Shipley Energy

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]
 Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:
The Shipley response states “Because a
tune-up was performed in the coverage period the total balance of $113.40 is
owed.”  This statement is incorrect as a
tune-up was not performed in the coverage period.  The current coverage period began on
4/11/2014 and the last tune-up was conducted one month prior on 3/11/2014.  As such the last tune up was completed under
the prior coverage period, 3/11/2013 – 4/10/2014, and paid for in full under the
prior coverage period. 
The attached invoice clearly shows the prior coverage period 3/11/2013
through 4/10/2014 and that the last tune-up occurred on 3/11/2014.  
I asked for and received no service from Shipley Energy after this time and I
have no contract with Shipley Energy.  As
such I must once again request that Shipley credit all balances due.  
Regards,
[redacted]

Customer's complaint is the price per gallon of heating oil and the $599.40 charge for renewal of service contract.
I have spoken with the customer on the issues he has been experiencing.
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We agreed to remove charge for the renewal of the service plan. We automatically renew service plans to ensure coverage. The $599.40 charge has been removed from his account. 
In addition to the credit of the service plan, we agreed to credit his account an additional $175.00. While we believe our price for heating oil is fair and we monitor the price against the competition, we agreed to the credit as a way to come to a resolution and move forward amicably. 
The remaining balance on his account is $470.00. We agreed to payment terms of at least $50.00 per month. No additional finance charges will be charged as long as minimum payment is made each month.
We do apologize for any inconvenience you may have experienced. Please contact me directly with any future questions.
Thank you,
Steve B[redacted]
Customer Care Manager
###-###-####

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]
 Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:
They are not being truthful about their attempts to contact me.  I looked up my phone activity for February 25, the day before oil delivery.  On my phone bill, there is no record of me receiving any calls on the morning of the 25th, and there is no record of any voice mail on my phone.  If their policy is to deliver without contact, that should be stated somewhere during the sign up procedure.  They also did not send an email to me regarding the delivery.  It is poor business practice to say that you are going to discuss payment terms and options with a customer prior to delivery of almost $1000 worth of goods, and then not follow through with that process.  Because they did not contact me and delivered the oil without my knowledge, I had to delay paying my mortgage payment and other bills until I received my next paycheck. I am a single parent with a single income.  I would never have submitted my information had I known that they were going to deliver oil to my home without speaking to me.  With the harshness of this winter, I was constantly shopping around to different companies looking for the best price that I could get for oil.  I never imagined that trying to save money would have cost me such financial hardship.  
I also did submit an email regarding this situation to the email address (a customer service rep) that sent me a notice of payment withdrawal for the first delivery.  There is nothing in that email that says that it is an unmonitored account, so I responded to the email thinking that I would get a response and no further oil deliveries would be made to my house.  Also, the first delivery was made on February 26.  The second delivery was made on March 17.  If they were supposed to be delivering on a monthly basis, why did I receive the second delivery only 19 days after the first delivery?  I was under the impression that I had another 9-11 days to make contact with the company to ensure that I would no longer be receiving any more oil deliveries.  
Furthermore, I did not see anywhere on the website notice of special business hours.  When I called after hours, the message stated that the office hours were from 8 am to 5 pm Monday through Friday, and if it was not an emergency to please call back then.  There was no mention of extended hours or Saturday hours.
I really do not feel that this company is trustworthy.  I do not feel that the customer service agents made sufficient attempts to contact me before delivery.  I do not feel that they have clearly stated policies regarding what happens if they do not contact you.  I do not feel that they are being honest about the attempts that were made to contact me.  I know that I will never do business with them again, and I will not recommend them to any of my friends or family.  This situation has caused me an unneccessary financial hardship that could have been averted if they had simply contacted me before making the first delivery.  I would have had a chance to discuss payment options and terms and made a decision that would have been best for my finances.  I feel like that decision was taken away from me and I am still feeling the effects of it today, as I am still trying to "catch up" on bills that had to be delayed to pay for the first delivery.
Regards,
[redacted]

