Santa Fuel, Inc.

Review: Santa Fuels came to fill up my heating oil and sent me a bill for 165 gallons of heating oil. For the same amount of time last year at the same time of year, I used 66 gallons. Also, this year I have specifically taken steps to reduce the amount of oil heat I am using in my house. The amount must be a mistake. I called Santa Fuels twice, to dispute the bill and see if I could get some proof or talk to someone about the ridiculousness of the bill. I was told - no one from that department is available, I will put in a note for someone to call you. I asked if I could expect a call within a couple days. They told me they could not promise me a call period. What am I to do? I told them I would not pay the bill until I was able to discuss it. Likewise, they hassled me last month for not paying my bill on time, and I had paid it in less than 10 days of receiving the bill. They lost record that I had paid it. I explained I paid it with credit card and had the charge on my credit card bill. After they went back and researched, they said that they had found my payment and apologized for hassling me. No customer service and no attempt to fix a problem where they are trying to rip me off for a lot of fuel I did not receive.Desired Settlement: I want someone from Santa Fuels to contact me and show me the official pump meter readings of my bill and the deliveries right before and after me. That way, I can determine exactly how much oil was actually delivered. If they find that they are in error (which I am 99.9% sure is the case) I want an apology letter for trying to rip me off almost $400

Business

Response:

Mr. Willard and I had a conversation about his issue today (Friday Dec. 20th). I have emailed him some information today and have told him that I will follow up with him Monday to discuss further. I am hoping that by Monday I can get back to you to let you know that we have resolved this matter.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted] and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

Likewise, the company provided tremendous customer service until I was comfortable with the amount billed and provided all the backup documentation that I requested.

I consider this issue completely and satisfactorily resolved.

Sincerely,

James Willard

Review: I called to cancel my relationship contract with santa in august 2015 .I contracted with a new oil company..

.My Oil fill pipe was clearly labeled indicating my new fuel oil company. A unrequested fuel oil delivery was made to my house in November by Santa. This is clear case of poaching an un suspecting customer with a oil delivery.This is their problem, and they should be held responsible for their error.Desired Settlement: Credit reimbursement for amount paid

Business

Response:

Mr. [redacted] and I spoke on Friday and worked this issue out. I believe that we are both pleased with the outcome. I would be happy to continue to address this issue if Mr. [redacted] still has an issue with us.

Review: Santa Buckley Energy outrageously charged my business Denya's Auto body Inc.,account #1189 for Natural Gas... $1.77 CCF, the bill came to $1414.14.I checked with [redacted] their price is only $00.6723 CCF.Santa Buckley overcharged my account by $109.71 per CCF.I feel Santa Buckley should have contacted us with their large price spike that I would be incurring, and give me a opportunity to look for more reasonable suppliers.Santa Buckley said they charged so much because they could not get any Natural Gas. NOT A GOOD REASON TO PRICE GOUGING.Desired Settlement: Santa Buckley Energy should price my bill within reason with [redacted] pricing of $00.6723 per CCF.Thank you in advance for your cooperation.Denya's Auto Body Inc.William Denya ###-###-####

Business

Response:

We regret the high market prices for spot natural gas, and the pain that it causes to customer budgets. This issue is due in large part to the fact that [redacted] does not provide the pipeline delivery capacity of the customer to suppliers who serve those customers as is done with most of the utilities that we supply through. At the times when supply is constrained, suppliers are then forced to buy the customer's delivery capacity (often from the utility) at what are sometimes extreme market rates, as was the case last winter and this winter as well.

We offer fixed pricing to our customers so they can avoid these market price spikes. We send out three mailings through the summer offering fixed rates, affording the customer the opportunity to sign for the upcoming winter. Unfortunately, Denya's Auto Body did not avail itself of these multiple opportunities, even after having suffered higher rates the prior winter due to the same issue. We have no way of knowing what the market costs of gas will be until after they are incurred procuring the gas to meet the needs of our customers. We then pass on the market costs for those customers who did not fix their rate prior to the month. We have put out newsletters in each of the last two years that warned of pipeline constraints that could lead to higher prices, and we contact customers who have not locked in pricing to try to make sure that is their choice. There are times when the market price comes in less than fixing the rate, but there is a risk that is taken to try to gain that potential reward.

We are reluctant to absorb the negative results of a customer's decision. We paid a high price to obtain that gas, so the charge of gouging is baseless. WE have spoken with this customer and we will reach out again to try to work out a mutually acceptable resolution to this complaint.

Consumer

Response:

Review: [redacted]

I am rejecting this response because: I received the response for Santa Buckley through Revdex.com. I feel that is a unjustified reasoning for charging Denya's Auto Body Inc.

$01.0971 more per CCF, than [redacted] pricing of $00.6723. Santa Buckley pricing Natural Gas at $01.77675 is PRICE GOUGING small business.

Santa Buckley says they are restricted of Natural Gas, does not give them the opportunity to charge small business any price they want.

If a gas station is running low on gasoline, does that mean they can charge $10.00 per gallon? Consumer will go else ware.

Again I feel if Santa Buckley can not offer a fair pricing on Natural Gas, they need to let the customers know ASAP, with out a thirty day hold.

I would like Santa Buckley to resolve this price gouging of Natural Gas to my business and be more in line with [redacted] pricing of $ 00.6723.

Please contact me for any further information.

Thank you in advance for your cooperation

Sincerely,

William Denya

Business

Response:

We have discussed this with Mr. Denya and agreed to a resolution on the price.

