Ashland Propane, Inc. ( refuses to refund payment on unauthorized delivery of fuel ) South Holland, Illinois

In May 2012, Ashland Propane cold-called me to say they would be delivering fuel in my son's neighborhood, would I want a delivery before the price went up. (Due to financial hardship, I have helped pay for their propane for many years, to the point I am automatically called.) I said I didn't think they needed any over the summer, it is only used for heat. Knowing my motherly instinct to help, the issue was pushed about the price possibly increasing.. good to take advantage of the lower one now. I said that maybe okay, but wanted to check with my son and get back to them.

I did get back to them to say NO, we did not want any fuel delivered. I was told the dispatcher would be notified and thought that was the end of it. To my surprise, I later received a bill in the mail (even though I was usually called to say how much was delivered and what was owed).. not this time. I called to ask what the bill was about when I had cancelled/ not authorized any delivery. The sales person who did get the message didn't tell the driver until the day after he had delivered fuel anyway.

I felt I had no choice but to pay the bill, as they would certainly have gone after my son (who had nothing to do with the delivery at all). By the end of the summer, they had found a place to move; none of the unauthorized delivery had been used at all. I called Ashland to request a refund.. either lock the tank or pump the propane out and refund the $511.77 I had (very unhappily) paid. I was told they would check into what they could do and asked to be patient. For over two months, I have called mulitple times, speaking with Judy (person who made the cold call & took message to cancel order), Jason (salesman who was told to cancel but failed to notify driver) and Stephanie Dauparas (company president). I was asked several times to be patient and told by Ms. Dauparas that she would look into it and get back to me, which she never has done. Subsequent messages I have left have been ignored.

Jason, the salesman who failed to stop the delivery, actually asked me why I paid for it if I hadn't wanted it and said that he wouldn't have. He told me it was between me and the landlord, that I would have to collect the money from him. The landlord never had anything to do with the fuel situation.. ever. When I said I wanted it pumped out and refunded (as I have had another company do in the past, with a minimal service fee), Jason said it would cost as much to pump it out as the refund would be.. that it would be a wash (which is absurd).

When my son moved into the rented farm house in 1993, he was required to pay for the propane in the tank left behind by previous tenants.

Given that the delivery was not authorized or requested, not refunding the money that I paid to be a good citizen and not put the burden on my son is both unethical and a huge rip-off.