Review: I use propane to heat my home & Shipley Energy Co. was my propane dealer for many years. I closed my account with them and had their propane tanks removed on 04/04/14. I was to receive credit for the unused propane in these two tanks. I then received an invoice showing there was a total of 75 gallons of propane in these two tanks and that they are giving me a credit of $3.9990 per gallon. My complaint is, I paid 4.9990 per gallon for that propane. I called Shipley and was told their policy is to buy back the propane at the current rate and not the rate I had paid in February. I would like to add, I was also charged a service fee of $89.01 for removal of the tanks. I have no problem with that removal fee but shouldn't I be entitled to full refund of the price I paid them for the propane. At 3.9990 x 75 gallons my credit is $299.93 and @ 4.9990 my credit would be $374.93. That's a difference of $75.00. Is this fair business? Is this legal? I feel I am being ripped off.Desired Settlement: I would like to receive full credit for the amount they had charged me, 4.9990 per gallon, not 3.9990 per gallon...

Business

Response:

Customer's complaint is that the credit they received does not match what was purchased.

Review: I am contracted with the above company in heat and a "maintanance " service agreement. The problem is with the maintenance agreement where they will provide cleaning of the heating and cooling system and 24 hour service emergency in 2015.

I already paid for 2013/2014. Then in May they sent me an invoice to pay for the coming season, which I thought was odd, because I didnt receive anything to notify me if I want to renew the service.

Now they want me to pay with interest , totaling around $400.00.

A big company in Central PA,they should show a good faith with its customers. At least send letters that your contract is about to end , please renew. Am sorry to say this, but this just looks like a deceptive way of retaining customers.

I dont think I will renew the Heat next year with your current customer service practice.Desired Settlement: please end my 1 year contract and I don't need to pay for next year because there is no official contract and services haven't been rendered yet.

Business

Response:

Customer's complaint is the service plan coverage automatically renewed which invoiced him and incurred late charges.

Review: I used the internet to get more information about payment options for Shipley Energy. Online it stated that I could fill out the online application and may be eligible for credit services for fuel oil delivery. They asked for debit or credit card information for first payment if credit was not established. When I looked for more information about delivery date, I read that I would be contacted before a delivery date was scheduled. I submitted all of my debit card information based on this information. The first attempt at contact on my cell phone was made on Thursday, February 27, 2014. I sent the first call to voice mail because I was at work and the number was unfamiliar. No message was left and the number called right back. I attempted to answer the second call and I heard a click and the line went dead. Later that night, I looked up the phone number and discovered that it was the number for Shipley Energy. I could not call them back because it was after business hours. On Saturday, March 1, I received a bill in the mail for $911 for a heating fuel delivery that was made on February 26, the day before phone contact was attempted. I was never given the opportunity to discuss with a member of Shipley's staff my payment options or when I would like to set up a delivery. Oil was already delivered before the phone calls, and I was informed that my card was already to have been debited on the 27th, although no money had been withdrawn as of the 1st. I decided to let the situation go at that point, and pay for the oil. I really didn't feel I had a choice, but in response, I sent an email to a customer service rep that had emailed me to say that they had hoped my experience was a positive one. I asked to have my account closed and to have no future deliveries made.

Apparently, that email address was not monitored. On Thursday, March 20, 2014, I received another bill in the mail for another delivery of oil to my house. This time the delivery was for approximately 57 gallons at a price of $4.70 per gallon. I then went on to their website and used their contact us link to send them another message. I told them how upset I was with the situation, especially that I was never contacted before the first oil delivery. The representative responded in an email that several attempts had been made to contact me and messages were left for me to contact them. The only contact number that I gave them was for my cell phone which is with me at all times. I can not always answer but I have voice mail set up and return messages when they are left. No contact was attempted before the first delivery of oil. There was no response to my first email sent to the customer service rep. And the only response from the company was a price adjustment for the second delivery from $4.70 a gallon to $3.99 a gallon. They never admitted that they were at fault for the situation.Desired Settlement: 1. I would like to make sure that the policy is changed for other future customers. No oil deliveries should be made before speaking to the potential customer. I had to delay my mortgage payment for 2 weeks because of the delivery and the amount that was debited from my account without being consulted first on when delivery and payment would be good for me.

