Petro Reviews

Here we are in 2012 and I had to pay the bill since the account was initially set up in my father's name and I couldn't have it affect his perfect credit history. To add insult to injury, after this occurred, we asked for no more deliveries. Petro returned because we were supposedly on a recurring delivery. How is that possible if the account was closed?! Luckily, we were home when Petro came. We told them to stop right away. We still had to pay for the fuel they had just put in the tank. This whole ordeal cost 260 some odd dollars and it’s been over a year and hasn’t been resolved.

Petro showed up and filled the tank on Nov 4 after Lisa said that the account was closed. I now have a bill for $412.61 that she called and said I have till December 4 to pay. I don't believe I should have to pay for their mistake and leave free oil. We are a military family and I don't think it's fair to treat any family in this suffering economy to pay for oil to heat the home. I asked Lisa to help me resolve this issue and so far her only answer is for me to pay for oil.

I did that to the tune of more than 5000 dollars. Also I had a service contract of 431.90 per year where they were supposed to come out and clean my unit, service it in some way. I received service in 2009. I paid for it. I paid for service in 2010 and did not receive service. I paid for service in 2011 and did not receive service. I owe them 2997.91 dollars for the installation. The state is supposed to reimburse me for the installation but they're getting paid for service that they never performed and calling me every five minutes to find out when I'm gonna pay for the tank installation.

I am unemployed and trying very desperately to remain in my home. This is a disgusting way to do business and part of the reason this energy crisis is out of control. Look for my upcoming YouTube posts and I encourage all other PETRO consumers to occupy YouTube with your complaints!

I retrieved a copy of the contract that Petro had just sent to me for renewal. We looked at it together and found nothing that mentioned any penalty or special terms for cancelling. He was not convinced and warned me again to be on my guard. I wrote a letter to Petro and told them that I was converting to gas heat and therefore would not be renewing my contract. I gave strict instructions to cease deliveries from that date forward. I enclosed a check for my open balance and indicated this would be my final payment. The check as cashed within a few days and over 3 weeks later, one day before my oil tank was to be removed, Petro came without my knowledge and filled the tank, depositing nearly $500 in oil even though the newly run gas line was fully visible. When I found the delivery ticket in my mailbox, I was dumbfounded.

I made a series of phone calls and spoke to a succession of employees and finally got a call back from a supervisor. I asked why my instructions to stop deliveries had been ignored. At first I was told there was no record of my letter cancelling my account. Then I was told that they did get the letter but I needed to give them a full 30 days notice before cancellation went into effect, so they were within their rights to make the delivery. I explained repeatedly that there was no verbiage on the contract renewal (or any other paperwork in my possession that stipulated this clause). I explained that the tank was being removed the next day and I was in no position to pay for oil I had no use for and had expressly told them I didn't want.

Several times I asked if they would send a truck to siphon out the oil and was told that I would be charged a substantial fee for them to do that and would still have to pay for the oil. The supervisor flatly told me they had done nothing wrong, they were only following policy and he could not help me. He offered to send me a copy of their terms and conditions that accompanied the original contract - a contract that I did not sign! How am I supposed to be aware of the fine print on a contract I don't have a copy of?

A few days later, I received a bill for the oil delivery plus a charge for renewal of the contract for total close to $800! Since then I have received a past due bill with late fees added. I have written several letters to Petro pleading my case which have been ignored. I feel like this is heartless extortion especially during these tough economic times. Now more than ever, common sense and compassion rather than under-handed company policies should dictate the ethical thing to do. I have vowed to right this in court if necessary but fear that Petro will damage my credit before I ever get a chance to defend myself.

When the price of oil skyrocketed, with the assistance of Elizabethtown Gas, the boiler was fitted to use gas instead of oil. This did not involve changing flow control valves or the changing of its original pipes.

On September 12,2011, PSEG came to do a start-up winter check up on the unit. The technician informed me that the pipes are all corroded and it is imperative that I call the company where I bought this broiler from because the corrosion and rust of the pipes need immediate attention. I've contacted Petro and was told that since I don't buy oil from them anymore, our relationship is non-existent. I'm still waiting for a call from someone named Andrew, which Arlene told me she was going to call to contact me to address my safety concerns.

