Amerigas Delivery Issues

[rustyjames]

So, I've been a customer for gas about 4 years to heat my shop. I have a 100 gallon tank rented from them. I requested a fill, online, almost a month ago and still waiting. There was a two week window when I placed the order. In the past it was usually filled within a few days.
Trying to call them is futile, long wait times to get a rep and then get put on eternal hold. The tank is at about 10% at this point in time. My question is how low can I run it down? When it was delivered I remember the tech saying "whatever you do don't run it out."

 

[NUTTSGT]

I'd be making a trip to the office and ask about getting it filled.

 

[Buckgnarly]

10% is awful close, my company says 20 but they have told me a bit lower is OK. From what I have heard of it goes too low they have to inspect and pressure test the whole system before refilling. I convinced them to put in a 500g so I would not have to worry about mid Winter refills.

 

[ant.foste]

Drive to their closest office. It's probably closer than you'd expect.

 

[DaveMcLain]

Drive to their closest office. It's probably closer than you'd expect.

In our town their closest office is and has been for a while closed to the public due to Covid 19.

 

[joe_padavano]

Don't know about NJ, but here in Northern VA I've had similar problems with Amerigas. Here they've shut their offices due to COVID, so driving there won't help you. I actually haven't had too much of a problem with getting a real person on the phone, but I call the local office, not the 800 number. The problem with letting the tank get too low is that the internal pressure is a function of the outdoor temperature. If it's really cold, the gas pressure won't be high enough to operate your heater, despite the tank still having gas. Also, if it does run out, they will charge you $70 for another leak check before they will fill it, plus some other BS add-on fees. I'm really underwhelmed with the company. They go out of their way to force you to have to pay these extra fees unless you have their scheduled refill service.

 

[03ranger]

I dropped Amerigas about four years ago due to poor service and their misc service charges. I purchased my own 120 gallon tank and had theirs removed. Now I can shop LP vendors and price. Found an independent dealer that provides good service and never more the 48 hours from phone call to delivery. No Corp BS or run around.

 

[ant.foste]

In our town their closest office is and has been for a while closed to the public due to Covid 19.

Understood. But if someone is physically there, I'm going to speak with them, regardless of whether they're closed or not.

 

[rustyjames]

Thanks, everyone. Offices are closed so due to the virus so going there would be a waste of time, just like trying to call. I'm just going to run the tank out and use my own small cylinders to finish out the season. I have NG run to the house, this inspired me to get it piped to the shop rather that going through this BS again.

 

[yeldogt]

They seem to be having issues .... is your delivery still showing on the website?

My problem is paying them .... they made a delivery in early January and it's showing as a balance on my account .... but, they never generated an invoice. You can't pay a balance only an invoice. I can't pay them

 

[vavet]

Never had a propane tank before we built this house 5 years ago. It’s used for the whole house generator and the heat pump supplemental heat, so not a lot and certainly not much at all except in the coldest of months.

Our supplier, Quarles, recently bought another company. We prepay for fuel in the summer, usually to get a lower rate, but not always. They fill it when their algorithms tell them it needs to be filled based on power outages, temperature trends, historical usage, and other customers usage. We haven’t run out yet, but they told us if we do, we move to the top of the refill list because we have it on auto-fill. They also waive the pressure check fee if we run out.

My MIL hated the auto fill and refused to participate, but would then run out in the middle of winter and have to pay the urgent refill fee, the pressure check fee, after hours fee, etc.

 

[DaveMcLain]

Don't know about NJ, but here in Northern VA I've had similar problems with Amerigas. Here they've shut their offices due to COVID, so driving there won't help you. I actually haven't had too much of a problem with getting a real person on the phone, but I call the local office, not the 800 number. The problem with letting the tank get too low is that the internal pressure is a function of the outdoor temperature. If it's really cold, the gas pressure won't be high enough to operate your heater, despite the tank still having gas. Also, if it does run out, they will charge you $70 for another leak check before they will fill it, plus some other BS add-on fees. I'm really underwhelmed with the company. They go out of their way to force you to have to pay these extra fees unless you have their scheduled refill service.

They ****. About a month or so ago I added another furnace to heat the upstairs of my barn. I did the complete installation myself including running the copper line for the propane supply. I called, left a message etc several times trying to get them to come out and hook up the line from the tank to the inside line and they never contacted me. It was going to get cold so I dug a trench, installed the line, bought and installed my own secondary regulator and hooked it up myself. I check for leaks, test fired the furnace and adjusted the pressures using my own manometer. When I find a good deal on a 500 gallon tank of my own they are going to be history.