2. I do not feel that I should have to pay for the second delivery of oil. I wrote an email to their company saying I did not want any more oil to be delivered. It is not my fault that they did not receive it. The first delivery was made on February 26th, so if they were doing monthly deliveries, oil should not have been delivered again until March 26 and it was delivered on March 17. Due to my work schedule, I was not able to make phone calls during their business hours, and was relying on email as my primary source of contact with the company.

3. Shipley Energy needs to do a much better job of communicating deliveries to its customers. I never received any notices on my door, which I have from any other oil delivery company, stating that oil was delivered to my house. They need to leave a delivery ticket on the house door when they make a delivery.

Business

Response:

The customer's complaint is that we made deliveries prior to a phone call being made and would like the second delivery of 57.6 gallons at no charge as well as our policy is updated to only make deliveries after phone contact is made.

Review: I have been leasing propane tanks & buying propane from Shipley for 9 years. I have experienced the ups and downs of propane costs every year. This year, when I received my bill at the end of January. I was stunned at the price increase of propane as I am sure all of their customers were. The price per gallon went from $2.89 to $4.99 per gallon & I had 254 gallons delivered For the first time in those nine years I felt that I needed to compare prices and called around the local distributors to find Shipley to be much higher. I then called Shipley and inquired why such a large increase without warning? They replied that there was a shortage. I asked why they were $1 more per gallon then other local suppliers? They replied that they were guaranteeing delivery even with the shortage. This is not my complaint. On April 7 I called Shipley to make an appointment to have their tanks removed as I want to be present and close my account. When asked why I wanted to close my account, I told her price gouging during the shortage. As I told [redacted] in January, the guarantee of delivery was a guarantee of me seeking propane elsewhere. She was clearly offended I used gouge as I was blunt and to the point. I was told that she could not give me an appointment as the dispatcher was in a meeting and would call me back. So I updated my contact info with my cell phone number so I would not miss their call. On Aril 8 I called back & inquired as to why I wasn't called back. I found that my contact info was never updated and that my account was not closed. Again I was told that the dispatcher was not available to set up an appointment as I am requesting to be present when my propane is removed from my property. [redacted] was very professional throughout our conversation and assured me that she would call me back with an appointment date and she did that day. The appointment was for April 18. On April 17 when I got home & just happen to notice the propane tanks missing I checked both phones for any message, called Shipley to see if they came & I got no answer. I left message for [redacted] to return my call. I wasn't sure if I needed the police or not, so I waited till I spoke to Shipley. When [redacted] called back, she confirmed my appointment was for April 18. She also couldn't explain as to why if they had showed up 24 hours early when I had requested to be present when they came onto my property to remove my propane that was paid for. She also could not explain as to why I was not notified before or after. She could not explain why my heating systems were not properly shut down & closed off to prevent damage to my property. So I asked to speak to her supervisor & was told he was in a meeting & that he would call me back. I called back 4 times & he refuses to return my calls.Desired Settlement: I want the disconnect fee of $89.01 refunded. I feel that there was more then 373 gallons in those tanks before removal, but I have no proof as I wasn't present as I requested to be. I want a explanation as to why my property & my schedule was so disrespected regardless of the small print of the contract, If I request to be present on my property & they are removing my property. notification is required!! Most of all I want upper management & the public to know this is how their customers are treated. I would like someone with authority to look at their unethical practices

Business

Response:

Customer's complaint is that he was not present when propane tanks were picked up and would like the disconnection fee waived.

Review: Copy of letter sent to ShiplReceived a phone call from [redacted], stating, that the CEO "does not read his mail. The secretary opens it and sends it down." Proceeded to argue and belittle m and offer contradictory information. I requested she see the letter be return to Mr. Shipley's office, I stated I was not going to argue, and would just register a complaint to which her bitter reply was, That is your right. I waited a week and have heard nothing, SO I am asking the Revdex.com for assistance. This happened in 2013 november. Did not receive advisement of bill until february 2014. Have been receiving past due notices and interest charges.

