Suburban Propane review: Price gouging 58

I have used Suburban Propane for 12 years, on my recent bill they increased my cost for $3.55 per gallon to $5.50 per gallon. I shopped around and asked neighbors and the concesus was $2.95 per gallon was the going price. when I spoke to a manager he insisted that $5.50 was the going rate however would reduce my current invoice to $2.95 and lock me in at $2.95 for 1 year. It appears you have to be complain to get a fair price from Suburban. I forwarded a link to this website to the manager asking for a response from the President of Suburban and assurances that i wouldnt be gouged in the future.

i'm so glad i decided to go on-line and check out the going rates of propane. i was just looking to see if price i was just charged was competitive. never expected to see similar complaints about Suburban!

Good to know i'm not alone. i was just billed $ 5.21/gallon on 2/4/10 and paid only $ 3.79 back in October (and i thought that was too high!). Let's all rise up and fight this shameful taking advantage of people who can ill afford it! They must not be allowed to get away with this!.

Get the word out to the state attorney generals, the state dept of energy and anyone else necessary to keep the pressure on suburban.

Hewitt, NJ - Just got a refill from SP. $4.95 per Gallon. I called Eastern Propane and got a quote for $2.90 a gallon if i switch. I will be switching this summer. I am tired of having to call Suburbane Propane and asking for rebates ALL the time. PS...Go to the EIA website and look up the AVERAGE price of Propane in your ares: http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/oog/info/hopu/hopu.asp (Spreadsheet on right side of page). You will be shocked to see how much Suburbane Propane has been ripping us off over the years.

to Hewitt, NJ - I got quoted today at $4.85 - what the heck is going on - I have the presidents phone number of the company and I plan to call on Monday to speak my peace - not quite sure where that will get me...I too, called Amerigas - got an intro price of $3.39/gal - which is still high but they also spoke of a guaranteed pricing program where the rate could be at $2.81/gal - I just don't want to have to deal with the swap out of tanks - then Suburban also tells me I'M liable to get the tank out of the ground for them to come pick it up? Well, in short we have a contractor coming over in the morning to talk about converting to oil - (which we already have a furnace on one side of our house) big enough to heat the other - I think we just need to suck it up and do it! Good luck everyone - signed,
Getting ripped off every day by Suburban

I recieved propane on January 21 and was shocked to see I was charged $451.9 PER GALLON FOR PROPANE. This price was almost double what the other suppliers in my area are charging and is more than double the New York State residential average.

I called again on February 22 for propane and was told by the customer service woman I would be charged $4.49 per gallon and that was the "fair market Price" When I absolutely REFUSED to pay that price and advised her the fair market price was at $3.12 per gallon in our area for this week she called me back and lowered it to $3.389 per gallon. Their prices are all over the place. I have NEVER heard of these prices in my life and it sickens me that hundreds of thousands of people are getting ripped off.

WEBSITE WWW.SUBURBAN-PROPANE-CLASS-ACTION.COM CHECK IT OUT IF YOU HAVE BEEN RIPPED OFF BY SUBURBAN.

Lacey West

It is not only Suburban Propane. I rent my tank ( 1st mistake) from Farm and Home. I received my bill this month at 4.05/gallon total delivery charge $1, 124.81. When I called competitive companies in the area, the highest cost I found was 2.89/gal and that was to the 'hostage' customers who rent the tanks. I then called Farm and Home. Within 60 seconds I was told there was a .20/gal mistake and they would credit my bill. They didn't even give me a chance to complain. And when I did complain and told them the competitive pricing I found, they gave me a credit of .50/gal. This is out and out theft. I have contacted the Attorney General and made a consumer complaint. Everyone should do the same. I am also in the process of purchasing my tank from them. Not to be held hostage again. We need a protection agency to oversee these companies that totally are taking advantage and robbing customer blind!