They slapped us with a $399 cancellation fee. We have gone back and forth, and they sent it to collections! They are ruining my credit because they don't care that I sent them my new lease, and Arleen (the person to whom I have to fax it to in the credit department) is on a two week vacation. I hope and pray they will just void it because we cannot afford this fee. We did not legally have to pay it since we moved, and never made cancellation.

My wife then received a phone call that Petro would continue to fill our tank at their going price. After speaking with me, she returned the call and told them we did not want the oil because we were converting from oil to gas. She also mentioned she did not understand why they would continue to fill our tank without having a contract and the representative simply stated that if we did not want the oil, we would not receive oil.

A few weeks later, I called to pay off my bill and found out that my bill now was $399.00 more than stated and it was because we canceled our oil delivery/contract. But the truth is we did not cancel. As my history showed, prior to this matter, I paid my bills. I never had a problem with paying my bills, but I do have an issue with paying an extra $399.00 because Petro claims we canceled. If you look at the Petro statement, it states that my acquisition date is 3/05/2009 and my termination date is 3/02/2010. Why would I terminate a contract on 2/25/2010 just 5 days prior to my contract expiring and cause myself a penalty of $399.00, especially knowing that they had only came a week prior, 2/13/2010, to fill my tank.

I feel as if I am being extorted because I chose not to renew the contract. I previously mentioned this to Petro and was never helped with this matter but told that I terminated my contract and chose not to receive oil at the going price. My answer was, "So I chose not to renew a contract, and you decide that because I didn't renew my contract, you will continue to fill my tank at your going price?" Again, I feel extorted and have not been given a clear answer.

Prior to this matter, I had no problems with Petro and I truly hope this matter can be resolved without court. I hope this is simply a misunderstanding and a lack of communication internally within the various Petro departments that has somehow turned me into the bad guy. The only real problem I've had was getting this issue resolved and I hope we can solve this without court.

About an hour later, I received an email with the same agreement to agree to online. I read through it and saw no mention of kerosene, so I did not agree to the online agreement and decided to call back to make sure. During my second call on the same day, I was told that a mistake had been made and an account opened for oil. They cancelled that and began opening a new one for kerosene, during which, I heard their price, and said, "I can find it cheaper elsewhere, please cancel the whole thing." I then called another company, and received delivery a day later, thinking that everything was fine.

On 12 Jan 11, I received a bill from Petro for $207.92 for a delivery made on 6 Dec 10 (a bill on which my name was misspelled). I immediately called at 11:45 AM. I was transferred to a supervisor named Charles **. He said that he is going to listen to the call and get back to me in about an hour. Two hours later, Mr. ** called and said that 70 gallons of oil was delivered to my kerosene tank because I had said that I needed an emergency delivery. Mr. ** said that he only listened to the first phone call. He acknowledged that I did say kerosene during that call, but "quickly." He wanted to know what I wanted done.

I said, "I refuse to pay the bill because I canceled the delivery, and I want Petro to be responsible for any damage done to my kerosene tank and/or heater." He said that he could not listen to the tape of the second phone call, he could not agree to what I was looking for, and that I am liable for the $207.92. Do I want to speak to his manager? I said yes. I was then transferred to Carrie **. Ms. ** said that since I had made the verbal agreement, I was liable. The emergency oil delivery was made in between the two phone calls that I had made, so I owed them for it. "But I made another call to cancel and they did not say anything about a delivery already being made," I said.

She indicated that the second phone call I made would not have been known because it "does not post until the next day." She could lower the price to what I got the kerosene for from the other company, but because a delivery was made, she could not delete the bill. I told her that I cannot pay that because I am on disability, and that is why I went with another company in the first place. Also, I did not order oil. She kept assuring me that it would not damage the heater. I said, "So, somehow, I was supposed to mention the second call that I made as I became aware that an incorrect order had been placed."

She admitted that she had not listened to either tape, and all she can do is send the bill to collections or come and take the oil out of the tank. I said, "That's fine with me. Come and take the oil out." She kept mentioning that I had placed an oil order, and I kept correcting her. I said, "Send me to collections. I will take it to small claims court to make sure that you are responsible for any possible damage to my tank and/or heater." She said, "Okay, we'll see what the judge says."

