Nittany Oil Company

Review: My heating oil/furnace repair company overcharged me for a return repair call in February, 2016. On February 16, 2016, Pickelner Fuel Company (now Nittany Oil Company) sent a service man to my home for a furnace repair due to no heat. He unplugged the fuel line and replaced the fuel filter and oil nozzle - the charge was $105.52, $85 for labor. On February 20, 2016 (a Saturday) the heat was again not working and Pickelner was called. I specifically asked if there was going to be a premium charge for this call back of the February 16 visit, but was not given a clear answer. On February 20, the service man again diagnosed a plugged fuel line and replaced the oil nozzle again. The charge for this service call was $253.36, $240 for labor. Both service calls took 60 minutes. I am disputing the $240 labor fee for the February 20 visit on the basis that the February 16 service was only a temporary fix and my furnace stopped working within a few days necessitating a return call for repair. I notified the company of my dispute by letter of March 31, 2016, and by several telephone calls. On April 11, 2016, I spoke to an individual named Tegan at the Pickelner Fuel Company office who told me my bill would be adjusted from the labor charge of $240 to only $85. Unfortunately, when I received the next billing statement this labor charge had only been adjusted to $170, not the stated $85. I have not been successful in resolving this billing problem with them and now when I call I am told Nittany Oil Company must resolve the dispute and I have not been successful in resolving it with that company either.

They continue to assess finance charges to my disputed bill and currently insist I owe them a balance of $119.46.Desired Settlement: I request that my $240 labor charge for the February 20 service be reduced to $85 as it was a call back for a prior issue a few days before and the company had agreed on April 11 to charge me only $85 for that service call. I also request that all finance charges be eliminated.

Business

Response:

Re: Complaint dated 8-22-16 ID #[redacted] L[redacted]Dear Ms. [redacted]In response to Ms. [redacted]'s complaint: Nittany Oil went to Ms. [redacted]’s home to service her heating unit on Februaiy 16, 2016. We replaced her oil filter and nozzle because the oil line system was plugged. We were able to get her furnace running and billed her for the cost of parts $20.52 (nozzle and filter) plus our normal labor charge (during normal business hours) of $85.00 per hour.On Saturday, February 20th, we were called out again for an after-hours, no heat call. The service tech found that the customer had allowed her fuel to run low causing sludge from the bottom of her tank to pull into her oil line again. This caused the fuel nozzle to plug again and wouldn't allow fuel to get to her furnace. The service tech was able to get the unit back up and running. Our minimum after-hours call out is always $120 for travel and $120 for the 1st hour on site plus another nozzle for $13.36.Ms. [redacted] was responsible for making sure her tank had adequate fuel which helps prevent dirt (sludge) in her tank to cause blockages. Because her tank is older, there will be a continuing issue with sludge. Our service tech suggested that she needs to consider a new oil tank. Please refer to the enclosed invoices for additional information.Ms. [redacted] called our office and sent a letter to complain about our labor rates around the end of March. On 4/6/2016, our service dispatcher, Tegan, spoke with Ms. [redacted]. Tegan then contacted me about Mrs. [redacted]'s billing to see if we could help her with the bill because she is an oil customer. I agreed to reduce the after hours cost from $120 to $85 for travel fee and $120 to $85 for the 1st hour fee, which was a reduction of $70 total. This reduced the labor bill from $240 to $170 plus parts. Ms. [redacted]t apparently misunderstood what Tegan explained to her and thought the entire bill would be $85. Tegan again explained this to the customer when she called her back.The customer stated that she still was not happy and she was told to call me at the State College office to discuss further. Tegan relayed the message to me and I called and left messages for Ms. [redacted] 3 different time with no response.