Review: I took advantage of the free six month service plan this company offers for new customers and was told their techs would come if there were any issues so we noticed our oil tank gauge stopped working so I called to have it fixed and I was told it was covered at no charge as long as it was a standard one gauge so the guys were at my home in an out for about 4 hours and finally they managed to replace it I got a call from my home because the tech wanted to talk to me he told me the gauge was fixed and that they noticed the oil line was kinked inside the tank so they replaced it and also told me me my boiler should be replaced and that they were all done.the following week I get a bill for 530.00 their plumber replaced parts without consulting me first,but their employee states he called me first all he did was call to tell me what he fixed and that he was done I have spoken several times with the company to resolve the issue but all they have offered is 150.00 off the bill which is very unfair they believe their employee over me of course the employee will never admit to it,why would I want to invest 530.00 in my boiler when I signed with this oil company I asked the sales lady to have someone from their company come out to my home to price out a new complete system.I should of known the free service plan for six months was scam used it once and is going to cost me over five hundredDesired Settlement: I would want the entire bill waived and if not possible I would like to be let out the contract.

Business

Response:

Dear Mr. [redacted],

Review: THIS IS MY SECOND COMPLAINT TO Revdex.com. Santa Buckley charged my small business $2.90 per CCF for natural gas. I checked with Yankee Gas their price is about $ .67 per CCF for natural gas. Big Difference, that is $2.23 Santa Buckley is charging me more than Yankee Gas.I feel Santa Buckley did not treat me vary fairly in charging such a HIGH PRICE for their Natural Gas. Santa Buckley charged me 432% more than Yankee Gas! WOW!!!The old saying "Customer Beware"! 03/12/2014Desired Settlement: SANTA BUCKLEY ENERGY PRICING SHOULD BE IN LINE WITH YANKEE GAS AT $ .67 per CCF. That's is what I should be paying.

Business

Response:

This client did not lock in a price for his business, despite many opportunities to do so. This business is part of a program where we send out three written opportunities to lock in a price during the period between May and October for the following year. The complainant has been part of that program for many years, yet he did not take advantage of those opportunities, even though we had this same conversation the prior winter, where he was urged to make sure he fixed his price in the coming period so the same thing wouldn't happen again. Unfortunately that advice was not heeded. Santa Buckley Energy's costs to serve customers who did not lock their prices were extremely high, and our prices to those customers reflect that. Customers who did lock in prices were not exposed to those market prices. We understand the difficulty some are having with the choice they made, but we cannot do anything more for this customer than what has already been offered and discussed with him directly.

Consumer

Response:

Review: 9967474

I am rejecting this response because: I feel Santa Buckley thinks they can charge the small business 432% more for natural gas, than Yankee Gas. Santa Buckley thinks that's ok, well I do not ! I feel this complaint should stay on file in front of the Revdex.com customers, to educate them on Santa Buckley policy's.

Again, Revdex.com, do not close this complaint, consumers in Connecticut need to know who they should buy from and more importantly who not to buy from !

Sincerely,

William Denya

Business

Response:

Review: This company is hands down the most unorganized and more importantly unethical oil delivery company I've ever dealt with. Last fall, they had a promotion for all new members to receive a one-time furnace servicing for free. I took advantage of this and they came in late March. Five weeks later, I get a past due notice saying I am over 30 days late (with no previous notification) and am being charged 1.5% per month as a late fee. I call in to dispute this and they agreed it was their fault and they'd get it taken care of. Two days later, I check my credit card bill and there are 2 of the EXACT same charges. My oil deliveries are usually automatically charged by my credit card to avoid being late. So not only am I getting charged for the oil and the "free" servicing that ended up costing me $366.59, but they charge it twice! On 5/9, I call up to complain and they again apologize for their error (notice a trend here?) and say they'll look into it. On 5/16, I have yet to hear anything so I call up furious. They said they cannot refund my credit card but will instead issue me a check. On 6/5, still no check so I call back up. She apologized for their error (the trend continues) but the woman who does the checks "has been sick" so they've been delayed. So, Santa falsely charges customers unethically and then makes you wait your sweet time to get the money back...meanwhile the money has been out of my account for over a month now.It seems that almost every delivery and invoice always leads to an issue. These people are very nice on the phone but operate a VERY shady way of doing business. If you enjoy talking to your oil company more than your significant other, this is the place for you!!! If not, I strongly suggest going elsewhere. They love to take your company and could care less about giving it back to you after their own repeated errors.Desired Settlement: They offered to give me a credit towards future purchases immediately but I honestly have no desire to ever do business with them again. Instead I am just wanting the check refund that I was promised on 5/16 and almost 21 days later still have nothing to show for it...except for the two $906.31 charges that have being long gone out of my account.

Business

Response:

Mr. Cooper,

This is the first I have heard of your issues and I am very sorry that you have had such an experience with us. This is certainly not the way I want us to treat a customer. I have looked into your refund check and it left our building on June 3rd; I would assume that you should recieve it with your mail today or tomorrow at the latest. I would like to know right away if that is not the case. I can be reached on my cell ###-###-#### at any time.

I can make a lot of excuses for why this may have happened or that may have happened but bottom-line we did not serve you the way we needed to serve you. Again, I apologize to you for that. I have made sure that any finance charges applied your account have been removed. To add to these difficulties, I see that we delivered oil to you home again yesterday. I am sure that added to your frustration with us. As a token of our understanding of the trouble we have had with you I would like to discount that delivery $100.00. I will apply that credit and mail you a statement early next week showing you your new balance.

Please let me know if you would like me to keep your account on automatic delivery or if you would like me to close your account.

Please feel free to contact me if I have not addressed all your issues.

Sincerely,

Peter Russell

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID 10079176, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

It is unfortunate that it takes me to escalate matters to this extreme for Santa Energy to work with me (I always asked [redacted] at Santa for a manager/director's name but was never able to get one) but I guess that is just how it works.

Thanks again Revdex.com for your help!!

Sincerely,

Michael Cooper