Suburban Propane review: Overall service and ethics 33

They did the same to me. I had a tank already hooked up to my house. I used them for about 8 months, and was billed at least 40 gallons/month COD. I use propane for o2, dryer and oven. I found a great deal on a used tank so I grabbed it. I've used less then 10 gallons in about 1 1/2 months with my new tank. Either the Suburban tank had a leak or they fudged the numbers on my bill. I hope it didn't have a leak, it would be a huge mistake for them if I found out they put my family in any kind of danger for their shady profits.

They are COMPLETE ###! We are COD, never order more than 100 gallons at a time. I wake up one morning and find a bill on our porch..they had filled the tank without ANY order being placed, plus they billed us instead of COD. Today they sent one of their little dirtbags out to lock our tank, even though we have been making big payments to pay off the $500+ bill for something we never ordered. Lets just say he left without locking the tank and we are through with them. This is the last straw. They never show up when they say they will, lie and say they came out even when you KNOW they didn't because you were watching for them all day, charge different prices for our tank and my parents tank which are on the same property..the list goes on. I'd like to shove their tank someplace the sun doesn't shine!

I hear your pain. I have had a Suburban Propane Tank in my backyard for about 2 years and if I could find that place to shove the tank I would be standing next to you. These Parasites have tried to charge me $10 per a gallon for propane when other companies like Ferrelgas was charging $1.89/gallon. I had this tank installed on a new construction shop so I had no idea how much the shop would use per year. I found that I did a real good gob insulating my shop so now because I don’t use huge amounts of Propane, Suburban wants to charge me from $4 and up for the gas I do use. I have thought about contacting one of those Consumer Advocacy Groups that like to use the Media to beat Companies like this up for their less than Ethical Business Practices.

I HATE Suburban Propane to the point that if I found a magic lamp and a genie gave me three wishes, I would use one of them to put these frackers out of business for good! That is how much I hate these people. They have let my family freeze three years in a row, by allowing us to run out of propane. All three years, our bills were paid in full, yet these ###S did not keep up on the automatic delivery. Today, they tried to charge me $165 emergency delivery fee to bring out propane, even though I do not owe them a penny. I told them to forget it. I would find a new vendor. Good bye Suburban, your services suck and I am no longer going to have to endure the pain of dealing with you!

I got SCREWED by them also. I also bought my home with filled tank . Not sure how much was in the tank but is was a 100 gal/lb tank. Went for 2 years without a refill. Not realizing I needed to switch it over to my name till it ran empty a week before Christmas. 1St fee $65. to switch to my name. They then came and filled it the begining of January. 2nd fee was in Febuary when I got a delivery and a bill for over $300. How could I have possibly used up that much in a month when I hadn't used that much in 2 years. I stupidly paid it. Two months later I got another bill . Again I paid it! Don't want my credit messed with! Now I was pissed. I put the nasty guard dog next to the tank and they couldn't fill it.This lasted about 6-8 months. To make a long story short my good old guard dog died of old age. They came in and supposedly filled the tank again. I don't for 1 minute believe it. At that time my Cocker Spaniel had a litter of puppies that were 4 weeks old and a female puppy dissappeared on the delivery day. How could that possibly happen since I live well off the road. I now again supposedly had a full tank that they wanted payment for plus a non usage fee ( going back to Aug) cause I didn't use enough. Remember I ran out in December and didn't sign up to get a delivery till Jan 2 years before. How do they figure the non usage fees from August? I got mad and refused to pay them for the $87. ? non usage fee. I was then harrassed constantly that they owned the tank and wanted it back or I would be in trouble. They assured me I would be paid for the fuel (100% full tank at the cost I paid for it) $3.99 . The pickup guy signed the papers that my tank was full. They gave me back $150. For a full 100 gal/lb tank that I just paid $3.99 a gal/lbs for! I now have a 35lb barbaque tank attached to my home since August 09! Guess what It is still giving me gass!

