Receivables Management, Inc.

This letter is in rebuttal of a complaint filed by a [redacted]. My name is Lisa P. and I am the Customer Service manager for Hometowne Energy co. Ms. [redacted] is currently a propane customer of Hometowne Energy. We currently supply Ms. [redacted] with 2 sets of tanks at her home at [redacted]...

[redacted], [redacted] NY. The details of these delivery sites, both on Hometowne Energy account number [redacted] are: South side of home ( Our system's tank #l):Two (2) Hometowne supplied 420 pound propane tanks with a total usable capacity of 100 gallons each, 200 gallons total. These are at the South end of the duplex at this site. North side of home ( Our system's tank #2): Two (2) Hometowne supplied 420 pound propane tanks with a total usable capacity of 100 gallons each, 200 gallons total. These are at the North end of the duplex at this site. Ms. [redacted] is on a WILL CALL delivery basis for both of these delivery sites and she is required to pre pay for all deliveries made to these tanks. A letter confirming this account status and customer responsibilities was mailed in December 2017. On 1/3/18 we received a [redacted] credit card payment in the amount of $ 411.66 as a pre payment for a delivery to the NORTHSIDE tanks ( our tank #2). However, the ticket was logged incorrectly and the delivery of 49.2 gallons was actually made to the SOUTHSIDE tanks ( our tank #1). The customer called the office on 1/5 and informed us of our mistake. We then informed the dispatcher and instructed the driver to return to the site and deliver only 125 gallons to use the remaining dollar credit on the account, per the customer's request. The driver never received the information to make this correct delivery until the customer called back on 1/10/18. We then delivered , on 1/10/18, 125.6 gallons to the NORTHSIDE tanks ( our tank #2) as was originally ordered. This left the customer's •account with a balance of $ 1.16 for which she was not billed. Furthermore, the 1/10/18 phone call from the customer was the last contact that we had with the customer on this issue. On Thursday 3/1/18 at 7:48 pm, Ms. [redacted] posted a publically shared comment on her own [redacted] page saying that she was upset with Hometowne Energy and that her tanks were locked off and that she needed a delivery or propane. A mutual ( [redacted]) friend saw the post and forwarded to me since they thought that would want to see it. I have printed, as best I can, the majority of this post as it was shared to me on my [redacted] page and included with this letter. On Friday, 3/2/18 at 8:57 am I called Ms. [redacted] to resolve the issue. Again, this [redacted] post was our only indication that the customer was in need of assistance. Ms. [redacted] had not called the office on 3/1/18. Since she didn't answer at that time, I left a message for the customer to call me back. On Friday 3/2/18 at 2:17pm, Ms. [redacted] called our office and was transferred to me, since she was returning my call. I informed the customer that I had seen her [redacted] post and that I understood there to be a problem with her propane tanks. I asked her if she had called the Hometowne office the night of 3/1/18 when she discovered that she had no heat. She said that she had called and had just heard a voice mail message, and hung up. I then explained that Hometowne Energy has an Emergency phone system and that was the recording that she had heard. If a Hometown Energy customer has a heating emergency, and they call our office during off hours, they are given instructions, via a recording, as to how to leave an emergency voice mail that will be returned by Hometowne personnel immediately. She did not leave a message and therefore, was not called back. As to her assertion that we had shut off her tanks, I told her that we had not been to her delivery sites since 1/4/18 and 1/10/18-the dates of the previous deliveries. I also told her that if she had no heat, as she had indicated, it was probably because she was out of propane. With the extremely cold weather in January and beginning of February, combined with our usage history on both tanks, our system was indicating that both of the sets of tanks were out of propane. I informed her that since she's on a will call delivery system, that it is her responsibility to watch her tanks and call the office and pre pay for deliveries when her tanks get low on product. Ms. [redacted] disagreed with me. She felt that January and February had above average temperatures and there fore her tanks could not be out of propane as of March 1. She maintained that she had no heat because the tanks were locked. Please note: As I've said, Hometowne Energy has not been at her home since 1/10/18. Only Hometowne Energy personnel can lock these tanks since we own them, so that would have been the date that they were locked. We can confirm that these tanks WERE NOT SHUT OFF OR LOCKED on 1/4/18 nor on 1/10/18. Furthermore, If we had locked them that day, the customer would not have been able use the propane in them ever since that day. However, Ms, [redacted] indicated that she had no heat only as of the date of 3/1/18. Finally, since the customer said that her I set of tanks was out of propane, I offered to put her on the schedule for propane deliveries to all of the tanks at her home that day, 3/2/18. The customer declined my offer, saying that she was not sure that she wanted us as a propane supplier any longer, to which I said ok. I told her to call us back if she changed her mind , to which she said that the only thing she'd call us for was to remove our tanks. After this phone conversation, the customer posted another publically posted comment on her [redacted] page complaining about our phone conversation. Furthemore, she posted the same message that she sent to you in her complaint, on our Hometowne Energy [redacted] page as well as on a [redacted] review of our business. To date, she has not contacted our office to schedule a delivery nor to schedule her tanks to be removed. Please feel free to call me with any questions regarding this information. Sincerely, Lisa P. Manager of Customer Relations, System Administrator, Commercial Credit Manager