Our manager lies to us about us having to work mandatory overtime, 11 to 12 hour shifts with a 1/2 hour lunch. They tell us how we have to work at least 15 to 20 hours overtime every week or we are fired. Our manager lies to us and our "leads" lie even more. When you go to the general manager, he stands there and defends all these lies.

Explain to me how a company that prides themselves on their service to their customers won’t take care of their own employees that make the company who they are. No one will listen and no one cares. There are times when our office had people sick with the flu, fevers, but we come to work, vomiting and sweating because if we don’t our manager and leads threaten to write us up for not showing up. But we are sick and contagious. If we don’t show up, they still tell us its corporate’s rules and it's an occurrence.

So explain to me how does an employee defend the greatness of their company when their company doesn't care what is going on with their employees and will do whatever it takes to be there and the best even if it's at the expense of their employees. But remember, while we are all working 11 to 12 hour days, our management team leaves before 5:00 PM and never work a weekend like we do. Hmm double standards. So what would you do if you knew this about your oil company?

Of course they top off your 275 gallon tank in July and send you a $500 bill you cannot afford to pay. When you call to complain, they say that it's all part of your contract and you should shut up and pay it. If you try to leave Petro before your contract expires, they hit you with a $399 termination fee. They will charge you interest and penalties for any balance on your account and also interest on the $399 until you pay that. They also document every conversation you have with them in their favor, that you called and they advised you of penalties and interest, and that you refused to pay and that you are a deadbeat. When you ask repeatedly to speak to the owner or manager, you speak to a lowly customer service representative or their supervisor who do nothing but reiterate that you owe money and they continue to harass you.

Do not use Petro. You can get a better deal with any other oil company anywhere. They are terrible. Nasty attitudes, they harass you to death, they add penalties and interest every month and they charge the highest for oil.

On 8/10, I contacted Petro and was informed that I would not be allowed to tell them that I didn't want to renew my contract until Oct when my contract was up because they couldn't put a note not to renew my contract. They would have to cancel my contract at that time and I would incur a term fee $399. In Sept., I had my last auto deduction to pay my remaining balance. I asked if this would cover everything and that all I had to do was contact Petro anytime in Oct and let them know that I didn't want to renew my contract and I would not receive an early term charge. They confirmed. I verified again in Oct that everything was paid and I didn't owe any additional money and would not incur the term charge. They confirmed.

In Nov., we needed oil so we signed up with a new oil company. On 11/18, I received a statement with an early term fee of $399. I called on 11/18. The charge was because I didn't accept an oil delivery and that someone would call me. I called on 11/19 and I informed them that as I was on auto delivery and Petro could not tell me when I was scheduled to get a delivery. All I had to do was call anytime in Oct when my contract was up and let them know not to renew my contract and I wouldn't incur an early term fee.

Petro told me that because I didn't accept the last oil delivery. I owed the term fee even though I told him I confirmed what I had to do on three occasions in order to not get charged the fee. He told me he could open my contract and deliver oil but could not help because I had a contract with another company. I said I wasn't informed until 11/18, after I needed to contract with another company because we needed oil. There was a charge on my account dated 10/12. They are stating that if I do not pay it will go to collections and that we will have to leave it that we disagree about the charge.

When you called Petro you were speaking to someone in Canada, back in 2003 anyway. I had nothing but trouble with "Peatro". They took nine days to deliver oil to me. And what is worse, they were not even on my street to deliver to me! I had to wrestle the truck driver to give me 100 gallons while he was at the house next door. They also tried to force me to sign a service plan that was outrageous in price. I wrote them a stuff-it letter and parted ways ASAP.

I found that using a discount oil supplier that does not perform service coupled with a independent service man/company is the way to go. The oil price is the cheapest this way and the independent servicemen care nothing of selling oil.

Oh yeah, don't think that the Tank scam is a Petro idea. Another "local" oil company who consider themselves the best, tried to tell me my boiler was shot. That my tank was dangerous and I would need a complete overhaul of my system. Wrong! That was seven years ago and I just had my annual tune-up. My 1989 Weil Mclain Boiler is still running smooth as silk.

Oh yeah, my tank is still 100% leak free and will be for another 100 years. A steel tank that has never had water around it with no surface rust will outlast you. It's filled with hydrocarbon! That means no-rust on the inside. Yes they can get sludgy, that I agree with. But don't let them tell you that the tank is going to rupture and ruin your house. If the tank did start leaking, it would weep slowly (a few drops). It's not going to be like Niagara Falls! Do yourself a favor and stay away from Petro!