I'm the lady that wrote the last input and I can be reached at [protected]) I have SAVED EVERY SINGLE ONE OF MY BILLS I hope you did too! Call me: Maybe we can do something about it! My E-mail is paradisebluepa@yahoo.com

Complaint filed with BBB

To give some background on this mess, Id like to say that we have had problems with this company from the very beginning 11/01/2008. It has always been very difficult to get any answers or we will get an answer and then something totally different will occur or end up on our bill/contract.
Upon arriving home on February 4th, 2010 at about 8.30PM with our 7 month old child, we discovered that we had no heat. We immediately contacted the emergency line shown on our bill with suburban propane but we were advised that they couldn't look at our account to see our last shipment. They said that since there was a possibility that there could be a leak, we should evacuate immediately and they would send someone over shortly to check for a leak. This of course was very startling to us, especially with the small child. We left right away and checked into a motel. First thing in the morning I went back to the house by myself to meet "Stephan, the Leak Tech" at 9.30AM, when I arrived he wasn't there and I waited until 9:45 and contacted him. He advised that he was told that someone had made a delivery and filled our tank, this of course had not happened. After making several more calls and finally getting in touch with someone that had any idea as to what was going on with my account, I was told that the delivery driver had tried to make a delivery but couldn't due to road conditions. We had a small snow storm on Tuesday Feb 2nd, but road conditions were fine and mail and UPS/Fed ex were making deliveries as usual. The entire time we have had service with them, they have never even let the tank get much under 50%, coming about once a week to check. Our tank running out would mean that they had skipped at least a month of service calls and nobody even bothered to contact us and let us know that they had any problems reaching us and the propane may be running low. After many more calls, someone finally made an emergency delivery and delivered a very small amount (Supposedly 1/2 a tank approximately, although no one at the After hours/ Emergency line can tell me who made this delivery or how they got it to us when the normal delivery truck could not). I activated the tank on Feb 4th and turned the heat back on in the house that evening. We received a very large amount of snow that Friday Feb 5th and left our house until the following Tuesday, upon returning home we again discovered that we didn't have any heat. We left and once again checked ourselves into a hotel and started calling suburban propane, once again we were given the run around being told that they were sending someone or that someone would call us back and of course none of this ever happened and they wouldn't even put us in contact with a manager. After asking for a manager for for 4 days and speaking with countless CSR's "James McKinney" finally returned our phone call today, Feb 13th. James was the least help and rudest person that I have come accross with Suburban. Ultimately, he had no resolution or answer for us other than that a delivery will be made when road conditions permit. The fact that our contract provides for automatic tank refill that they did not honor apparently has no bearing in the situation from his perspective. He basically said that he could not give us any assurances of even a discounted bill or re-couped hotel charges. The best answer he felt he could give us was that we should do our part in clearing the 'driveway' (a mile and a half gravel road which is not our personal driveway but a neighborhood drive) and that there was absolutely no one else that I could talk to and no possible resolution besides waiting for the snow to melt. The call de-volved further when he retorted that he "doesn't control the weather", and when he asked how I would propose to him that we could get a truck down there. When my obviously frustrated girlfriend heard my response to him and responded out of exhaustion, he almost terminated the call due to our 'abuse'. Our call ended with him telling me that we had no choice but to deal with this or we could contact corporate. We have a call into them but of course he didn't mention that they aren't open on the weekends. This has been a complete nightmare and I cant believe that they have put myself and my family in this terrible situation. Living in hotel rooms, with what little money we have after always making our large payments monthly to this company as shown in our contract. They have totally dropped the ball and literally left us out in the cold without even giving us some sort of estimate on time or offer of help with boarding.

We originally had AGWAY propane service. They installed our 500 gal. underground tank, it is green. I believe the original "Terms and Agreements" form had a clause that read, "after 5 years ownership of the tank reverts to customer." Unfortunately, I cannot find that form, but have all the other paperwork. Anyone have one of the AGWAY forms?

Suburban is now charging us way more than other local vendors. They also tried to increase our budget payments from $225 a month to $320 a month without any notice. I know they have threatened other customers with everything from holding credited funds, to requiring the customer pay for excavation of the tank, if the customer wants out of Suburban as a vendor.

Other complaints we have: automatic delivery when we are "on call" delivery; not leaving any delivery receipt (is this a way to concel the high price per gallon?)

Suburban is the WORST propane company PERIOD. They're bandits. I filed a BBB complaint too.

To anyone: Do NOT give Suburban business. Just horrible.

