ComplaintsforEllington Energy, Inc.

• Initial Complaint

  02/20/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  on 02/07/24 Preferred Propane delivered the remaining 403.1 gallons of my pre-buy fuel. they then put an additional 179.1 gallons into my tanks. I was never asked or notified that they were doing this until I received a bill for $481.78. I called about why they put the extra fuel in and why i was getting a surprise bill. a few minutes later the owner, Karen, returned my call and was immediately defensive and argumentative. she was rude, insulting, disrespectful and condescending. she accused me of being a sexist saying," it must be because I'm female, if you were talking to my husband it would all be different." and saying" what's the matter you can't afford a couple hundred dollars?" amongst other lash outs. I have written an email about this matter to them on 02/09/24. I asked that they extract the extra fuel and remove their tank monitoring system and I would file with the BBB. I have not received a response

  Business response

  03/12/2024

  March 12, 2024
  
  Regarding complaint at *** ****** ***** *******
  
  
  Mr. ***** has been a customer of Preferred Propane since August 2022. Mr. ***** has been on automatic delivery with a monitoring device on his tanks. We filled his tanks on February 7, 2024. Mr. ***** had a credit of pre bought gallons of 403.1. We delivered the gallons and filled the tanks. Mr. ***** was invoiced out at the same pre purchased rate of $2.69 per gallon which would mean he would owe for a remainder of 179 gallons, totaling $481.51. Mr. ***** called to say he did not expect his tanks to be filled, even though he was on automatic delivery. Mr. ***** was very aware of the automatic monitoring device on his tanks. We install the monitors free of charge with no monthly fee to our automatic customers.
  
  We spoke and I tried to explain that he has been on automatic delivery for two years and he was not happy with that. I then told him I could discount the gallons at market price for $1.99 per gallon, which would make his balance due to us, $356.21. He agreed to that and I told him I would call my office and have them revise the bill and email to him. My office emailed Mr. ***** an updated invoice the following day, February 8, 2024
  
  He called back again and we spoke. He said he was still upset about it and should not have to pay for the gallons. Again, we spoke about the monitor that was installed on his tank that we only provide for automatic accounts. He said he was not going to pay for the gallons.
  
  The conversation with Mr. ***** wasn’t going anywhere, so I told Mr. ***** that he could keep the 179 gallons since he did not want to pay for them.
  
  Preferred Propane wrote off the 179 gallons as a bad debt write off. There has been no further communication, we have not called, emailed, mailed any invoices. The only communication that we got was from his email sent to us on February 29, 2024 requesting that we take the monitoring device off his tanks. We honored his request and removed the monitor the same day his email was sent and his account was closed.
  
  Then we received an email from the BBB on March 5, 2024. This matter was handled by Preferred Propane by giving Mr. ***** the 179 gallons for free. I am not quite sure what more I could have done to make Mr. ***** happy.
  
  
  
  
  
  Thank you,
  
  Karen V*******
  President

• Initial Complaint

  12/15/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I purchased a home in August which had propane tanks. I paid for the fuel in the tanks, which was full, and was told at the closing that Ellington Energy owned the tanks. They attempted to force me to sign a 3-year agreement and then removed the tanks without any notice during a cold spell in November. During the process, they removed a regulator owned by us and caused damage to the pipes which were connected to the tanks. The propane is being used to heat the house and we were out of heat for 3 days. They claim that the tanks were empty however I have dated photos 2 weeks prior to the incident showing each tank was 65% full. I am seeking reimbursement for the fuel which we paid for in addition to the cost of the regulator and damage done to the home.

  Business response

  01/31/2022

  This customer had no contract with us and we kept warning him that without a contract our insurance company will not allow us to have propane tanks sitting at his house.

   

   

  A license technician carefully removed his tanks as is standard procedure and no damage was done. The tank regulator is also ours that we rented to the previous homeowner which was removed properly.

   

  This customer did not want to become a customer of ours even though we gave him much notice, actually months because he says he's part of a co-op and planned on switching to them but apparently was not that important seeing it's been many months and we warned we were going to pick up our tanks as we could not wait any longer and he would have run out of gas anyways seeing they were near 0 on the gauges as the customer says it was cold out so they were obviously burning fuel which goes quickly when it's cold out.

   

  Unfortunately with the tank shortage out there, we needed these tanks and we could not be in violation with our insurance company any longer and the customer was left a message that we were picking them up. Karen actually spoke to the owner ***** in person a couple weeks before we picked them up.

   

  My son actually spoke to the customer in person on site and still left the tanks. He delivered a contract if they were going to utilize our services. This was the person living in the house which apparently is the owner son who said he'd give it to his father and again has given him months to deal with this utilizing our insured property with our full liability attached to that.

   

  It's amazed how people come up with their own stories and there is no refund on gas because the tanks were empty when we picked them up which if he Is claiming he had product then maybe there was a leak?

   

   I don't know but at the end of the day he's not a customer, cannot use our products without a signed contract in place and no refund will be given as he never purchased ANY propane for our company ever. And again, never rented any tanks from us ever.

   

  If he paid for propane at his closing then that's between him and the seller of the home and again nothing to do with Ellington Energy Incorporated.

   

   

  Please, forward this to the proper people as we will not be refunding a non-customer that owes us for using our tanks but because we don't have a contract he gets away with that as he's been using tanks for free with us taking all the risk and this is the new world that's being created apparently that customers think they can run to different state departments and force the people that are still working to try to reimburse something they are never owed and this one we will send to our attorney if needed as I'll spend whatever it takes to go to court with the state for principal alone.

   

   

  I have copied *** ******* our litigation attorney as well if it's going to go to that point so he's involved from the beginning if needed.

   

  Thanks,

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