I carefully documented the various prices from other oil companies during the same period. It is clear that Petro committed fraud and deceptive business practices against me. Petro is an awful company that clearly rips off untold numbers of victims. Just run a Google search for Petro and ripoff/fraud. You will find thousands of stories just like mine. I am contemplating a class-action lawsuit among dozens of other tactics to defend myself and other consumers. Petro must be stopped from continuing to commit evil.

In April of 2010, I contacted Petro, asking for one final delivery of oil to last the remainder of my time here, which is June 25, 2010. I was told that the least amount they could deliver was 100 gallons. Thus I agreed on the delivery of 100 gallons, knowing I did not require that much oil. I then informed Petro I would need no further deliveries through the summer. Petro delivered the 100 gallons, which filled the oil tank to full (250 gallons).

Today, May 19, 2010, Petro made another delivery unaware to me or my wife. My wife contacted Petro and informed them we were not supposed to receive another delivery, as we had enough oil to last our remaining time in the home. A heated discussion followed between my wife and the office worker from Petro, who stated that their records showed we were still to continue on an automated delivery, even though I had cancelled it in April.

Also, the Petro employee noted that we are required to maintain a one-year contract and that to break it would involve an early cancellation fee of $399. Why would Petro, who boasts they have been in business for over 130 plus years in the area, place military members in a position to intentionally take advantage of them with one-year contracts when the students of the Naval War College are in the area for less than a year?

As a policy, I was told over the phone when I contacted Petro in April 2010, Petro does not deliver any less than 100 gallons. Yet today, they made a delivery contrary to my previous conversation in April 2010, which was only 55 gallons. What I am left with through this experience is that Petro is conducting unethical business practices to deliver un-needed oil in order to coerce payment. We have lived throughout the nation, and Petro is the worst energy provider we have ever experienced. Worst! I will be taking my complaint to the Naval Station office responsible for housing, so they are aware of Petro's business practices.

Since that time, it has been a battle to try to get them to charge me fairly, or let me out of this agreement. Of course they have a $999 early termination fee, and will not let me out of the contract without charging me that. Every time I have received oil from them in the last two years, their price has been at least $0.75/gallon, higher than the highest price listed on the Mass Department of Energy report. I write a letter to them every time, asking for clarification of the definition of their 'market price', and how they come up with the higher charge that they use with me, and have never gotten a reply to those letters. I have talked with Consumer Affairs and the Department of Utilities and was told that there really is no one who regulates the oil companies. I am just waiting for my term to be over with them so that I never have to do business with them again, and in the meantime I can warn everybody in any way that I can about the overcharging and unfair practices of Petro.

The next morning, we had no heat again. We called Petro again and they said the boiler was rotted, not cracked and that they had temporarily fixed it. That evening, our basement was full of water from the boiler and the house was cold. I had to move my 2 children (aged 2 and 1 month) to another home because the house was cold. Petro denied any responsibility even though my inspector and their technician said the system was fine. They refused to pay anything for the new boiler and then charged me for the early termination fee after I told them I wouldn't use their service anymore.

(Tom) came, checked the leak, and told us he would be back. He didn't have enough Speedy Dry and had to go to Wantagh to get it. At about 8:30p, Kurt called Meenan and spoke with Jennifer. He was told Tom was on his way back. At about 8:50p, Tom arrived and worked diligently to finish the job. He left at about 11p to 11:30p.

On 3/1, Kurt called Meenan and spoke with Jim about getting credit for the oil we lost. He was told we would be credited $75 and that we only lost 3 gallons. I received a letter by mail from a company that offered to consult with us about this situation. They sent us a copy of the NYSDEC Spill No. 0912439 report that was filed.

On 3/2, I was not satisfied with the $75 credit because we still had strong fumes in the house; and I believed, and still do, that we lost more than 3 gallons of oil. We have had to open windows each day, and the weather is not warm. I called Meenan at 4:12p and spoke with Christine. I was told that Jim left for the day and that he would return my call the next day.

