the homeowner, I could do "anything I want" I have a year contract with Bemers Petroleum that tells me otherwise If a driver and friend could figure out a plan to service my home, why couldn't a VP at Bemers come up with the same plan without having his staff inform me that I had to pay up front charges? I have never been delinquent in paying a Bemers bill I plowed and sanded my driveway times so that Bemers could make a delivery and was subjected to a screaming, yelling company VP who couldn't figure out a way to deliver propane in a wheel drive vehicle According to him, the company has no wheel drive vehicles In blizzard conditions, his solution was to put the onus on the customer This is a company that delivers propane every winter and has for over years It isn't rocket science to figure out that having wheel drive vehicles for CT winters makes sense for a company that delivers fuel to heat homes, heat water and supply fuel for its customers year round It also makes sense to provide customer service with respect I would advise anyone who needs a propane supplier to ask lots of questions before signing any contract I would not recommend Bemers to anyone who is disabled, or lives on a fixed income or who lives in CT all winter long because the concern of Bemers VP Management isn't how to provide customers with propane It is about how to get customers to pay excessive up front costs to get a delivery during a snow storm I request delivery every two months I got a delivery after months and was over billed Then I didn't get the two month delivery schedule I requested Instead the company decided to deliver on its own schedule leaving Two months ago we had little or no snow and it would have been simple to fill my tank Now I have a nearly empty propane tank and my choices are to get my own propane or run out I wouldn't recommend Bemers to anyone because of this man Not only does he provide horrible customer service, he also adds up front charges to provide propane to customers in blizzard conditions If I owned the company, I would retire this VP before he alienates any other customers He doesn't work to solve problems He makes more of them and when his own driver reassures the customer by offering a solution, he disrespects the employee as "only a driver" That driver was able to cooperate and work with a customer more effectively that the VP of the company He also reassured me that I had enough propane to last about two weeks

I regret ever becoming involved with Bemers Petroleum. I used to have [redacted] supply my propane. I added some gas appliances to my home and the person who installed them recommended that I change companies. I needed more petroleum and a new larger tank and he told me Bemers would supply me with great service and be less expensive than [redacted]. I later found out that he was a subcontactor who worked with Bemers. I can only say that my experience with Bemers has proved to be more expensive in the long run. Every year I have to pay Bemers to rent the tank from them. Over this winter they have not been able to deliver propane to me but have repeatedly told me that tickets showing delivery had gone in. I got a huge bill for one delivery, called the office to find out why my bill was so large and was told that I had been overcharged about a dollar a gallon. I also fond that in the summer Bemers made monthly small deliveries of small amounts of propane and each trip included a hasmat charge. I asked for delivery every two months in order to keep from being billed the hasmat charge when my tank was nearly full. The huge bill came about because I did not receive a delivery for 4 months or more and because I was overcharged. Despite my request that I receive propane every two months, Bemers made its own schedule and even though we had very little snow through December there was no delivery made until a truck came out on February 5th after the blizzard that shut the state down. When the truck couldn't get up my driveway, I received a note from the driver telling me to have my driveway plowed so that the Bemers truck could access my tank. In less than one week the man who plows the driveway came and plowed no less than 3 times and sanded the driveway so that I could receive a delivery. I even arranged with the snow plow driver to be here when the truck arrived. He waited as long as he could before he had to pick his daughter up and the Bemers truck arrived two hours late. The driver made an attempt to come up the driveway and skidded on the town road before ever getting up the driveway. At this point Bemers has made no attempt to provide propane and when I asked for a service delivery, I was informed that I needed to pay an additional fee of $125 up front to get propane delivered with a smaller truck. I asked if I could drive to pick up propane for my home and was told that I could not legally carry propane to my home. I have a 4 wheel drive truck and despite the numerous storms, I have been able to access my home. Not only was the VP I spoke with at Bemers less than helpful, he was verbally abusive on the telephone yelling loud enough so that members of my household could hear him across the living room. Even after telling me that it was illegal for me to carry propane, he supported a plan that his driver and my friend had that would give me a temporary supply of propane. That plan was that his driver offered to drop off a smaller tank which I could transport to a local [redacted], have filled and that my friend could install at my house. After screaming, yelling, threatening excessive charges and telling me that it was illegal for me to transport propane, he told me as the homeowner, I could do "anything I want". I have a 7 year contract with Bemers Petroleum that tells me otherwise. If a driver and friend could figure out a plan to service my home, why couldn't a VP at Bemers come up with the same plan without having his staff inform me that I had to pay up front charges? I have never been delinquent in paying a Bemers bill. I plowed and sanded my driveway 3 times so that Bemers could make a delivery and was subjected to a screaming, yelling company VP who couldn't figure out a way to deliver propane in a 4 wheel drive vehicle. According to him, the company has no 4 wheel drive vehicles. In blizzard conditions, his solution was to put the onus on the customer. This is a company that delivers propane every winter and has for over 30 years. It isn't rocket science to figure out that having 4 wheel drive vehicles for CT winters makes sense for a company that delivers fuel to heat homes, heat water and supply fuel for its customers year round. It also makes sense to provide customer service with respect. I would advise anyone who needs a propane supplier to ask lots of questions before signing any contract. I would not recommend Bemers to anyone who is disabled, or lives on a fixed income or who lives in CT all winter long because the concern of Bemers VP Management isn't how to provide customers with propane. It is about how to get customers to pay excessive up front costs to get a delivery during a snow storm. I request delivery every two months. I got a delivery after 4 months and was over billed. Then I didn't get the two month delivery schedule I requested. Instead the company decided to deliver on its own schedule leaving. Two months ago we had little or no snow and it would have been simple to fill my tank. Now I have a nearly empty propane tank and my choices are to get my own propane or run out. I wouldn't recommend Bemers to anyone because of this man. Not only does he provide horrible customer service, he also adds up front charges to provide propane to customers in blizzard conditions. If I owned the company, I would retire this VP before he alienates any other customers. He doesn't work to solve problems. He makes more of them and when his own driver reassures the customer by offering a solution, he disrespects the employee as "only a driver". That driver was able to cooperate and work with a customer more effectively that the VP of the company. He also reassured me that I had enough propane to last about two weeks.

