Teel's Gas Service

Failure to issue refund due customer. Rude, hung up on cust. twice. Fail to issue refund on gas in tank returned to business. Rep. rude, hung up on customer twice, given phone number for owner to contact customer, never received call. Owe customer for returned gas. There was no balance owed business. Owner failed to return customers call about this. Receptionist told customer several weeks ago that refund was mailed: she now states: "When she gets around to it". Accused customer that it was his fault, despite customer coming to office to address this. Appears Teels Gas refusing to issue or return funds to customer. Customer service is horrible. Deliveries are late. Service terrible. Would not recommend to anyone, use any available gas provider, other than Teels Gas. Desired SettlementRefund of gas returned to Teels.Business Response Teel's Gas Service has provided gas and services to Mr. [redacted] parents since 2000 without any complaints. Mr. [redacted] contacted me for the first time prior to the 15th of January asking for a refund on the remaining gas in a 50 gallon tank he used to light fire logs. Mr. [redacted] initially tried to give the tank away when he sold his home but the tank was the property of Teel's gas so it was picked up by the owner of Teel's. Mr. [redacted] then requested a refund for the remaining amount of gas in that tank. There was approximately 30.5 gallons of gas left in the tank and Mr. [redacted] was informed that he would receive $75.00 as a refund. During the 1st full week of January the office manager spoke to Mr. [redacted] and gave him the option of having his refund mailed to him or picking it up in person. Mr. [redacted] said he would come by and pick it up but never showed up. The week of the 12th Ms. [redacted] called and said that Mr. [redacted] forgot to come by and pick up the refund check. She provided the office manager with a Beaufort PO Box to mail the check to. During that time we experienced the cold snap and the office was inundated with calls and requests. There is only one office manager so during those cold days her paperwork and daily mail runs were delayed and the check was not mailed to the Beaufort address. The office manager received a call from Mr. [redacted] he was very angry and belligerent. Mr. [redacted] kept repeating in a threating tone "You don't want me to come to come to Beaufort, if I come to Beaufort you will not like what would happen!" Mr. [redacted] called the office 4 times on the 15th with the same threating statement and belligerent attitude. Although the office manger did have to ask Mr. [redacted] to "hold the line" while she dealt with a customer in the office he didn't want to wait and hung the phone up and called back accusing the office manger of hanging up on him. The office manger did inform Mr. [redacted] during those calls that she didn't not have to listen to his yelling and threats and told him to have a blessed day prior to getting off of the phone. Mr. [redacted] accused the office manager of being rude and after the last threat he issued the office manager told him that if he did come with that attitude that she would call the police. Mr. [redacted] spoke with the owner of Teel's Gas on the 15th of January as well by calling the Emergency Service number and he provided the owner with a new address to mail the check. This address was in Jefferson NC. The owner told Mr. [redacted] that the check would be mailed to the new address. The check was not mailed on the 16th of January and although the office was open on the 19th due to the federal holiday the check could not be mailed on that day either. On the 20th of January a check from Teel's Gas was mailed to the Jefferson address provided by Mr. [redacted]. On the 22nd of January Mr. [redacted] called the private residence of one of the owner's sons asking for the owner. Mr. [redacted] was provided with the emergency number to Teel's Gas and was informed that the son would personally contact the owner to let him know that he had called. Mr. [redacted] called the son's home twice on the 22nd. The owner did return his call on the 22nd as well and told him that the check had been mailed to the Jefferson address that he had provided. The owner stated that he would call him the week of the 26th to make sure he received the check. Teel's gas has not received a call from Mr. [redacted] since the 22nd of January.Most businesses require a minimum of 30 day or more to process refunds, however Teel's Gas Service provided Mr. [redacted] with a refund with 15 business days from his request during the business's busiest time of the year.Teel's Gas Service has been in business for over 50 years by providing propane and quality products to our customers. Our driver's provide excellent customer service and Teel's Gas Service has received numerous "thank you notes" from customers via [redacted], calls, cards, letters, and articles in the local paper. The reputation of Teel's Gas Service is built on a history of hard work and strong customer service. This practice has not failed yet. We also understand that we are unable to please every person but we are willing to work to resolve any and all issues that may arise.Consumer Response The companies response is full of false information, sanitized to their satisfaction. I DID NOT try and give the tank away. A friend was watching the house for me, and told Teels we were moving. Teels, without authorization, or verification of the information, took out the tank. The office manager is extremely rude, something they are attempting to gloss over, and divert. They were not forthcoming in the refund. Despite their time in business, they are now very rude, impersonal, and I would recommend no one use them. I certainly hope this improves their customer service. The refund was supposed to be ready for pickup, but on that day, long ago, I could not get there. Therefore the check should have been ready at that time. It took several weeks for it to be mailed, but the incredible attitude I witnessed shows their true attitude toward customers. Contacting the owner was necessitated by the obstructionist and rude office staff. I had anticipated having to file a small claims court action to recover the funds, given the attitude and time. I don't appreciate being hung up on serially, when asking questions about when to expect a refund. There is also a question of the remaining volume in the tank as well. There are several witnesses, if needed, that can verify this information. As far as doing business with my parents, my mother was 85 years old, and was not happy with the service then either. I suspect there are those who are unhappy who don't know how to proceed to protect their interests, but hopefully now they will. The future will show the true volume of dissatisfied customers. All they had to do to avoid this was to refund in a timely manner, and check the poor attitude. A simple matter indeed.Final Business Response Please be advised that this is the last time that Teel's gas will respond to Mr. [redacted] and this complaint. Mr. [redacted] once again received his refund in 15 days. It has been verified by our bank that Mr. [redacted] cashed the check and therefore accepted the amount as what was due to him for the amount of gas left in the tank. Thank you