On 3/3, at 12:36p, I called Meenan and spoke with Christine. I told her that Jim had not returned my call yet. I explained my situation to her, and she said that she would have someone come out the next day at 8a-12n to service the odor. At about 5:45p, Kurt called to say that Jim just called him and that he would be calling me shortly. I never received that call.

On 3/4, at 10:30a, the tech (Joe) arrived. He went downstairs to attempt the odor situation. At the same time, we had an oil delivery. A 169.3-gallon delivery did not sit right with me. Since we opened contract with Meenan in March 2009, the most oil delivered to us was 108.0 gallons which tells me that we lost much more than 3 gallons.

want my house back to where it was before the first tech came. I want fairness as well." Jim apologized and offered to waive our contract renewal fee plus the $75 credit that was already promised. I agreed, and we ended there.

My husband and I left. When we returned, about a little after 5p, I turned the water on; and it was cold. My husband called again and was told we have a 5-hour wait. Two hours later, we realized that there is no heat as well. My husband called again and spoke with Ariel. At 9:27p, the tech (Ed) arrived. He checked the problem and found that a wire was loose off the primary. No paperwork was given to us.

I don't know what else to say about this annoying situation. I have never, in my entire life, gone through anything like this; and to top it off, I now have a $546.46 delivery bill to be aggrieved about. Now is this any way to treat a valued customer? I would think not.

There is more from the DEC. My husband and I spoke with Dave from DEC. He asked me a few questions about what happened, and I exhaustively explained to him the entire unfortunate mishap. He was mainly interested in what caused the spill and if it was cleaned up. He told me to call back next week and that he would be contacting Meenan today. Depending on the information he gathers from me and Meenan, he may have to send an inspector out. I am still waiting but also hoping that this nightmare ends soon.

At this point, you no longer want to deal with them because you don't trust them. In two weeks, you get a call saying that because you hadn't had an inspection. You are now liable for the early termination fee, which by the way differs from account to account. With this plan, they receive money when they have done nothing to warrant it. If this happens to 50 people a week, Petro has collected $ 1,500.00 for no work done. I plan on pursuing this matter and writing to any website that has complaints about Petro.

The driver left a bill for the 117 gallons, at a price designated by Petro. I have contacted the company multiple times, in writing, advising that 1) our contractual and legal relationship is terminated, 2) their actions were sharp practice, 3) since the oil is in my tank, I will make a payment at the market price averaged from four local vendors. To summarize, after I had deliberately let my contract with Petro expire, Petro made an unsolicited delivery at a time and in a manner which precluded me from stopping it. Further, the company has ignored my letters, which were sent both to the local office and the credit office. Fortunately, Petro did not damage any of my heating equipment, but their sharp practice cheats people and does financial damage.

This does not make sense. To make matters worse, I had my radiator in my hallway replaced the very next day and my plumber guy told me my oil gauge was at 3/4 tank when I asked him. So, if oil was delivered to my house the day before, my oil gauge should have been way over 3/4 and not on 3/4. I am not sure what has happened, but something is not right here. I have my thermostat set on 66 to make sure that I am being efficient with my oil consumption and I turn off my heat once I am not home. This does not make sense and now I have a $323 bill to pay for service I feel I have not received.

My husband has had kidney failure about 1.5 yrs ago and is currently on dialysis. His medicines are very expensive and money is very tight with us. We trusted Petro Oil to charge us for what is delivered. I have been reading reviews on Petro Oil, and it is not good. So many people have encountered the same problem that I am having. I don't know what to do and I am a bit annoyed that no one has seen it fit to investigate this company. The reports are the same and yet they are allowed to continue to take advantage of people.

I called on Saturday, and asked why there was a delivery and was told that the delivery dept. would call me on Monday. On Monday, there was no call so, I left another message. Tuesday, my brother called and was told that the message would be given to the sales person in charge of my two accounts and would call back. On Wednesday, Mary called. I explained the situation and she was to speak to her supervisor and call me back within the 1/2 hr. It is now Friday evening and still no one has called. Am I expected to pay top dollar for a delivery I did not give permission for?

Now, having only two accounts, I too, was given the riot act, a $400 termination fee. I remained a customer, because I was dealing with the death of my mother. Now, after receiving a $621 oil delivery for 183.7 gallons, I decided to check the renewal of this year's contract. Included is a charge for $99.95, for a water heater I don't even have, at either of the two locations! The contracts are dated 12/18/09. Am I legally responsible to pay a termination fee?