Review: I was with Bemers for well over 7 years. I decided to go with another petroleum company so Bemer came and took their tank back. I have no problem paying for them to pick up the tank but they tell me that they get 30% of the gas left in the tank to process the tank. My problem is that I had 42.5 gal in the tank I paid $4.92 a gal. They took about $120.00 and send me a check for $61.50. I do not think this is fair because I paid $4.92 but other people paid $2.00 a gal. which means they only pay $60.00 to have them take their tank back and I paid $120.00 for the same job. I feel they should charge one price to cover pick up and handling cost for everyone. I went with the other company because they gave me a better price on the gas and they were not going to charge me rental for the tank which would save me almost $90.00 a year.Desired Settlement: I would like them to be fair with everyone and charge a fair price for picking up their equipment and processing it.

Business

Response:

In response to Mrs. [redacted] concern- We take a look closely at every customer account that decides they would like to leave us for another vendor. In this case, I myself set up the account for Mrs. [redacted] and at that time in Nov. of 2002, she entered into a lease agreement that she signed and stated that if at any time she wanted to terminate the lease that our current restocking fee would apply. We do not charge a separate labor fee to pick up our tank and equipment. We never have. What we explain to the consumer is that if there is still product remaining in the tank that the consumer has paid for, prior to allowing another company to disconnect it, burn up the remaining gas... if not, we have to pump the tanks out when they are returned to our yard at which time they are drained, sandblasted and repainted to go back into service. Rather than lose the 30% restocking fee of what product is still in the tank, use it up and once the tank is empty, then have your new vendor change the tank out. This has been our policy since the early 1980's... I went back and reviewed our phone recordings and on 10-31-13 when [redacted] called, our customer service rep did infact offer to match the competitions quote in attempt to try to save the account and appease [redacted]. She declined the offer. Our rep then advised her to use up the remaining gas in the tank to avoid the restocking fees. She was made aware of our policy both in writing and verbally by our rep.

We prefer the customer use up the gas so that the tank does not need to be pulled from the site w/ product in it due to the weight as well as the process of draining it once back to our yard.

We regret losing Mrs. [redacted] as a customer, and did make the attempt to offer her an adjustment to make it work for her yet she declined.

We did retrieve our equipment and she was issued a refund for the remaining product in the tank less the restocking fee. She was also refunded the full annual lease fee which was not due to be refunded.

We hope this has provided you and she a clear view of what transpired with this account.

Regards.

Consumer

Response:

Review: [redacted]

From: [redacted]

Sent: Thursday, February 06, 2014 12:58 PM

To: [redacted]

Subject: Re: You have a New Message from Revdex.com Serving Connecticut Regarding Complaint #[redacted]

I read the comment from Bemers and yes they did tell me they would match the price but then I told them that I am getting the tank free and did not have to pay a rental fee for it at that point they said to me I guess we can not help you. I want you to know they did not say anything to me about using up the gas that was in the tank at that time. I understand them charging a fee to empting the tank what I do not understand is that people paid different amounts for their gas so as I said before someone else will pay $60.00 to have their tank and yet I get to pay the company $120.00.

