Suburban Propane

My Suburban Propane (SP) tank rental is normally $10 per year. This time I received an invoice for $60 plus tax for the rental.

I called the SP Marlborough MA office on October 19, 2020 to inquire about the 600% increase in tank rental fee, which is an unfair practice and may be illegal. I spoke with a person who informed me that the reason for the outrageous increase is the fact that I had asked them months ago to not fill the tank anymore after the last filling. I did so because their costs started skyrocketing. The tank is still full, we don't use it anymore and we haven't for a year. The lady said that they can come pick it up, charge me a $1.00 per gallon for restocking (that's $100), then give me the remainder of the cost. According to the lady on the phone they sent me a letter that indicates that the rental will go from $10 to $60, which I hadn't seen until she emailed me a copy today and a copy of the contract to show me that they own the tank. (Who reads paper mail anymore? It just goes straight to the recycling bin. I get their bills electronically and they didn't send that notice to me electronically. I just checked and it's not in my online account).

It's important to note that after I bought the house I had to make several calls, but they wouldn't return my calls until I finally got someone's attention and had to beg them to come fill the tank because we wanted to use our new fireplace since we hadn't had one previously, and had to convince them that the tank was theirs (the previous home owner told me that I could call SP to fill it, so I assumed it was theirs). Now they want to charge $60 for rent when they wouldn't even acknowledge ownership of the tank in the past.

I've reached out to my attorney for advice, but will likely end up reaching out to the State's Attorney General with a complaint if this is not resolved amicably. SP seems to have a history of unethical practice as evident in the hundreds of negative reports online at different sites.

My desired resolution will be as follows:
1) To see the yearly rental fee go back to $10 per year (I would understand a 3% increase).
2) SP to not tag on any extra cost to try to get more money in a different way.
3) I would like to see SP stop treating people as their own bank account and start behaving in a way that is both respectable and trustworthy, so the company name can be restored to a more respectable status we'd be pleased to do business with (I have several tabs open in my browser and each one lists many negative reports about SP).
4) Also, I would like to know that employees will go through stringent customer service training and actually see a tangible improvement if I have to call and interact with them in the future. Follow the rule of "The customer is always right". Don't speak over the customer or interrupt them. Use the terms Sir or Mam, which in this case would have made the conversation respectful and constructive instead of unpleasant.

Sincerely,

George