 

[yeldogt]

I just called them ... and got an agent. invoicing delayed ... not due until 3/2.

I'm the first to agree that the big guys buying the small is typically not good .... I had suburban at my last house. But, I also rented the tanks (2x 100g). Most people rent when they have low usage .... but -- you pay/pay/pay

AmericaGas did my 1000g tank install last fall and ran all the lines -- 120' feet to the house. .... 20' to generator and 30' to my studio. They were very professional and the cost was on the lower end of the est. They also filled the tank at 1.59 and refilled at 1.69 .. both good prices when I called around.

 

[HoosierBuddy]

I've never had propane myself, but running NG lines in rural areas I've converted a lot of customers over the years. The thing that struck me is I'll get farmers where they've likely saved $20000/year after converting...and they won't even mention that in why they like NG. All they ever say is "Don't have to worry about running a tank dry or trying to get delivery if we get snow."

I guess if you're a farmer, having one less thing to worry about is more valuable than cash. Of course, if they run a poultry house tank's dry and lose 20,000 birds...that's a real issue.

If I did have propane, I believe I'd want to own my own tank and have a few months' supply on hand minimum. Maybe 2 each 500 gallon tanks and fill up when either of them gets near empty so I'd always have about 500 gallons on hand. But, that's kind of how I am.

Phil

 

[rustyjames]

Amerigas was very good when I first signed up. There was a salesman that I could just email and get an almost immediate response. If I emailed him I'd have a delivery within in a few days.
I'm not a big user, so this season when the tank hit around 25% I placed the order. In the two week window I still had around 18%. Tomorrow will be one month since I placed the order. If they just returned my calls or email it would be a different story, but I have no idea when I can expect a delivery so I'm done with Amerigas.

 

[ericm]

I can't get Amerigas to return my calls either. In our area they have at times fallen behind in deliveries due to lack of drivers. Apparently they treat their staff as poorly as they treat customers. Many people here are switching to other providers.

 

[66cj225]

"The problem with letting the tank get too low is that the internal pressure is a function of the outdoor temperature. If it's really cold, the gas pressure won't be high enough to operate your heater, despite the tank still having gas."

So Joe- you're saying to allow more unburnable content in the bottom of the tank? Or maybe the vapor pressure of the product isn't sufficient to operate the regulator? Either would be a quality issue.

 

[David Paul]

I can echo all the concerns mentioned about Amerigas. Ran out last year on auto delivery. Running low this year, 12% tried calling, 20 minute wait. Mentioned wait time to rep, he said that’s not to bad, we’ve had people wait hours. Week goes by, no delivery. Call another locally owned company. Within a week, new tank, filled ready to go. Several emails to company, no response. Old tank waiting to be picked up. Even their own website says they are having issues.local Facebook is full of horror stores about Amerigas.

 

[Hamball44]

My suggestion would be to dump Amerigas & go with a locally owned company. You will most likely get better service and better prices.

Amerigas is by far the worst company I have ever dealt with, and that's saying a lot! They do respond fairly quickly to BBB complaints however.

 

[kj_mustang]

They were featured on the news in my area about a week ago. They interviewed multiple customers that had been without gas, thus no heat, for several days despite repeated calls to the local Amerigas. They were supposed to be on autofill also so normally regular visits to these customers. I use my local Southern States Coop supplier and they give great service and the cheapest rate around.

 

[vavet]

I had an issue with Lowe's a few years ago. I must've talked to about 10 people, each transferring me to another department, assuring me that person would be able to help me. After I got disconnected, I posted to their facebook page and had a response within a few hours.
I don't know, but it might be worth a try. It's a different avenue. Maybe you can reach a different person who knows which buttons to press.

 

[rustyjames]

All I can say is I feel bad for family's that use this company to heat their homes, it has to be unsettling to have to wait to see if they're going to get supplied. I'm just heating my shop with propane, and I'm retired so it's not the end of the world.
Yesterday I emailed a local company that's been in business for many years and got a response this morning. Next week they'll be out with a tank and I'll be done with Amerigas.

 

[aka Larry]

Sounds familiar.