I have autonmatic delivery and use about 1500 gallons for the year. I previously did a pre buy budget plan but when the pre buy ended up being more than the reg del price last year, I decided not to pre buy this year, , Needless to say, the per gallon price has been at least $1.00 more than two other propane companies. I was going to change around the end of December, but w/ work, I couldn't make a place for Eastern to put 2 new tanks in while i still had the Suburban tanks. When I questioned Suburban, they also said all other price were " introductory". I responded knowing different, I am a heating contractor in NNJ, and have heard these stories from many other people. There tanks are going as soon as I have a chance to take off and change to oil...
1/9/10-188 gal, $4.12, reg fee 5.62= $782.83
1/23/10-115 gal, $4.12, reg fee 5.62= $483.90
2/8/10-146 gal, $4.19, reg fee 9.62= $625.32

I am a renter of a house with propane and when I moved in a year ago the price of propane was 1.87/gallon which was totally reasonable to fill up a tank. Well when november of this year hit, we expected more useage due to winter time but were slapped with bill of $1, 000 for one month of heat at 4.24/gallon. When my landlord called other companies they were about a dollar lower than this. What is sickening is reading about how this company has billion dollar stocks that are skyrocketing while they are hitting hard working people in a already bad economy with these prices. My bill for a quarter tank, which is due to not using any heat and just my hot water and stove for this month was $401.00 at 4.29/gallon. Oh and my fiance had to move out of state because there are no jobs here too.. thanks suburban propane to adding the cherry on to my sundae.

2/2020 Canandaigua NY
They had me sign a contract for services with a 3 yr agreement tucked in fine print on pg 2 0 f 3. The only pricing was for initial fill up, $1.799. Following that price went to $3.24 and $3.45. Now they want $250 for early termination of contract I didn't know I was in. Bad business. Price gouging.

Suburban personnel were not up front in explaining terms and contracts. Pricing is way above local competition. Poor business practice.

I too just had it out with Suburban Propane in Chili NY. (Rochester). They charged us 3.89/ gal and I live a mile away from them. When confronted with the excessively high charges they addmitted to it, and took off a whole whopping 60 cents a gal. We are buying the tank outright next and moving to another company who promises to deliver it for 2.25/ gal. SCREW SUBURBAN PROPANE AND THEIR FRAUDULANT EMPLOYEES! WE ARE SO DONE WITH THEM.

I live in Howell, NJ and have been using this company for about 10 years. When the gasoline prices increased, we didn't suspect any wrong doing. (Our fault for not being more informed). We have been paying over $7.00 a gallon ... yes you read that correctly SEVEN DOLLARS A GALLON! For the last TWO YEARS.

I am so upset that I will be calling every local newspaper, tv news and whomever else I can report this to.

We will be having them remove our 3 100 gallon tanks and going with Amerigas ... this was the best promotion Amerigas could have...

I will never do business with Surburban again, and we will make sure that everyone we know is told not to use them either...What a disreptuable company! Never in my life would I expect to see this kind of "stealing" and that is what they are doing .. they are stealing my money! And I'm pissed off and I'm not going to take it any more!

WOW $7 / Gallon that is just insane. I called Suburban and told them to top delivering propane so I can use up what is left in the tank and switch to Eastern propane. They would not stop delivery but moved to once a year delivery (Jun-Aug). I plan on calling SP on May 31st and canceling my service. I will tell them when my tank is empty they can come get it if they choose too. My contract states nothing about digging up the tank or a disconnect fee so if they try to bill me I will charge them a rental fee for storing their tank on my property. I plan on going to court over this. They are unbelievably corrupt and charge over twice the average rate in NJ. I want them out of business. We should start a Facebook Page "Suburban Propane Sucks."...LOL

Nice to know I am not the only one getting screwed. I have a 500 gallon tank but I burn wood so since I do not use much gas their last quote to me was over 5 bucks a gallon, others are paying under 2 bucks. Also they decided to start billing me for tank rental. I have not payed it and monthly I get a new bill with 18% interest even though I signed a 3 year contract with them which states euip rental, N/C..HELPPPPPPPPPPPPP Where do we go, the BBB...

I believe Suburban Propane is price gouging. Price went from $3.4939/gal on 12/10/2009 to $3.6939/gal on 12/29/09 or a 5.7% increase. This was largely in-line with the national average, which went from $2.346/gal to $2.463/gal or a 5% increase.