Suburban is a rip-off racket. I had a Suburban tank at the brand new house when I bought it. I called them & they sent a credit app. They made me sign a agreement for a 3 year lease on the tank & they made me pay for a safety inspection. Towards the end of the second year I called to get the tank filled & when I asked what the price was they quoted $5+ a gallon. I questioned the amount & they tried to justify it. When I questioned further they backed of the price to $2+ a gallon. I told them to forget it. I called Ferrell Gas, asked for a rate on tank rental, gas ($1.60 + per gallon!) and when they could bring it out. Ferrell came out with a new tank and they would not put it in place of the Suburban tank because it was UNSAFE & did not meet code, after Suburban had charged me & supposedly had done a safety check. The Suburban tank had been placed next to our heat exchanger (6" away) and code says a minimum of 10' from the heat exchanger. I installed the black iron pipe to move it 15' away from from the heat exchanger and Ferrell filed up the now meeting code tank. I have had many conversations with Suburban about this and they hang there hat on the 3 year contract & want $167.78 for early termination! Nowhere in that Suburban contract does it say I have to let them rip me off on gas pricing! Nowhere in that Suburban contract does it say that their safety inspection will allow them to have their tank that they placed before I bought the house in a NONCODE, ILLEGAL location, after I paid Suburban for a safety inspection. Their strategy is to ruin my credit by having this go to collection and then I ultimately have to pay to staighten out my credit.
Friends don't let Friends do Suburban Propane.

Its all about customer service and they don't have any ! Service charges to open, close accounts and charges on demerrige if you don't use enough gas (in their opinion) and we had two accounts for house and also mountain recreation trailer. The house account cost a lot less per gallon than the mountain getaway and its only about 90 miles apart. We questioned the difference and they said its a geographic thing and they don't control the other offices price settings, however when I questioned the higher price at the mountain office they magically changed there price but let me know they didn't have to. We after having auto deliver cancelled got a bill in the mountains for filling our tank in July! I asked why and we were told that they thought we would need a delivery. In January, which was our auto delivery month the price was down because of a warm winter so in July we received a delivery for a more expensive per gallon delivery which they made by mistake. When we called we were told they could do nothing about it so we again paid the bill. Our accounts were current and we cancelled both accounts. Our house account was closed and we were given credit at a lower than paid for price but at least we were done with that account. When we closed our mountain account we were told we would be reimbursed at the price and current price average which would have been a chunk of change. When they took the tank we were not in the mountains so we trusted them. Within 10 days we got a bill for 40.00 plus tax for a fee to close the account! This is outragous and when I called and questioned why they did not just adjust our credit they said the tank was empty according to their service. That can't be true because they filled it and we didn't use but 2 days of the furnace on. They said the pilot light uses more than we realize.( the pilot is not on I told them) to which she responded that possibly the line leaked, to which I responed that the tank valve was always off unless we were there. She said sorry but service said it was empty. I lose 75 to 100 gallons of propane reimbursement and can't prove a thing ! She then said we were lucky because they didn't have to charge a pumpout fee. Suburban Propane will never ever have my business or get any referal for anyone I know except a very negative one ! Why doesn't someone wise up to figure why they lose customers. We can't all be wrong.

I have had suburban for about 2 or 3 years now and nothing but problems I just went out to check tank to light furnace for the first time this year and it read 0 so after spraying tank down and confirming leak we went down and told them and waited a week nobody shows up so we call and they tell us they only check in the mornings so the only way to get someone to come up is to take a day off work to be home for them and then I'm told by thier (trained service person) lol that thier is no way that spraying water on a leak will bubble. and we will have to pay a 75 dollar leak test fee and that only test my lines not thier tank witch is where the leak is. also started looking around for other companys and found out that they are almost 2 dollars per gallon more than others they suck I will also file a complaint with BBB and also call ATT general. I really liked reading the post from the employee on here what a dumb [censor] I bet he is (trained in screw u over too) I'm waiting for them to come get thier tank still ill give them a week then I hook on to it with my truck and move it for them and Ohh yes I will be really gentle with it NOT.