The following is a copy of the letter:

[redacted] Shipley [redacted], CEO [redacted]

Dear Mr. Shipley,

I am writing to you to ask you to challenge the attached bill.

Briefly, At the urging of you representative I had a new thermostat installed. My old one worked fine. I do not have central air. I could not program it. And was left a small instruction card and I thought a larger booklet. I was away for most of last year and used very little fuel. This year I could not get it to go down below 60 and was just turning it on and off. I have monocular vision. I found the small instruction card but it did not work for me.

I initially contacted Shipley and stated I thought there was a larger manual, but was not sure and if there was I could not locate it. I called to inquire about the aforementioned and the your first representative stated she knew nothing of Shipley ever having installed thermostats and could not help me. I gave up and decided I would continue to just use the on/off function and forget about programming it.

When I first came to PA (and used Shipley at the recommendation of the previous owner), paid extra to have the price set. I ended up actually paying more because I did not use enough fuel to make it cost effective.

I called back a few weeks later to discuss fuel for the winter. I was advised I was not eligible for the budget program unless I contracted to get regular deliveries from you and had to use Shipley for 2 years. I explained I may not be here and was told that if I cancelled it I would have to pay a large fee. I explained that I may be moving and was told that would not matter. I decided to just put the save the money on my own and call in when I had needed fuel and had sufficient funds to pay it. I would still have to pay the fee. I again mentioned the thermostat (and also that I only have vision in one eye) and setting it was difficult to figure out. I asked if there was a model number to look it up and she was unaware of this as well. She could not instruct me as to how to set the thermostat. I told her I had just been turning on and off and she said, “You should not have to do that I will send someone out.”

The person who came out was gracious, very helpful, and used the instructions I pulled up one the computer.. He pointed out that unless I knew how to override, the person who had originally set it, our rep for 60. I could not go lower than that. He reset it for 40 which I requested so that when I was away my pipes would be less likely to freeze. I am confident that if someone had explained to me that I had to push the right hand button twice to override on the phone, the trip out would not have been necessary.

I called back about a month plus later after the first of January to to schedule deliver which required my credit card number in order to not have to pay an extra cost per gallon--my card you had on file was no longer valid as I had been a victim of credit card theft and had changed the number from what you had on file.

Synchronistically, I received an email stating I had a bill of for $200 plus stating that amount would be taken from my credit card on file. I called in was informed it was for a house call for the thermostat. If I had been told there was a fee of over $200. I would have just continued to use the on and off. I spoke to your customer service person who after numerous conversation. He was always most patient and courteous advised me the best he could do was to know off $50. I advised him I would like a bill sent through the mail as I would like to pay by check as I did not want to give my new credit card number. I had done automated billing payment in the past and I recall at least one occasion being charged for something I did not order because I had not said I did not want it. That was taken care of.

I think you should make a better adjustment than that for the following reasons:

Your representatives were untrained and could not provide any leads for me to adjust if myself.

and, for that reason had to send someone out when a phone call may have sufficed.

Did not advise me of even a ballpark of what a visit would be.Had they done so I would have just continued to turn it on and off and skipped the automatic setting.

4. This is in contrast to your company’s presented public persona of “Commitment, Responsive, Progressive”... “ most importantly to our customers”... “focusing on each person serving one customer at a time”

I have enclosed $50. as a good faith gesture until this is settled.

Most sincerely,

[redacted]Desired Settlement: Optimally to pay nothing.

Business

Response:

Customer is asking that we dismiss all charges for a service call that was performed.