I didn't have a problem with them at all really, until they filled up my tank in May. This basically assured that I would have a full tank of oil sitting there in my basement all summer, which of course was completely useless and not something I budgeted for. Turns out, it was more useless than I thought. At the end of the summer, when I went to fire up the boiler to test it out, I found out that it had died on me. It was time to buy a new one. I put a hold on oil deliveries while I researched options. Of course, this meant constant calls from Petro salesmen to try to sell me a new boiler. My wife informed them that we were unsure if we were going with oil or gas. A Petro salesman actually told my wife that if she cared about our family, she would go oil because gas is a risk for an explosion that could burn down the house.

Yes, Petro actually told me going with gas could cost us our lives. At this point, I decided I would not be buying a boiler from Petro and made a conversion to gas. Not ready to quietly go away, Petro sent me a bill for $400 for an early termination fee. Let me remind you that at no time when I signed up was I informed of an early termination fee. I guess that is why you read all the fine print instead of just trusting a salesperson. I told them fine, keep delivering me oil until my contract runs out. I just won't be using any of it and after one fill-up, they won't be able to give me any more. At that point, they cancelled my contract and said I immediately owed them $400.

I have since filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau that has still not been resolved. The point of this is to hopefully sway just one person away from signing a contract with Petro. Their sales practices are deceiving and border on criminal in my opinion. Do a Google search for "Petro Oil" and the second match is Consumer Complaints about Petro Oil. I am attaching links below for anyone who wants to find out more. There are countless complaints out there against Petro Oil. Please learn from my mistake and the mistakes of others and take your business elsewhere.

She spoke very unprofessionally and I told her that I was not renewing my maintenance. I then asked about the price and why it was $3.75 per gallon, if that could be adjusted. She said, "No." Meanwhile, I was scheduled the next day for a tune-up before my contract expired. She cancelled all of my services. Then, of course, my boiler did not seem to turn on and I called them, because I know my current contract has not expired. I called Petro to send someone and they said it doesn't matter if I have a contract, I am no longer a customer and they will fully charge me to service my boiler. I went on to explain that I have a current contract that is not up and insisted on speaking with a manager. They told me there was no manager, but would have someone call me. They never called.

I immediately called Petro and told them I wanted to cancel my contract. I cannot even tell you how hard they made it for me to cancel. The woman was condescending and telling me that I used so much oil last year that it wasn't a good idea for me to stop the automatic deliveries. She said instead, I should take less deliveries. I demanded her to cancel my contract and that was the end of the call. I got no confirmation and when I asked her, she said it would take a few days for it to process. I am going to call next week to verify if it was cancelled.

I suggested using the boiler service as part of the termination fee bill and I never heard back until almost 6 months later. It was a hardship then and it is a hardship now. I am 67 and worked to pay off the original bill. I went from May until August without hot water until I could find a company cheap enough.

Consequences: Financial difficulties paying other bills to get them paid. No one was listening to me. I wanted them done and they were done. I was shocked at the new charges and it affected my work. I am depressed at getting the charges again now so much later. No hot water for 4 months. I am still working and need money to live. My retirement isn't enough. I am 67.

I spoke to them and they gave me the runaround. We paid them - it was robbery, as far as I'm concerned - and waited until our contract expired to cancel the contract (otherwise, they'd charge us a penalty fee of $600). When the contract expired, we found a new, local heating oil provider at a better price. But when I called Petro to cancel our account, they were difficult. The person I spoke to wanted to argue with me. I was polite, but asked for written confirmation that our account had been cancelled. We haven't received that, but I'm looking forward to it. Now Petro is leaving voicemail for us, asking us to call them back to discuss our account. I'm not interested in speaking to them. They stole $1000 from us, as far as I'm concerned. There's nothing more to discuss. I see that we're not the only ones who've had problems with Petro. Just a terrible, terrible company. Avoid!

But a few months later, I get a $599 cancellation charge that I never agreed to in writing or verbally! Now, I read that other people were charged only $300 for cancelling. I spoke with a Michelle ** who apologized about my early experience with the office and told me that indeed contracts were re-negotiated back then. I offered to resume my service if they give me the market rate and cancel the charge. So when Petro was willing to re-negotiate months ago, today they won't?