But then Suburban Propane's price skyrocketed to $5.0390 on 3/9/2010, or a 36.4% increase. While the national average only went to $2.649 or a 7.6% increase. At this point Suburban Propane's prices were over 90% higher than the national average.

They remain artificially high to this day. I called around on 5/11/2010 and was quoted the following prices: Cenex $2.56/gal, Ferellgas $2.60/gal, and Amerigas $2.94 gal. Suburban Propane was still charging $5.03/gal.

When I called to complain, they told me they were not adjusting bills due to propane prices. I was told the price increase was due to market forces. But I disputed this because both February and March were unseasonably warm in Seattle. 22 days in February reached a high of 50 degrees or above, as did the first 7 days of March.

After they refused to adjust my bill, despite their clearly unwarranted price increases, I told them to close my account. They tried to bill me an extra $150 for early termination claiming I had a 3 year contract- which I disputed. I made them actually pull my paperwork and check section 4 which clearly stated I had a 1 year contract. Finally they relented on the early termination fee.

Moral of the story- call and get the price before every fill up. If you have auto-fill cancel the service. And if you can, cancel your contract and sign up with someone else.

Very detailed...thanks for the info.

Your rate is based on the amount you use. All of the quotes you got were for new business, and are typically first fill prices. (Did you shop Suburban as ifyou were a new customer?)
Remember, if you cancel auto delivery and run out, you will be charged a special delivery fee and probably a leak test fee as anyone who runs out must have a leak test performed on the system. The best way to control pricing is if you own your own tank. Then anyone can fill the tank. If you don't own the tank, Suburban is the only one allowed to fill it. Market forces have nothing to do with the weather. When you called to complain about the price, did you talk to the manager? If the manager won't do anything, complain to the home office. You can contact them through their website.

When I shopped around- I got first fill prices as well. (Ex: Ferellgas $2.39/gal, Pacer $2.30/gal, Amerigas $2.26/gal) The prices I was comparing were the normal market rate charged to existing costumers. And I've never been charged a leak test fee, despite running out of propane all the time.

But good ideas about pressing the issue to the manager and then home office. After reading the thousands of complaints against Suburban Propane and the class action lawsuit filed- I was pretty much ready to be done with the company.

I just woke up after 5 years of overpaying. I was being charged $4.29 a gallon with Suburban because I only use about 250 gallons a year with a "gas log". They called me to replace my tank and then didn't show up the day of the switch. I was told that I had to be home. This was not conveyed to me at the time the appointment was made. In fact I told them I could not be home. After calling the next day to check, Suburban told me that they could come out the next day and I did not need to be home. Because I was so pissed off about the day before, I called around and found out that Hometown propane would charge me $2.44 a gallon, no delivery charge, no tank rental fee. Needless to say Suburban Propane will not be getting my business ever again. Now if they would just pick their tank up and get me my refund. Even there they are screwing the consumer, $1.00 a gallon restocking fee and tank pick-up fee. I'm glad I woke up, many more should !

Suburban Propane never fails to suprise me. I had my wife call (didn't give her name) to see what the price was per gallon for propane. They told her $1.99 a gallon (summer price) at Paris, Tn. store. I turned around and called as a loyal customer and was told the price was $2.49 per gallon. This was only 30 minutes after she had called and she told them she "wasn't" a customer! These guys are the biggest rip off of any propane company I can think of. I called another local seller and was told their price was $1.59! Also, they charge you $60 a year for tank rental!

Had propane tank filled, only used for stove. 8.2 gallons, price $82.00 Dollars. Minimum delivery fee charged. WHO THE HELL ARE THESE ROBBER [censor], AND HOW THE HELL DO THESE [censor]ERS GET AWAY WITH THEIR ROBBERY!

