Sandhills Propane Company, Inc.

The company has given many excuses as to why my Propane services have not been disconnected and the remaining balance refunded.Sales Rep: [redacted]Acct Number: [redacted]Payment Amount: 221.70 for 96.2 Gallons at $1.99/gal. Had about a $10 credit due to overpayment.Payment Method: In person by **Purchase Date: NovemberProblem Date:June 18, 2014Disconnect work order printed on June 26th. Estimated disconnect on July 7th. First call made around June 2nd for service to be disconnected. Was informed that the tank could not be plugged until the following week. Called back around June 18 and was informed that the landlord had called and had the account switched back to his name-tank still not plugged. Was informed that the guy who plugs the tanks was out sick and it would be done when he got back. The first call made today, June 30, was informed that the landlord switched over on June 18 and that if there was a credit available it would not be paid to us because of a disconnect fee and a shipping charge. When asked what the shipping charge was for, the lady could not tell me and informed me that she doesn't make the rules. Was informed that the tank still has not been read or plugged and that the guy was out of town. On the second call made today, June 30, we were informed about the date for the disconnect and the date for the service to be terminated.The company is to go to our old rental house and read the meter and plug it so that it can not be used. Then the remaining amount of un-used propane is to be refunded to me minus the $70 disconnect fee. As of this date it is still not plugged.Desired SettlementJust the remaining balance on the account after the meter is read.Business Response Thank you for bringing the issue with Ms. [redacted] to our attention and providing us the opportunity to respond. Please accept the following as our response.This was simply a case of miscommunication on our part. Ms. [redacted]'s request to disconnect service and plug the service line so that no one else could use the product in the tank was completed on June 26, 2014. Our service tech completed the task but had not submitted the paperwork to the office staff until the afternoon of the 30th; he had been off the previous Friday (July 27th); this caused a breakdown in communication from our end on whether the work had been completed or not, however the work had been done and her request was completed. We apologize to Ms. [redacted] for any inconvenience it may have caused. The tank percentage of gas in the tank when read on June 26, 2014 was 40%. We strive to do all we possibly can to satisfactorily resolve any customer dispute and Ms. [redacted]'s refund check is in process to be mailed to her.If Ms. [redacted] would like to speak with me directly, she is more than welcome to do so by calling me at my office (XXX)XXX-XXXX, ext. **If you should have any questions or need additional information, please do not hesitate to contact me as well.Sincerely, [redacted] Energy GroupVice President

I paid 385.00 for gas on 01/28/2014 and to date have not received the gas and can get no one to return my telephone calls. On january 27 &28 2014 I called the business numerous times to schedule gas delivery. I never got a return call and went to the business on my lunch hour and was told I was a "will call costumer" and I had to pay in full before gas could be delivered. I have always been on a payment plan with the business and was not aware of the change in policy! I paid 385.00 on 01/28/2014 for gas and to date (02/07/2014) have not received the gas. I have called for the past several days to discuss the delay and have not received a return call. I understand that the unusually cold weather is putting gas in high demand but this is ridulous. Desired Settlementi would like to have the gas I paid for delivered!Business Response /[redacted] 5, 2014/02/07) */Contact Name and Title: [redacted] Bullock / VPContact Phone: XXX-XXX-XXXX, [redacted]Contact Email: [redacted]@williamsenergygroup.comThank you for bringing the issue with Ms. [redacted] to our attention and providing us the opportunity to respond. Please accept the following as our response.Ms. [redacted] is absolutely correct in stating that the unusually cold weather is putting propane in high demand; in fact on January 28, 2014 the Governor of North Carolina declared a state of emergency due to the approaching winter storm and its expected impact and executed orders to allow our trucks extended time to deliver to homes, schools, farms and businesses that heat with propane. The storm did hit us on the evening of January 28 and due to the inclement weather and dangerous road conditions our vehicles did not run on January 29th and most of the day on the 30th. Unlike our "Keep Full" customers where we manage the frequency of deliveries to ensure the customer does not run out, Ms. [redacted] is a pay in advance "Will Call" customer, meaning we will not deliver until the customer calls and requests a delivery and payment for the requested delivery is received in our office. We suggest to "Will Call" customers that they contact us when their tank reaches 25% capacity, but not before 40% and to give at least five business days notice, as we may not be able to meet their schedule. We delivered gas to Ms. [redacted] at approximately 2:18pm on February 6, 2014. At that time her tank was not empty and had 38% of gas in it. We strive to do all we possibly can to satisfactorily resolve any customer dispute and in this case we did everything that was expected and requested of us. We apologize that she feels the level of service was not adequate, however in this situation where we are operating in a state of emergency and giving our all to ensure customers who heat by propane are serviced, I commend our employees in their professional efforts and prompt responsiveness as we did not let Ms. [redacted] run out of propane.If Ms. [redacted] would like to speak with me directly, she is more than welcome to do so by calling me at my office (XXX)XXX-XXXX,[redacted].If you should have any questions or need additional information, please do not hesitate to contact me as well.Sincerely, [redacted]Williams Energy GroupVice President