Oil, right now with another oil co. is $2.19 per gallon, and we wanted to switch to them. This time, my husband spoke to them over the phone and really asked the woman a lot of questions and gave his remarks about how low the price of oil is all around the Commonwealth of Massachusetts! Their answer? They already purchased the oil and get this - they had to pay an additional 50 cents per gallon for their oil! What reputable oil company has to pay insurance for oil? I guess Petro does! So, my husband threw out a scenario. He asked them, what if I refuse any more deliveries and I get my tank filled up by another oil company? Petro considered that a breach of contract, and would charge us $599 for a broken contract!

We are at the point now where we are sending Petro a small amount of money each month - whatever we can afford! But it's never enough money for Petro! One more thing, my husband, my three kids and I live in a low-income housing development. The housing authority owns our burners, and each May, housing has them cleaned by their own oil company (not Petro!). I tried to explain this to Petro, when they were pitching their oil burner service. However, it would be a violation against housing if I went along and did this. We don't own our burner, housing does! We have no intention of renewing our contract this summer, but we certainly intend to pay off our bill, little by little.

At that time, I was told my account was caught up and no further payments needed to be made. However, the following week I received another oil delivery. When I called Petro about this, I was told the oil could be siphoned out of my tank. A week went by and nothing was ever done so I followed up with Petro again. At that time, I was told the oil could not be pulled out of my tank. Customer Service explained the only thing that could be done was that no late charges would be applied to my account since they made the mistake. I was satisfied with that and began to pay the usual $150/month this time without double payments because of their error!

I began getting threatening phone calls from the credit dept. because they showed my account was past due. I tried many times to explain to countless people the account shows past due but that's because I'm paying on a delivery of oil that I didn't ask for and I didn't have an "extra" $800 to pay so I was told I could make my usual payments without having to settle in full. I called Petro again and asked for my print-out at the end of the year and was shocked to find out that I had been charged $8000 for oil from '06-'08 for a small 2-bedroom apartment.

When I called Customer Service about this, I was told they estimate how many times per month they should deliver and based on the fact that I had a 300-gallon tank and the winter was unusually cold, they were making 2 deliveries instead of 1. But I informed them when I opened the account I had a 250-gallon tank, and I was never ever told Petro would make a double delivery in 1 month!!! I had my landlord write me a letter explaining the oil tank size. I mailed that in to Petro as instructed by Customer Service but my account was never adjusted with credits for charging me for a 300-gallon tank. I called the credit dept. to find out about the credit and was told that not only are they not going to adjust my account, I was being charged late fees even after I was told I would not be charged a late fee on my account for paying off a delivery that was made to me after my account was closed.

This company can never help me, the customer. They just want money. They made the mistake of delivering after I closed the account; they should have to eat that cost. Yesterday, 3/9/09, I got a letter in the mail from Petro telling me that if I don't pay the balance in full within 7 days, my account is going to collections and/or a lawyer!!!! I was making payments to my account until December '08 because I was told my account was going to be adjusted when the letter from my landlord was reviewed and it never was. Also, I was still being charged late fees. I discontinued payment until those issues were resolved and because they weren't, I haven't paid Petro in 2 months. Now I get a threatening letter!

I am angry and feel that I have been taken and I can't believe nothing can be done to them. I have been a customer for 15 years and have a contract with them. The girl at Petro said, "Well, I can take a $100 off and give you 3 months to pay without any penalties." (HOW NICE OF THEM.) I feel they are trying to take advantage of this lock-in program to get rich. They should be ashamed of themselves and I will be using someone else. I hope all the people who feel the same way as I do do the same and get another oil company because their greed will someday take its toll.

On November 17th, I called to let Petro know that we wished to end our contract. The person on the phone was very nice and informed me he understood that market rates were down, and then informed me that due to overpayment on my account, I had a credit of $452.00, would I like a check sent to me? We also discussed the fact that I had NOT once in two years received a paper statement from Petro, and had no knowledge of the overpayment.

I did request a check, and there was no mention of a cancellation fee, as I had waited until the day I had been told I could make changes to the account. I received a full refund of the $452 in the mail and cashed the check. We have now received monthly bills for the $299.00 cancel of the account, and have called in each month to dispute. In January and Feb, we were told that a supervisor would call us back, we heard from no one. In March, I was told we had cancelled early and there was NO WAY the rep had not mentioned the cancellation fee. When I asked about the $452 refund, and if the rep had mentioned a fee, why would it have been returned to us?