Got Suburban two years ago to heat my garage, last year they filled the 100 gallon tank it took 9 gal and they charged 112 dollars I think. This year last month they filled it and it took 7.something gal and they gave me a bill for 179.66. "minimum fill up" I called complained, called them thieves, Louise offered to cut the charge to the cost of the propane, I told her to have the tank picked up that I don't trust them anymore. They picked up the tank. I talked to Louise again, she said I'd be refunded 100 gal at 247.50. No they don't refund the unused tank rental fee, "we don't do that"... Now I get two bills one previous account bal 179.66 with current activity 108. (100. "restock" fee, 8.00 tax ) bal 287.66 the second bill account balance 287.66 minus 247.50 (my refund) account balance 40.00 that I supposedly owe. I called Louise said nothing she could do but don't pay attention just clearing the books I really should be getting a 90. refund... WHAT A FU--ING RIPOFF... So far I've posted this story on facebook to warn everybody I know, now here, and I'm writing a letter of complaint to their CEO copied to everybody I can think of, Gov of NY, Attny Gen, Senators, House of Rep, State Senators and Rep, Better Business Bureau, and anybody else I can think of. They may rip me off but I'll cause them some inconvienence at least.
Lee Murray

there is a pending lawsuite against them now..
see http://www.ag.ny.gov/media_center/2009/june/june16a_09.html
& also see
http://www.vermontfuel.com/VFDA_News_files/AG%20reaches%20settlement%20on%20tank%20removals.pdf

I am 1 of those cust who was getting rapped being charged $4.40 a gal when all other co in area at $2.50...also I found out my tans were made in 1996 & every 12yrs they are to be removed & recerified by DOT, well its 2010 & they have never been removed. They were an eye sore in frt of house all rusted. I now have gone with another co & they dont have a delvery charge like Suburban & they only charge $2.47 a gal...now i called suburban to remove tanks & was told $35 & they will charge me $2 a gal restocking fee, my tanks hold 100gal each & were filled in July. Well now that i saw the lawsuite against them they will be getting a call in am & also the atton. general office.
ALSO NOTE...Suburban told me it is a fed law now that they have to come at least 2 times a yr to fill tank...THERE IS NO SUCH LAW..

I have been harrassed by this company also. I requested I be put on a monthly payment plan so I could keep up on their bill, well it went from $49.00 to $59.00 now it's up to $69.00 per month. I have told them numerous times we get paid at the end of each month, once a month and could they work with us since we can't seem to change the due date. No reply, only threats that we will be taken off this payment plan if we do not pay way over the 69 dollar amount, even though we have paid it. We get our tank fill-up twice a year since the only usage is for a propane fireplace and cooking range. My records do not coinside with theirs. Wish I could switch to another company but low and behold Suburban bought out the only other propane company in our area, now giving them a monoply (and I thought there was a law about that) on propane here and surrounding areas. We live 250 miles from any other service so looks like everyone living in our town has to pay the higher price for propane from Suburban.

One more mal-practice complaint to add: it appears there has been a class action suit filed in New Jersey on these "criminals"!
I reside in CO and built my home 14 years ago. I had a ten year tank lease that obligated me to their price-gauging for that period of time. It was all I could do to count down to my last month of the MISTAKE I made when I signed that contract! Then last year, another regional office took over the state business and decided to screw with many old customers/old contracts. They started sending many harrassing letters about vague old contract details. Eventually, while I was out of town, they put a lock in cold weather on my UNDERGROUND tank - pipes could have been frozen but a neighbor trouble-shot the matter for me until my return. However, my cooktop HAD to be replaced because the lack gas in the line caused the pilots to malfunction...on and on in damages!
There is a place for a business run like this - GONE!

does anyone know how, or have, cut off or removed one of the propane locks that screws into the tank outlet?

my current propane supplier says that it will be an easy fix to back the lock out of the line - BUT - I am fighting Suburban in county court and do not want to tamper with the evidence of thier unethical practice and trespassing - because legally now I own the tank!

"Caveat Emptor!" this should be Suburbans' name. I applied for service and did not go through with it because it took them 1 month to set up the delivery. After I informed the salesperson that I would not be taking their service, they called the prior supplier to advice them of our intent to switch companies. Now the previous supplier threatend us with cancellation of service fees. I really don't care much for all these suppliers in this industry. Yes the gas industry itself is regulated, but all these large corporations have a setup where they license out their names to individually owned suppliers in different areas. So in essence you have all these nasty unprofessional one shop owners under a corporate umbrella but with unprofessional ethics. Just uneducated people abusing a system. But it's ok. Soon we will have better fuel choices and these companies will start to disappear.
For now, be carefull and read whatever you sign. There are still agencies that you can go to for help. Try the Consumer Protection line at the state Attorney General’s office, start there, but be ready to spend some time getting to the real agency that can help you. It's a system and we live in it.