My new company called Bemers before they took the tank out. I then received a call from Bemers and that was when they made me the offer and told me they could not do anything about the charge for the tank. The next time I called them to ask when they were going to pick up the tank they said they knew nothing about picking up the tank, so I told them about getting a new company. They then send me a bill for the tank rental again I called and we went over it again they said they would let someone know, about a month later I received another bill for the tank rental with a late charge on it so I called them again and they finally picked up the tank.

I regret ever becoming involved with Bemers Petroleum. I used to have [redacted] supply my propane. I added some gas appliances to my home and the person who installed them recommended that I change companies. I needed more petroleum and a new larger tank and he told me Bemers would supply me with great service and be less expensive than [redacted]. I later found out that he was a subcontactor who worked with Bemers. I can only say that my experience with Bemers has proved to be more expensive in the long run. Every year I have to pay Bemers to rent the tank from them. Over this winter they have not been able to deliver propane to me but have repeatedly told me that tickets showing delivery had gone in. I got a huge bill for one delivery, called the office to find out why my bill was so large and was told that I had been overcharged about a dollar a gallon. I also fond that in the summer Bemers made monthly small deliveries of small amounts of propane and each trip included a hasmat charge. I asked for delivery every two months in order to keep from being billed the hasmat charge when my tank was nearly full. The huge bill came about because I did not receive a delivery for 4 months or more and because I was overcharged. Despite my request that I receive propane every two months, Bemers made its own schedule and even though we had very little snow through December there was no delivery made until a truck came out on February 5th after the blizzard that shut the state down. When the truck couldn't get up my driveway, I received a note from the driver telling me to have my driveway plowed so that the Bemers truck could access my tank. In less than one week the man who plows the driveway came and plowed no less than 3 times and sanded the driveway so that I could receive a delivery. I even arranged with the snow plow driver to be here when the truck arrived. He waited as long as he could before he had to pick his daughter up and the Bemers truck arrived two hours late. The driver made an attempt to come up the driveway and skidded on the town road before ever getting up the driveway. At this point Bemers has made no attempt to provide propane and when I asked for a service delivery, I was informed that I needed to pay an additional fee of $125 up front to get propane delivered with a smaller truck. I asked if I could drive to pick up propane for my home and was told that I could not legally carry propane to my home. I have a 4 wheel drive truck and despite the numerous storms, I have been able to access my home. Not only was the VP I spoke with at Bemers less than helpful, he was verbally abusive on the telephone yelling loud enough so that members of my household could hear him across the living room. Even after telling me that it was illegal for me to carry propane, he supported a plan that his driver and my friend had that would give me a temporary supply of propane. That plan was that his driver offered to drop off a smaller tank which I could transport to a local [redacted], have filled and that my friend could install at my house. After screaming, yelling, threatening excessive charges and telling me that it was illegal for me to transport propane, he told me as the homeowner, I could do "anything I want". I have a 7 year contract with Bemers Petroleum that tells me otherwise. If a driver and friend could figure out a plan to service my home, why couldn't a VP at Bemers come up with the same plan without having his staff inform me that I had to pay up front charges? I have never been delinquent in paying a Bemers bill. I plowed and sanded my driveway 3 times so that Bemers could make a delivery and was subjected to a screaming, yelling company VP who couldn't figure out a way to deliver propane in a 4 wheel drive vehicle. According to him, the company has no 4 wheel drive vehicles. In blizzard conditions, his solution was to put the onus on the customer. This is a company that delivers propane every winter and has for over 30 years. It isn't rocket science to figure out that having 4 wheel drive vehicles for CT winters makes sense for a company that delivers fuel to heat homes, heat water and supply fuel for its customers year round. It also makes sense to provide customer service with respect. I would advise anyone who needs a propane supplier to ask lots of questions before signing any contract. I would not recommend Bemers to anyone who is disabled, or lives on a fixed income or who lives in CT all winter long because the concern of Bemers VP Management isn't how to provide customers with propane. It is about how to get customers to pay excessive up front costs to get a delivery during a snow storm. I request delivery every two months. I got a delivery after 4 months and was over billed. Then I didn't get the two month delivery schedule I requested. Instead the company decided to deliver on its own schedule leaving. Two months ago we had little or no snow and it would have been simple to fill my tank. Now I have a nearly empty propane tank and my choices are to get my own propane or run out. I wouldn't recommend Bemers to anyone because of this man. Not only does he provide horrible customer service, he also adds up front charges to provide propane to customers in blizzard conditions. If I owned the company, I would retire this VP before he alienates any other customers. He doesn't work to solve problems. He makes more of them and when his own driver reassures the customer by offering a solution, he disrespects the employee as "only a driver". That driver was able to cooperate and work with a customer more effectively that the VP of the company. He also reassured me that I had enough propane to last about two weeks.