I recently ran out of propane,( Jan.8) so called the company for a delivery. I am a "call when Needed" customer. The lady said they could make a delivery before noon that day. The delivery truck arrived at 11:30 am. While talking to the driver, I told him I just had my tank (250 gal.) filled up the middle of November, and did not realize that we could use that much gas in such a short time. I had checked the level in my tank around Christmas time, and showed 30 %. So was shocked when I ran out of gas. He, the driver told me this was happening quite a bit with the cold weather the way it has been. My wife called the company and questioned the price of $2.529 gal. The lady said that was our price, and also said we had to pay a emergency delivery fee of $125.00. Was shocked as we had to pay a fee awhile back of $25.00. They have been charging a "Fuel Sur charge of $7.77 since the price of gas went over $4.00 gal. My wife told her the delivery fee was out of question and - Ridiculously high. She said we had to pay that right now. I called them back, with not answer, and told them that was about the delivery fee being to high, and to call me back to talk about it, and if they did not lower the price, I would change companies and could not pay that amount. As of today 11 am Jan. 9, have not heard back from them. They were very arrogant, and took advantage of an elderly couple on a fixed income, and were very short when talking to my wife. This company used to be very nice to do busy with, but have gotten greedy, and do not know what customer service is all about now.Desired SettlementI am willing to stay with the company, and told them on my message, "I would not pay the $125.00 fee, and offered to stay with them and pay $50.00." This is the only settlement I will agree on, as the fee was way out of line with what they had charged in the past. I also will not continue to pay the Fuel sur charge, as this should have been taken off our bill when the price on gas settled down. Why should we pay for gas for the delivery truck. I should charge them when I drop off my payments.Business Response Contact Name and Title: [redacted] / V.P.Contact Phone: XXX-XXX-XXXX, [redacted]Contact Email: [redacted]@williamsenergygroup.comThank you for bringing the issue with Mr. [redacted] to our attention and providing us the opportunity to respond. Please accept the following as our response.The colder than normal weather we've had to this point is driving increased heating demand; as a result most consumers like Mr. [redacted] are finding themselves using more gas than they typically would during a warmer winter. It's discouraging when good customers like Mr. [redacted] run out of gas but unlike our "Keep Full" customers where we manage the frequency of deliveries to ensure the customer does not run out, Mr. [redacted] chose to be a "Will Call" customer, meaning we will not deliver until the customer calls and requests a delivery. He acknowledges this in his statement as he is a "call when needed customer". We suggest to "Will Call" customers that they call us when their tank reaches 25% capacity, but not before 40% and to give at least five business days notice, as we may not be able to meet their schedule. If the customer needs a delivery before the appropriate notice we do tell them there will be an additional transportation charge (off route), and if their tank is out of gas they may also incur additional costs associated with retesting their system. We have scheduled daily deliveries and always do our best to accommodate emergency "call in" customers. In this situation Mrs. [redacted] called our on call driver at 7:30 am on January 8th and left a message that she was out of gas and that her house was down to 68 degrees. Our driver immediately called her back and told her that we have their account listed as "will call" and that there would be an "off route" fee of $125.00 if she needed gas today. Mrs. [redacted] stated she knew that there was an "off route" charge but didn't care because her house was cold. Our driver told her that he would have her gas delivered by noon that day and he did. In this situation I commend our employees in their professional efforts and prompt responsiveness to ensure that the [redacted]'s received gas to heat their home during such a cold time while still managing to keep our delivery commitments with our Keep Full customers.All charges were fair and up front. In fact our "off route" charge is much the standard in the propane industry. Our fuel surcharge is the lowest of the propane companies in the area and in some cases as much as a third less. The price per gallon charged at $2.529 is more than fair; according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) the average price for residential propane in North Carolina for the week of January 6, 2014 was $3.142 per gallon.We strive to do all we possibly can to satisfactorily resolve any customer dispute and in this case we did everything that was expected and requested of us. We value Mr. and Mrs. [redacted]'s business and sincerely hope that they decide to retain us as their supplier however there's not much more we can do. If they would like to become a Keep Full customer I ask them to please let us know and we will be glad to discuss the requirements to do so; if they qualify it would negate many of the issues discussed here. If Mr. [redacted] would like to speak with me directly, he is more than welcome to do so by calling me at my office (XXX)XXX-XXXX, ext. 6.If you should have any questions or need additional information, please do not hesitate to contact me as well.Sincerely, [redacted]Williams Energy GroupVice PresidentReceived Consumer Rebuttal 2014-01-16 First, We were absolutely not informed of the $125.00 price by [redacted] who we talked to at the time. Just was told there would be a delivery charge. If we had been told up front of the ridiculous price of $125.00, we would have gotten out the kerosene heater a few days until our regular area delivery. We keep kerosene on hand for such emergencies. We were not disputing the price of the propane as stated. We were disputing the Fuel(gasoline) Sur Charge, which you tack on to the delivery charge every time. That price was put on when the price of gas went over $4.00 a gal. and should not be charged now with the low price of gasoline.Compromise: We are both in our 70,s and on a very strict fixed income. We can not afford to pay the exorbitant price of $125.00 being charged. We did not realize we needed propane, because of the long cold period. The driver even mentioned that was happening a lot to their customers. We have a set approx. time that we know when we will need to check the tank. So we can only offer to pay $50.00 for the emergency delivery fee as we think this is reasonable. We will discuss getting on the Keep Full delivery, but must realize we can not pay to keep the tank full all the time. We also think you should drop the fuel charge, as this is not fair with the low price of gasoline. You should allow a little leeway for us as long term customers. Final Consumer Response Dispute settled !