Review: Shipley installed a furnace 9/14/2011, we have had them come and repair the furnace several times. Water started coming in shortly after installation and would cause the furnace to stop working. They send repairman who don't know what they are doing and the problem is not resolved.They send repairman who don't even know why they are here. I have to explain. When they installed the furnace they cut a hole in the roof which has been leaking ever since. On 2/7/2013 we were told they would send a roofer. Called 3/27/13 to find out what is going on if a roofer ever came. Person who anwers the phone doesn't know anything and says someone else will call. They do not. When I call on 3/28/2013 and say I am going the Revdex.com then [redacted] calls and says she will forward all data again to the service manager. It is now 4/21/2013 and we have heard nothing. Our roof is leaking onto the top of the furnace. They do not return phone calls, they lie,and they do inferior work. Very disappointed with this company. We are concerned that we will be having problems after the warranty is ended in September, 2013. We have been trying to resolve this issue with Shipley for almost 2 years and I am so frustrated with it and them.Desired Settlement: We want a roofer to come and look at the roof. We want our roof repaired. We want another 2 years of warranty for free.

Business

Response:

[redacted]s complaint was that they have a leaky roof after completion of a furnace installation by Shipley Energy. They also stated that there was also a lack of follow up on our part that delayed resolution.

Review: shipley owes us about 2200 dollars. I called to cancel them weeks ago, and then called again last week to check on status of check, they told me it would take a few weeks.

This is ridiculous. If they owe us money they should go to their accountant and have a check sent asap, its not like we are talking 22 dollars.

I have already switched 4 of my friends off of shipley and will get more to change to pay as you go.

also they filled our tank when it didn't need filled at an outrageous price compared to the going rateDesired Settlement: I would like our money ( preferably with interest that they made on holding our money for so long) but we know that wont happen.

Business

Response:

Customer's complaint is due to not receiving a check for the credit remaining on their account of $2,176.30 when they closed.

Review: My husband and I have had Shipley Energy as our propane provider for almost 3 years. Last winter we ran out of propane duringt on a very cold winter night. I called the office and the woman informed me that we were "missed" on the delivery route. I was very upset because at the time we had a newborn baby and our house was to cold for her, we had to leave and take her to my parents. Later that day they came and filled our tank, they we less than apologetic for the inconvenience it caused to my family. Every month we have payment directory taken out of our account bu Shipley Energy to pay on our balance, sometimes we use more than our plan so we own an amount at the ened of the season. So now I arrive at the reason for this complaint, last night we ran out of propane so I called the office and the woman I spoke said she would try to send someine out today and that we were due for a delivery. I explained to her about the situation last winter as well as the current situation, she was less than helpful and absolutely unapologetic. We have paid then well over $2000 just this past season for propane and they cannot even fill our tanknon time. Due to the extreme cold I am concerned about the pipes in our house freezing, also my husband had to take our daughter to his parents house because our house was 56 degrees. What can I do?Desired Settlement: Discount, fill tank on time

Business

Response:

In response to the desired settlement a phone call was made to this customer shortly after complaint was received. Delivery was made the same afternoon to resolve the no product. Offered a discount on price protection moving forward which will reduce fuel costs up though May 31, 2015. Based on fuel consumption from previous heating season, savings will exceed $300.

Review: In January of 2012, I signed up with Shipley Energy to obtain oil through their budget program. After providing information regarding my home, they gave me an amount of $145.00 per month to pay. I was then automatically delivered oil for the course of a year and a half, paying $145.00 every month. I was emailed statements throughout this time, but did not review them as we never ran out of oil and my payments were being taken each month. Aside from these emailed summaries, I was never given any additional information regarding the deliveries. This month, June 2013, an automatic payment of approximately $450 attempted to clear my account through Shipley, however, there were not enough funds as I had budgeted for $145.00. When the company called me to discuss this payment and I inquired as to this large amount, I was told that I was $3700 behind on my budget. Frankly I was floored. This company advertises it's budget program as a way to avoid unexpected expenses. It state on its website, "we regularly review your budget and adjust it accordingly". When I spoke to customer service two days later, I inquired as to why this account had been able to continue going further into debt and she informed me that she was unsure, as their computer typically picks up on this and they contact the customer. The same day, I spoke with Pat in the credit and collection department and I stated what the customer service person had told me and she informed me that they do not adjust budget payments until the "end of their year". As we had started half way through their season, they waited until 16 months into the program to adjust our payment, hence the $450 payment in June. When I informed her that I had signed up for their program to avoid such a scenerio and that I did not understand why they would put a policy in place to allow a payment plan to become so far in arrears, she had nothing to offer other than we should have kept track ourselves and adjusted our payment. Mind you, this was an automatic payment, generated from Shipley to my account. I believe that Shipley's website explaining their budget program is deceptive and misleading. Clearly, they were not regularly reviewing the account and allowed us to incur a huge debt to their company that may have been avoided had we been informed and our monthly payment adjusted accordingly.Desired Settlement: As to avoid any collection activity, I have currently said I would continue to pay the $145.00 per month. My fear however, is that when I again have to begin paying for heating for my home, this will become a hardship for my family. I believe that Shipley should not only negotiate the repayment plan, but I would also like them to offer some sort of explanation as to why they allowed this to happen and also why they continued to provide service knowing that it was creating a huge debt.