I agree 100%! This "minimum bill" is nonsense! Why am I expected to pay for NOTHING! Literally. I only have the gas tank for my hot tub! I haven't used my hot tub in over a year due to the heater not working. Therfore I have a tank full of propane! They came out and only put in 1.8 gallons! I was hot with a $183.00 bill! Are they serious? They don't even mention the price per gallon? How is this legal? Apparently when I originally signed up with SP there is some "club" levels & I signed up for the cheapest one. I did NOT realize that I would be billed a minimum of $15.00 a month! I would NEVER have agreed to that! Whatever happened to you pay for what you use/get? So NOT happy with SP!

Suburban priced me at $1.99/gal but didn't tell me that it was only for the first year and if I don't use over a certain amount of propane the price goes up .. my bills were $170 every 3 months and then jumped up to $400 every 3 months. I have been faced with financial difficulties recently and without warning, suburban shut off my service today.. and it snowed about 6 inches last night. I was actually going to pay them this Friday with my income tax.. They didn't even come to our door to ask for a payment before they shut us off! Forget about paying them now! I'm going with green works.. they charge $2.249/gal with no rules..Suburban charges $5.89/gal.

I hear you. I called to leeave SP this summer and they offered me the pre-buy program where I locked in at a low rate for about 400 gallons. So far so good. I assume when I go over 400 gallons its going to be expensive but I am hoping not to go too far over. Next summer I will do the same if the lock in price is good enough. Many neighbors have oil and they pay through the nose also. The best option is switching to Natural Gas, but it is not available in my neighborhood. I wish they would build out the pipeline I would be the first on the block to switch over. So for now I burn a couple of cords of wood in the stove each winter and keep the house at 60 degrees to save money. It's cold and it smells but, soon it will be March...lol

link to class action lawsuit against suburban: http://www.suburban-propane-class-action.com/

my yearly horror story will follow

Just got my (leased) tank filled today. $5.99.gallon! from Suburban Propane. According to what I read as national average(s), this is twice that price. They pulled this on me in October 2009. When I complained, they compromised by offering me 1 year @ $2.80/gallon. I agreed, and initially had some billing issues, but after a few calls to billing, they honored the agreement. I had called a competitor, who sold propane at that time for about $2.60. I was tempted to switch from Suburban to that competitor. Now, it’s back to $5.99 again. NOTE: I’m not shopping to save every last penny, ….I don’t mind if Suburban is a larger company with higher overhead, thus needs to charge a little more, but I’m not paying 100%+ more. You can bet I’ll be calling around again!

Just got my (leased) tank filled today. $5.99.gallon! from Suburban Propane. According to what I read as national average(s), this is twice that price. They pulled this on me in October 2009. When I complained, they compromised by offering me 1 year @ $2.80/gallon. I agreed, and initially had some billing issues, but after a few calls to billing, they honored the agreement. I had called a competitor, who sold propane at that time for about $2.60. I was tempted to switch from Suburban to that competitor. Now, it’s back to $5.99 again. NOTE: I’m not shopping to save every last penny, ….I don’t mind if Suburban is a larger company with higher overhead, thus needs to charge a little more, but I’m not paying 100%+ more. You can bet I’ll be calling around again!

Hey Stealth Pilot, ...First, my propane gas tank is a lease, ...thus I am locked into buying my gas from them. They fill my tank about twice per year, and you're never notified in advance when they're coming, or what the price is going to be. You just come home from work, and find a bill on your door knob. Second, this complaint does serve a purpose, because most people just assume that gas from 1 company will be competitive with another (within 10-15% I would guess is reasonable). There is NO OTHER REASON why Suburban charges the prices they do. None of the reasons you cited are applicable in my situation, as I have now called 2 other companies, and $3.84/gal. is their max price vs. $5.99 what I was charged. I just need to Suburban's tank out of here. Just Google "Suburban Propane Complaints" and you will be inundated with messages from upset customers. Thanks to the internet, we can now all compare our service/prices. Most people just dutifully pay their bills and assume that the companies' prices will be within reason of their competitors, and they're not being gouged. My posts are meant to warn people otherwise. If my post serves no purpose, then what brought you here, and why did you respond? If you're happy with your propane service and prices, how did you find your way here? Maybe you work at Suburban, since I learned that they monitor the internet daily looking for complaints.