That's because their employees are trained to leave valves open which lets the propane disappear into the air and when they come back, you need another full tank at a inflated charge. Their crooks!

They are absolutely crooks. After cancelling by phone my contract with them 5 years ago, they filled my tank. I told them to come get their propane as I was no longer their customer. We went back and forth for a year! Part of the issue was that I had an underground tank. Their contract with respect ot the tank was that if I cancelled before the tank had fully depreciated (25 years!), I would have to pay the depreciated value of the tank or they could remove the tank (their choice). I said fine. They said that they wouldn't sell me the tank. I said fine, come get it! They said I had to pay... I said no way... that's not what the contract states. Went back and forth with their attorney for a year. Finally, they relented and agreed to sell me the tank. They also offered to sell me the unsolicited delivery of propane at cost and I agreed. Sent them a check marked "final invoice - payment in full" which they cashed in October of 2007. Fast forward to February 26, 2011. They delivered propane and left me a bill. HUH? I immediately sent the manager an email asking them WTF (I'm paraphrasing here) and that unsolicited deliveries in NYS constituted an unconditional gift to the recipient (NY Code 5-332). As I really didn't want their crappy propane, they had 30 days to get it out or I would consider it a gift. No reply. 30 days later... thanks for the gift. No reply. Then they start sending me statements accruing late charges and then a collection letter. To each, I send in a dispute, including a registered letter to their remittance address. The manager sent me a copy of my contract with them from 1998 with a business card on which she'd written "email me when you get this packet". I did. I pointed out that after all of the well documented trouble I had cancelling our account back in [protected], she could not possible suggest that I still had any sort of relationship with Suburban. No reply. Filed a complaint with the BBB. No reply. My next action will be to file an injunction and possibly a lawsuit for harassment. I have a huge file with all of the copies of emails and whatnot in it. The file is named "Satan's Minions." I would counsel anyone even remotely considering doing business with this either completely unethical or completely incompetent company (maybe both) to reconsider!

This company has been playing games with me for 4 years. Every time they come by to top off my tank (without informing me first), I'm not home, which is weird because I go to work at 3:30 PM. They always leave me a bill for 20 gallons. Their explanation for this is that it's a service fee for "calling them out" and then not granting them access. Every time I explain that I never called, they say they'll trash the 20 gallon bill if I take a complete fill-up on another day that week. I always agree to that. The joker NEVER comes on the day we agreed and so the 20 gallon "not home" fee stays on my account until I call their headquarters and complain. THEN a driver comes out and fills the tank (usually 40 or 50 gal), and I get a credit for the "not home" bill. They've done this EVERY time for 4 years (twice a year). I always keep an eye on my gauge and it never looks like 20 gal. has been added. I have a locked gate barring access to the back yard (and tank), so it CAN'T be refilled without me unlocking it. Two times I was actually home and when I heard my neighbor's lab barking like crazy, I would go out to the front patio just in time to see the propane delivery truck pulling away and a 20 gallon bill on my door knob. I was stupid enough to pay it the first time, because he "swore" he put the 20 gallons in before I opened the door by hopping the gate (yeah, right!). My guess is that the delivery driver bills people who aren't home for gas that he doesn't deliver and then "sells" the gas to someone on the black market for cash on the spot (maybe a bro-in-law with a propane filling station or whatever?) I'm just speculating on that part, but the multiple 20 gallon bills must add up at the end of a typical day. It's a nice round number to track in one's head, do it 5 times and you have 100 gal extra on the truck... I'm betting most people just pay it and never notice, since 100 gallon tanks are common.
The head office ALWAYS credits the 20 gal bill, KNOWING it's bogus. AMAZING! I always figured there were others being scammed, now I feel in good company!

The Suburban Propane delivery truck damaged our driveway and they claim the cost of repair is more than what THEY WANT to pay!

The Suburban Propane delivery truck damaged our driveway. They acknowledged the damage and said they would repair it until they found out what it cost. Now they claim it's more than THEY WANT to pay!