Business

Response:

Shipley Energy has agreed to discount all previously delivered gallons $.25/gal. We have also agreed to extend the due date of the account balance for 2 years. The customer has agreed to make a monthly payment towards the balance. This has been communicated to the customer and from our end we now consider this matter closed.

Review: My family and I moved into our first house in July of 2013. When we needed to service our furnace that fall we looked through the info the previous owners had left us to see who they had used. We found that our furnace was installed and serviced by [redacted] (in Tower City). When I called the number, I was connected to Shipley Energy. It turns out that [redacted] was bought out by Shipley Energy. From that point to the present we have had our furnace serviced by Shipley Energy.

On November 20th 2014 Shipley Energy sent a tech to my house because my furnace wasn't working. He determined that there was debris in the fuel line from my oil tank to the furnace. The tech proceded to blow co2 into the line, effectively blowing the debris back into the oil tank. He also changed the filter on the furnace. I asked him to also bleed the lines for the basement radiators. He opened the valve to bleed it with no results. Then he looked at some information on the furnace and asked us if the thermostat for that zone was turned on. My husband and I had forgotten that we had a separate thermostat for the basement. A quick check revealed that it was not on and within minutes of turning it on the radiators began warming up. While at my house he mentioned several times that he had "never seen a furnace like mine", that even though he had never worked on one like mine, he "didn't have a problem working on it". He was in our house for about one and a half hours. Within 4 hours the furnace stopped working again.

Because the furnace wasn't fixed on the 20th we called Shipley again, complained that the "fix" yesterday didn't work, and had a second tech come out that evening. To our surprise when the tech took the cover off of the furnace, he immediately stated that he could not work on it. He informed us that in order to work on our specific model he needed special certification from the manufacturer (Note: He did tell us that he has seen our model in class and had some general knowledge about it, but he wasn't willing to work on it because he knew that you really needed the special training). He further informed us that Shipley did not have any techs that are certified to work on our furnace. He checked the filters on our oil tanks (something the tech from the day before neglected to do). He suggested that there easily could be a problem with the nossle in the burner unit, but would not look at the burner because he wasn't certified (Note: the tech from the day before didn't look in the burner unit either). He recommended another company that would have certified techs for our furnace and left.

Since the 21st of November we have done some research and talked to certified techs and found that what the second tech from Shipley told us was true. We have also wondered why the first tech that we ever had a year and a half ago, or any of the four techs since then, didn't say anything about not being certified for our furnace.

Our main complaint is that the tech from the 20th didn't say anything about needing to be specially certified and proceeded to work on parts of our system without the proper qualifications and then charged us $353.92 for it. The breakdown of the charges are as follows:

$109.95 Diagnostic - Since the tech was unqualified to work on our furnace, it is hard to believe that he could properly diagnose what was wrong with it.

$91.00 Clean and Flush oil line - we have been informed that what he did to clean the line was incomplete and improperly done.