I am completely and utterly outraged!
We just got a delivery of propane on Marh 22nd, and I was stunned to learn that we paid $5.085 a Gallon in the Lower Hudson Valley market! Really Suburban Propane? How can a company get away with this? This morning I logged onto the NYSERDA website to get the region average and found it was $3.16 a gallon. Suburban propane has officially made my list and I want retribution. It's time to say enough is enough people, money is tight and they are taking advantage of us! Rise up and take a stand, we can make a difference.

I'm very tired of these rat [censor] @#$%$#@!
I use very little propane, so they have instituted a "Minimum
Delivery Charge. In my case over $85.00 for 12 gallons of propane. Of course $5.00 a gallon for heating oil, (#2 diesel
with out the road tax.), is a real rip-off. Google "Suburban
Propane Complaints" for a few ours of reading.

A very special tool is needed for that and not just anybody has one but the best way to get it removed is to pay the bill!

here another complaint, they told me i was on a buget plan being disabled, in may i paid 120.00 a month then aug came and they said they ajusted me to 45.00 a month and what i paid befour will pull me thur the winter.well now its march and they want 450.00 a month for the next 4 months.thats more then half my disabilty check each month.they told me go seek heating help if i can.but im still responsable for the bill which there saying is omost 2, 000.00 now.weres the law in this? 10 times more and tuff for a answer.im in Tompkins county New York

This seems to be systematic practice of Suburban Propane. I've had the same experience with the office in the Marysville WA. They did offer a dollar a gallon credit when I complained about the price being 200% of thee local competitors. My situation is not resolved; a CPA claim possibly a class action may be the result.

My 55 year old brother passed away May 2010. I was the admin. of his estate. I paid off all of his debts. Now about this company. My brother had a mobile home in Saratoga Springs he was retiring to. First, they over charged him for his propane, I think he took care of that, not sure, but what is really bothering me is that I keep getting a past due letter stating he owes them $10.70 for the rental of their tank! My other brother inherited this mobile home and has taken the responsibility of the propane and all the other bills associated with this mobile home. They know this, but they still keep sending me this bill. I have sent it back to them, several times, giving the address of the place and my other brothers name, which they already have, but I still keep getting this D*** bill! Every time I get the bill with my deceased brothers name on it, it opens the wound I have been trying to heal of losing my brother. He does not owe them anything and I am so upset about them shoving this bill in my face! I know this isn't a big deal to anyone else with problems with this company, but it is to me. The loss of my brother is devastating, and to have a stupid bill come over and over again for something he doesn't even owe, that is just plain ignorant!

I have been with this company for 20 yrs. but it wasn't always suburban. it was called blue flame. Propane should cost about 2.60a gal. in my area and they charged me 3.99a gal.. They are raping us and it must stop! I am on a fixed income and can not afford these outrageous prices... I will be switching to a different company as soon as possible. I would like to see them sued for their price gouging!

I have been with this company for 20 yrs.. When they switched owners a few months ago and changed the name to Suburban, I didn't think much about it as this isn't the first new owner. I am on a fixed income and receive assistance for my heating bill. When the voucher came through they came to fill my tank. Propane should be about 2.60 a gal. in my area. I checked with a company called Litter in Chillicothe. They charged me 3.99 a gal.. if it were at the right price I could have gotten 2 fills but not at this ridiculous price and I may not have enough to get through the winter now. I don't have money for any more. These rip-offs should be sued!

Many people buy their propane tanks so they choose who fills it at any given time. Depending on how old the tank is, the capacity and condition, the price can vary. Our 500 gallon tank was new and in great shape. We paid $500 for it. Now, we keep our proof of purchase handy so we can prove to other companies that we own it and have the right to have anyone fill it.

Looks like Michigan AG has filed a suit against AmeriGas for propane price gouging.

I think it is absurd that the going price for propaine from Suburban is $3.94 and was told that I am lucky to have that rate as "other people" pay more. They could not inform me exactly who the "other" people were. I think Suburban Propane is raping their customers and lining their own pockets with money. A comlete rip off!