Fortunately around here, they have plenty of competition. We switched to a local company where just one text direct to the driver get ours filled within two days max.

 

[Certified Drunk]

Call another gas company.

 

[jones988]

I work for a smaller co-op in my area and we have a pretty large LP division. I hear stories all the time of people switching from Amerigas due to terrible service. We might be a few cents higher on price, but our service is 10x better. The majority of our customers have their delivery drivers phone number to contact themselves or they just call our office. No wait times or anything.

 

[rustyjames]

I don't mind waiting, but after a month goes by and no indication of when it's coming is unacceptable. Time to move on to another company. And it's not like I was getting a good deal, either. The quoted price was $3.66 per gallon.

 

[jones988]

I don't mind waiting, but after a month goes by and no indication of when it's coming is unacceptable. Time to move on to another company. And it's not like I was getting a good deal, either. The quoted price was $3.66 per gallon.

I believe our price in central Indiana right now is only $1.65/gallon delivered. No extra fees or anything.

 

[65ranchero]

I have a dedicated 100gal for my standby generator from a separate company than my house.
They gave me a new tank and is willing to do "will call" delivery.
It is a very low volume delivery (once a year and maybe 20/30 gal) fill unless a power outage hits.
As long as I call ahead and say there is no hurry and to fill it when the truck is in the route area there is no extra charge.

But I do pay a premium price per gallon for it

 

[Adk Mike]

I worked for them for 21 and a half years to the day. I’ve been gone 4 years.
First guy off a sinking ship gets a ride in the life boat.

 

[rustyjames]

@Mike--Wow, that's a long time. I reckon you saw the train wreck coming? Probably the same for the salesman that was my contact, he was terrific and so were the guys that did the installation. All the drivers that I met when I happened to be there were great too. Shame that a company can go downhill like that.

 

[chrispyny]

Off to short Amerigas stocks.

 

[yeldogt]

@Mike--Wow, that's a long time. I reckon you saw the train wreck coming? Probably the same for the salesman that was my contact, he was terrific and so were the guys that did the installation. All the drivers that I met when I happened to be there were great too. Shame that a company can go downhill like that.

They bought a local company in northern bucks county while I was building my house .... by the time I was ready for the install it was AmeriGas. I actually was dealing with a long time employee from NJ .. she was great and so were the guys that did the install.

Whenever companies go to central service centers with no way to contact locally -- it's a problem!

 

[David Paul]

So even though I’m on auto delivery, called because we were at 10%. This was before Christmas. As mentioned above, called, emailed numerous times. Finally sent emails canceling service, come pick up tank.
Guess who showed up yesterday to fill tank? Poor driver, nice guy. He said it wasn’t the first time showed up and turned away because service was canceled. He said he’s gone into neighborhoods to fill a tank and people would come out, stand in front of truck until he filled their tank....

 

[yeldogt]

I just put in for a fill ... did it early. Tank is at 40% ... but with the cold coming next week ... I don't need an issue.

I'm going through more propane than expected .... the house is under construction .... and it is big. But 400g in a month was more than expected. current price is $2.09

 

[mwalsh9152]

Add me to the Amerigas ***** list. Their rental tanks were here when I bought the house. They gave me a good price, so I went with them on a two year contract. Communication was great too. Last two years it has been garbage. Contract runs out soon, and I am going to run the tank down and tell them to pick it up. Im going to buy a 500 gal tank and find a local company to do business with.

 

[rustyjames]

Friday will be 5 weeks since I placed the fill order and haven't heard one word from them. What a way to run a business.

 

[gmcgeo]

There are reports all over the country of not being able to contact them or get a fill from them, even if you have there tank sitting at your house. time to find a local company.

im glad i work for a local place or i may have had the same issues that everyone else has had from big company's. Amerigas is not the only one having problems, hellers and suburban are close in line with them. I hope you all find a good company to take care of you. its rough out there right now

 

[rustyjames]

I did find a local company, they even answer the phone and return emails in a timely manner.

 

[yeldogt]

I did find a local company, they even answer the phone and return emails in a timely manner.

Who did you go with ... ?

 

[bwringer]

Sounds like the flush handle has been pulled and the company is circling the bowl...


Kinda odd because usually a company entering bankruptcy (no idea if they're going bankrupt or what, but they're clearly only a corpse at this point) is pretty eager to sell and collect what they can before getting scooped up.