$55.00 [redacted] spin-on oil filter - this was installed, however, I don't know if it really is the right filter

$93.00 Purge Basement Loops - this procedure was found to not be needed and the tech may have realized this sooner had he known what he was looking at on our furnace.

$4.97 Environmental fee -

Missleading us into thinking that we had the right people to service our furnace is bad enough, charging us while doing so is very unethical.Desired Settlement: Complete waiving of all fees and charges in the bill for "work" done on November 20th 2014.

Business

Response:

Customer's complaint is that she was charged for service by unqualified techs.

Review: I am writing because I have had Shipley Energy for the past eight years. I use propane heat and for the past three years the price has went up at least 30% per year. I know there has been a propane shortage I have no problem with that. So I checked out other service in my area and every propane dealer was at least 40% less then what I was paying. So I called back and stopped my service with Shipley Energy. They told me on the phone that I was charged a higher amount because propane was not my main source of heat and I dont use propane to cook with. I have never been told anything like that my life. It is like saying if I drive a hybrid car I should pay a higher price per gallon. They even had the facts all wrong, Propane is my main source of heat and I do cook with it. Shipley Energy will keep charging you a higher rate until they cant get away with it. I spoke to other people in the area and there were a lot of complaints they sounded like my situation. So I received my bill and when they picked the tanks up they charged me for ending my services with them and also charged me for four concrete blocks that the tanks were on, but they left them at my house, they were beside the tanks.Desired Settlement: They charged me a higher rate because they said my propane was not my main source of heat, which it is! I have a gas stove so I cook with propane. I want the difference of what I was being charged for the whole time I was with Shipley Energy. I dont want to be charged for the blocks they left behind. The biggest thing I would like is for Shipley Energy to charge people correctly, there are many people out there that have a hard time paying for heat and they should not be charged more.

Business

Response:

Customer's complaint is that he was charged at too of a high rate for propane and that he was charged at a higher rate because propane was not his main heat source.

Review: Shipley Energy provided service to my home last year under five years warranty covering our $9,000 purchase of brand new water heater and furnace. After installation, we have numerous issues of mistakes and they fixed it under our warranty policy; such as, installers mistakenly had the switch upside down, forgot to silicon the pipes leading to basement water damage, and most recent issue was panel fell off. My husband, [redacted], was at home during the time of service and told me a lady came over to fix the furnace due to the fact we were without heat for three day during Winter season of 2013. He heard her say that the panel was taken off and we were gong to be charge for the service for simply put it back on. We did not remove the panel and discussed this to the servicer, she didn't believe us. We had our furnace services before, maybe the previous servicer did not put it back on correctly and it happened to fall off. We were then sent a bill $200 for the service when we never had anything to do with panel removal or touch it in any form of way. We do not know how to fix water heaters nor furnace, that is why we paid over $9,000 for service and product. I called and mailed letters multiple of time, talking to collections, service managers, customer service managers, and so on. They have forwarded this bill to a collection agency. I was to dispute this bill due to the fact that it is highly mistaken, and our warranty should have been applied. This business from the start did poor installation and not open for conclusion. The account may be under my husband's name, [redacted]. Thank you for your assistance.Desired Settlement: They should have never sent the bill to collection agency and attempting to ruin my husband's credit for wrong justification. This is their service matter, we are the customers, and they should oblige to their warranty.

Business

Response:

Customer's complaint is that they disagree with the service invoice for a furnace under warranty.

Review: I recently contracted with Shipley Energy to fill the 1,000 gallon underground propane tank at my property.

• On Monday, February 3, 2014, I contacted Shipley about propane pricing and was told by a Shipley representative that it would be $0.69 per gallon. I requested that Shipley fill my 1,000 gallon tank which was approximately 10% full per the gauge and equates to approximately 900 gallons requested for delivery. Upon providing my social security number in order to do a credit check, I was approved as a Shipley customer and was told I would be added to the delivery list.

• Having not received a delivery within a few days, I followed up with Shipley on my propane delivery status and was told that I would be added to the delivery schedule list (again).