THEY ARE HORRIBLE AND THE PRICES! WOW -EXPENSIVE! I- LIVE IN NY AND DOUG IS VERY RUDE AND DEMEANING. DO NOT GO WITH SUBURBAN! THEY ARE NOT WHAT THEIR WEBSITE SAYS AT ALL AND WITH ALL THE HIDDEN FEES... DO NOT CHOOSE THIS COMPANY FOR ANYTHING! BAD- HORRIBLE- HORRIFIC - TERRIBLE- RUDE EXPENSIVE EXPENSIVE EXPENSIVE EXPENSIVE
EXPENSIVE EXPENSIVE EXPENSIVE EXPENSIVE EXPENSIVE
DID I SAY EXPENSIVE ?

I'm with everywhere here.

I moved into my house NOV 2010 and they verified the tank was full but had to do a safety check. I NEVER agreed for them to come out and fill it once/year or any sort of contract. Now all the sudden I get a random bill saying they filled my tank when I NEVER ASKED THEM TOO. THis is sept, 2011, I havent even been to my house a year. Now I have to fight to get this charge taken off.

Propane companies are NOT regulated. if the company is also a natural gas supplier(a utility), only the natural gas side is regulated. this is why any propane company USA can shut you off during winter months. in some states, it is law that requires one propane company to advise the current propane supplier that they will be taking over an account. at this point, the current suplier usually whips up a work order to have their tank picked up. usually the new supplier sets their tank in place and puts the old co's tank aside for pick up. removing or tampering a pol lock is considered tampering and you could be held liable or worse if you reconnect a tank improperly and burn your house down or kill someone at which point you're homeowners will NOT pay out a penny. its better to just switch companies asap!. not defending Suburbans pricing or billing strageties just advising as a person who's been in the industry for 25 yrs.

It's hard to believe that 30 years after our bad experience with Suburban they haven't cleaned up their act! My then 11 year old step-son was home alone for a little while when the Suburban thugs came around. This was Christmas Eve. They said we hadn't paid our bill and if he, my step-son, didn't get someone to pay he'd have a cold Christmas because they'd turn off the heat! We had oil heat! Only our stove was propane. He couldn't reach Dad so called his mom who came up with the money for us. The thing is, we didn't owe anything. Their billing wasn't up to date. Can you image threatening a child like that?

It's hard to believe that 30 after the fact Suburban hasn't cleaned up its act. Thirty years ago my then 11 year old step-son was home alone for a little while. It was Christmas Eve and Suburban sent around their thugs claiming we hadn't paid our bill. They told him they'd turn off our heat and he'd have a cold Christmas if he didn't get the bill paid. We had oil heat! The gas only ran the stove. He couldn't reach Dad so called his mom who came up with the money. The thing is, we were up-to-date with our payments, their records were incorrect. Can you imaging threatening a child like that?

Where I live, it was my mother home, now ours after she passed away. She used Suburban for longer then I can remember. I took over her account in 1999 after she passed away, now it's 2012. I've always been able to talk to the women in the local office about payment. But the last few years they been moving there payment center all over the states. Each and every bill I get since they started this practice, I get a pay on demanded notice printed on the bill. I just paid the second installment after I got S S deposited in my checking account. The check to them was written on the 11/13 along with bunch of other checks and mailed the same day. On the 11/21 I get this yellow letter from them that has date of 11/09 stating, if they don't receive payment in full by 11/16, Now how the hell am I suppose make payment before the 16th when I don't get the dam letter until the 21st and that letter says I'll will no longer be on the budget plan after that date and after that each delivery will be payment is due in full. There is no way I can pay over $700.00 or more for propane, That why I'm on the budget plan, I called the office here where I live in CT. and was really upset with the letter and the women knew it, I am thinking about switching to another supplier. I just checked with my bank and the check that I sent them was just deposited on the 24th. Fun thing it all the other checks that I wrote the same day were cashed a week before there's was. What really gets me we have been customers with them for a very long time. and they start playing games.

I personally have been overcharged on every delivery, I dispute it and they lessen the price. They double charged on tank rental, two line items of the same amount for tank rental every year but when I dispute it, they correct it. What happens to those that don't dispute it, they pay whatever ripoff price is on the bill. I agree with every complaint written about Suburban, because I have had the same problems. I finally got away from suburban and will inform as many as I can to do the same. i hope there are more class actions coming, i will be in line.