Propane hidden charge.

[homedad]

I have natural gas in my home and propane in my workshop. I keep the workshop at 45degrees when not in use so I use very little gas. I haven't even filled it in the last 2 years but needed a fill. I checked the price and found that the price that I would be paying was about $1.50 more per gallon than any of the competitors so I switched. The new company disconnected the old tank and hooked up the new one. There was maybe 30 gallons in the old tank and I calculated that it would cost me more to configure a flexible hose and fittings to use it up from the place they dropped it so was willing to eat the cost. I just called to have the old tank picked up and they informed me that when I signed up I had agreed to a $420 pickup charge to remove it from my property. If I had known this I would have been better off just paying the higher rate at the pace of consumption I have. I guess I should have read the lengthy contract much closer.

 

[mrmikey]

Did you see proof that you actually did sign up for that $420 charge?

 

[2LMAKER]

When I quit using propane the company I was using had a different take on it.I told them there some gas left in the tank and felt I should get reimbursed. They said yea but it usually evens out as to what they charge to pick it up. I told them I'll open the valve so noone will be buying propane that is already paid for.then I'll put it in the road and next time they are coming by the can pick it up.
Within a week they came by and picked up. I didn't get anything for gas left in tank though

 

[Oaktree]

I switched providers a couple years ago, and don't recall there being any charge to pick up the old tank. The old provider did pay me for the gas remaining in the tank, but it wasn't very much...probably their wholesale price. There wasn't much co-ordination between the office and the tech who picked up the tank. A couple days after they took the tank I got a notice that they would be coming.
We're in a similar situation as far as usage...it's only for cooking & hot water and we don't use enough to qualify for any sort of volume rate. In fact, the main reason we switched providers is because the old one started charging us a tank rental fee.

 

[homedad]

Did you see proof that you actually did sign up for that $420 charge?

No. I'd been with them so long that I can't even find the contract. I just looked it up on their website and it is there under Terms and Conditions.

 

[anomad]

I have natural gas in my home and propane in my workshop. I keep the workshop at 45degrees when not in use so I use very little gas. I haven't even filled it in the last 2 years but needed a fill. I checked the price and found that the price that I would be paying was about $1.50 more per gallon than any of the competitors so I switched. The new company disconnected the old tank and hooked up the new one. There was maybe 30 gallons in the old tank and I calculated that it would cost me more to configure a flexible hose and fittings to use it up from the place they dropped it so was willing to eat the cost. I just called to have the old tank picked up and they informed me that when I signed up I had agreed to a $420 pickup charge to remove it from my property. If I had known this I would have been better off just paying the higher rate at the pace of consumption I have. I guess I should have read the lengthy contract much closer.

Why can't you run natural gas to the shop? Just curious. I'm sure you have a good reason.

 

[mrmikey]

I just looked it up on their website and it is there under Terms and Conditions.

It's there now for current customers signing up but was it there when you signed up. I don't trust any company as far as I can throw them, I'd ask for proof if not just for the principal.

 

[Mtsoxfan]

What about returning it yourself? Seems like I heard that somewhere recently.

 

[drizler]

It's there now for current customers signing up but was it there when you signed up. I don't trust any company as far as I can throw them, I'd ask for proof if not just for the principal.

Very good point right here!! Do a show me that contract where I signed and and see what they say. If they don’t then just do whatever you will with a new setup and tell them their tank is going to be awaiting them coming and taking it. Don’t be surprised if they just forget to indefinitely.
That’s the headache of dealing with propane companies. They’re just like welding outfits. They try to control you through the tanks and then doing so we often try to rob you blind every way they can. That’s why I use my own tanks . If you don’t use massive quantities of it and you’ve got a truck, you can often just use a double manifold in a couple of hundred boundaries and switch them out. I’ve been doing it about 35 years.

 

[Too many Kubotas]

Simple solution; buy the tank(s) and then buy the propane from whatever outfit is least expensive at the time.