• On Monday, February 10, 2014, I contacted Shipley for a status update and estimated delivery date. The representative said Shipley couldn’t commit to a date but assured me that I was on the delivery schedule.

• On Wednesday, February 12, 2014, my husband and I woke up to a house that was 54 degrees and without heat. With heavy snow in the forecast that night and into the following morning, I knew it was imperative that we receive the propane delivery that day. I called Shipley that morning to inform them that we were out of propane, and they committed to a propane delivery that day.

• At noon on Wednesday, February 12, 2014, when I stopped at home for lunch, there still had not been a propane delivery, so I called Shipley again for a status update, and the Shipley representative said we were guaranteed a delivery that day but was unsure of the specific time.

• Shortly after 3PM on Wednesday February 12, 2014, a Shipley representative called me to apologize for the mishandling of my account and expressed regret that no propane had been delivered 10 days after scheduling delivery.

• At some point in the afternoon of Wednesday February 12, 2014, Shipley delivered 517.6 gallons of propane to our house, which filled the tank to a 50% level per the propane gauge.

• On Sunday February 16, 2014, I checked my email and saw that I had received an invoice from Shipley for its propane delivery. To my shock, instead of the $0.69/gallon agreed upon rate, I was billed at a rate of $6.99 per gallon plus a $5.97 regulatory compliance fee for a total invoiced amount of $3,628.65.

• On the morning of Monday February 17, 2014, I called Shipley to question the invoice. I expressed to the Shipley representative that I had been quoted a $0.69 rate per gallon of propane yet was invoiced at a rate of $6.99 per gallon. She said that they record all conversations and that they would go back and listen to the taped recording to determine if I had been misquoted. Furthermore, she said that Shipley would honor the price that had been quoted. She said that her supervisor would likely contact me later that day.

• In the afternoon of Monday, February 17, 2014, I received a call from the supervisor with Shipley who said that he had listened to the recording of my Monday, February 3, 2014 conversation with the Shipley representative who had quoted the propane pricing, and he admitted that she had in fact quoted a propane rate per gallon of $0.69. However, he said that although it is customary for Shipley to honor a quoted price, he could not honor the $0.69 price per gallon quote of propane that was given to me. He said he would discuss with his manager what pricing they could offer me and would contact me later.

• In the afternoon of Tuesday February 18, 2014, I received another call from the supervisor and he informed me that the best price he could offer was $3.69 per propane. I expressed my dissatisfaction with Shipley’s handling of my account and said I would need to contact an attorney on the matter since I believe a binding contract was made on 2/3/14 which has not been honored.

I have submitted my payment in full at the contracted rate of $0.69/gallon and have since been invoiced the original amount due less this payment.Desired Settlement: Shipley should adjust their billing system to reflect the contracted price/gallon of $0.69/gallon and my balance due should be $0 since they have cashed my check that I mailed as payment in full.

Business

Response:

This

customers’ complaint is that they were quoted .699 in error and are asking that

we honor the quoted price.

The price in

early February was $6.99/gal for propane. After reviewing the recorded

conversation, one of our employees quoted $.699 instead of $6.99. At the time

we had a natural gas offer of $.699/ccf which created the confusion.

Upon

notification of the price discrepancy we made several offers to resolve the

issue. The last offer was $2.95/gal or to have the product pumped out at no

charge, the customer refused both options. The delivery occurred on 2/12/14

when heating demand was at its height and there was shortage of propane

occurring in the Northeast.

The invoice

at the $6.99 price would have been $3,628.65, if rebilled at $2.95 the total

bill would be $1,532.89 which is a savings of $2,095.76.

We regret

the error in misquoting of the price. We feel to rebill at $2.95 is more than

fair based on market conditions and represents a significant savings from any

propane offer at the time.

Our goal is

to provide accurate information for all of our customers. We failed to do that

this time and we would like the opportunity to make it right with a more than

fair solution. An invoice will be generated at the $2.95/gal rate plus the regulatory

compliance fee of $5.97 minus received payment of $363.11 for a total of

$1,169.78. Payment can be made online or by calling ###-###-####.