SOS: Brooklyn couple's refund is a gas | Just Ask Us | madison.com - Madison.com
No one's saying AmeriGas held a grudge against Deb Hamele and her husband for switching from propane to natural gas, but it sure made them pay — at least for a few months.
Natural gas service through Alliant Energy became available in the rural Brooklyn area where the Hameles live in late 2020. They did the math and determined that switching from tank-based propane would save them hundreds in home heating costs.
The couple canceled their account with AmeriGas on June 1, Hamele said, but when the company hauled the tank away four months later, it was still 40% full. As they'd already paid for that leftover propane, they asked for a refund. And in her Jan. 30 email to SOS, Deb noted language contained in the terms and conditions on AmeriGas' website:
"Company will repurchase the propane remaining in Leased Equipment upon termination if the supply of propane remaining in the tank at the time of removal is more than 5% water capacity. If Company repurchases the remaining propane, the repurchase price will be the price per gallon that you paid for your last delivery."
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In short, if there's enough propane left in a tank to make it worth AmeriGas' while, the company will buy it back (emphasis added).
Nevertheless, Hamele said she "was told they had no obligation to return our money and it was at their discretion.
"I requested they exercise their 'discretion' and give us a refund for the propane, which I'm sure they resold for a much higher rate than we paid for it," she told SOS. "I have gotten no further responses nor a refund and it's been over six months."
SOS contacted AmeriGas Director of Industry and Customer Relations Brilynn Johnson on Feb. 1 and she responded that same day, first to say she would look into it and later to say that the Hameles had been denied a refund due to an outdated set of terms and conditions.
"In our previous terms and conditions, our policy was not to refund unused fuel upon termination of service unless it was a state requirement," she said. "Wisconsin doesn't have this state requirement. However, we just updated our T&Cs, which now reflects that a refund will be provided for unused fuel when service is terminated."
The section of those terms and conditions quoted to SOS by Deb on Jan. 30 was the same as that which appeared on the company's website in mid-February. Johnson declined an opportunity to point out what, exactly, had changed in the 5,000-plus-word document.
Hamele said she got a call "out of the blue" on Feb. 2 from a woman with AmeriGas who "claimed at the time we closed our account they were not giving refunds ... but now they were so she would put through a request for a check reimbursing us for the rate at the time we purchased the gas."
Hamele said they received a check for $358 five days later.
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