Screwed over by the oil company. Again.

[Seraph]

So, as many know, we bought a house a couple years back that's just been FULL of surprises.

Big one was the oil tank for the home. We were told it was "like, 200 gallons".

So, we called up the local oil company and asked them for 200 gallons of oil to fill up our tank. They apparently only heard "to fill up our tank". Surprise, our tank is actually 500 gallons. Holy mama mia! We expected maybe a $400 bill, but instead, we got a $1,100 one!

They wouldn't come back out for it, either. Well, they *would*, but they'd charge us $200 for the "oil retrieval". We told them screw it, but they'd have to expect that it'd be a while for us to be able to pay it off in full. They were all apologetic, and then explained to us something called the "lock in rate". I'd never heard of it, but as she explained it, since we were going to be buying so much oil, they were going to lock in our rate right then, at $2.59. I told her it sounded too good to be true, but she promised up and down the hill that no, thats what it was all about, especially since "we'd have to buy so much each time."

Well, fast forward to this year. I just called them up to talk about topping off the tank so we can get an approximation of how much we use in a year, and she quoted me at $3.75 a gallon.

I explained to her what the lady told me last year about the locked in rate, and she said "Give me a few to look up your account, if you only bought once then we don't do that." I calmly explained what happened last year, how they forked us over THEN, and the "locked in rate" that the woman offered us as a sort of balm.

She finds our account and then says "Nope, you get to pay $3.75. We don't do locked in rates for ANYTHING but propane!" (Funny, she didn't mention that earlier)

I tried to talk to her, but she kept bulling me a bit, saying nope, nope, only propane, never oil. In fact, she said she "didn't know if I really heard that at all".

I'd never even HEARD of the concept until they told me about it!!

I don't know what to do. That's just way expensive, and they promised us one thing last year, and now are pulling it back. Jerks. We're limited to one of two companies in the area, and the other's markedly more expensive....so I'm not sure what to do. :< We totally got the wool pulled over our eyes....again.

[Frantic Freddie]

ALWAYS get things in writing,never rely on some nebulous "promise".

As far as the size of your tank,as a homeowner it really is your responsibility to know the size of it.Wasn't it listed on the property disclosure form?

Locking in rates is a common practice for propane out west,I don't know about heating oil,it doesn't exist here.

[Seraph]

Yeah, derpy thing of me not to do that. Augh!

They listed it as 200 gallons. :| Like I said, it was a surprise.

Turns out, I called the other company, and they said they "occasionally" lock in rates, but its only for a small, limited range. She also said that the company we were currently using does the SAME thing, and quite literally laughed when I relayed the story. She said they get quite a few customers because of the shenanigans they hear about, and that yes, they are a bit more expensive sometimes, but they are willing to work out deals sometimes, and would definitely appreciate a new customer.

...So, going to discuss this with hubby and see what he says. Right now, Rival Peeps are offering $3.64 a gallon, and they flat out told us that the "oil will be lower in Sept." thing is bull. They're predicting it'll be $3.85+ by that point.

[Frantic Freddie]

If it's anything like propane here the price goes up in the fall,just like gasoline in the summer.You have to lock in a new rate every year,that's what we do.

Looks like the listing agent didn't do his/her due diligence,I've always listed the size of the propane tank,250,500 & 1000 gals being common.The townie Realtors would screw it up all the time tho,listing that the house had no gas because the tank was leased & it had been returned or it was buried & they didn't know what to look for.

Sometimes paying a bit more for much better service is worth it.