We are now receiving bills with late fees added on to the cancellation fee. On the March call, I requested a copy of the call log on my account and was told it was property of Petro, and I could not have it. By the way, Petro did still make a delivery in December 2008, and while it was small, I paid the bill. So we did get deliveries through December. The next step is for Petro to turn us over to collections, as they will not take the fee off. On the March call, I was also told I would get a call to listen to the recorded conversation of me acknowledging the contract at the annual renewal, but there has been no call. Please help!

In January 2009, I received a bill for a 3 month fill-up at the old address, as well as a bill for the delivery made at my current residence. I spoke to ** (supervisor). She told me it was the sales girl's mistake that she did not write down any info on the new contract account that it was replacing the old account. She would either remove the fuel delivered at the old address and keep it for my next delivery at my now residence, or she would offer it to the new tenants living at the old address (since Oct. 1), which most probably they would do. She told me my name is removed from the old account, and I only have one account listed where I currently live. She was going to call me when one of the above options had been done.

Today, Feb. 25, 2009, I received another invoice again for the old address, still issued to my name and wanting the balance paid. I tried to contact **. They said she was on a conference call. I said I'd hold. They told me she'd be over an hour on the phone and she'd call back. I have not been contacted back. Note: I had given ** all the details of the owner of my former address. I do not know the name of the tenants living there. I think there is something very fishy with this company, Petro.

Even after that, I did not receive the promised follow-up and dealt with a customer service rep named Nancy that not only was unhelpful, but very inappropriate in the tone of both her verbal and written communications. Another rep named Tiffany was WONDERFUL and helped when it wasn't even her job. An email expressing dissatisfaction to Nancy’s supervisor went unacknowledged.

Both times, he was told that the charges would be removed. On January 19, 2008, we received a call from Accounts Receivable about the past due amount, which was the $376.90, the charges for the Service Contract. I explained to the representative our situation and he told me that I would have to call the Customer Service dept. at Petro (800-645-4328). I called the office to explain that we would not be getting the Service Contract, but that we wanted the Care Coverage and had already paid for it. I asked that the charges for the Service Contract be removed from our statement. The representative put me on hold and returned to tell me that we needed to have the Service Contract in order to get the Care Coverage, so I then told her to remove both and to credit the account for the charges for the Care Coverage.

She then told me that I needed to speak to someone from the Care Dept. and she put me on hold. She returned after a few minutes to tell me all the reps were busy and that someone would call me back in a few minutes. I never received a call. I then called back about two hours later and spoke to another representative and she told me she would remove the charges and she put me on hold. When she returned, she told me that I could not have the Care Coverage without the Service Contract. I told her to remove both and credit our account. She told me she was unable to do that from her office and gave me the number to the Care Dept. (888-754-8800).

I called the Care Dept. and spoke to a man and explained the situation. He told me that we could not have the Care Coverage without the Service Contract and that the Care Coverage was an addendum to the Service Contract. I asked why it was sent as two separate contracts and billed separately. He told me that we could add the Care Coverage at any date, but had to have the Service Contract also. I told him we wanted neither, and that we wanted our account credited for the $114.92 that we paid for the Care Coverage, since we never really had it anyway, because we had never signed for the Service Contract. He put me on hold and returned to tell me since we signed the Care Coverage contract in October 2008, it was past the sixty-day cancellation date, and that they couldn't credit us the $114.92.

I told him that was ridiculous and I said that we never really had the Care Coverage if we never had the Service Contract, because you had to have the one to have the other. He told me he would have his manager (Donna **) call me back. She never called me back but I did receive another call from Accounts Receivable later that afternoon, about the past due account.

My husband and I feel that we should be credited the $114.92 because we never really had the Care Coverage since we never signed the Service Contract and we never utilized the services from the Care Coverage.

WITH TECHNOLOGY the way it is, there must be a place that ends the service on the last day... if that is what the consumer wants and indicates NO TERMINATION FEE. I also received a service contract this year that was $200 more than last year (for what). I called and they said of the computer must have miscalculated.... By the way this is the 3rd year it miscalculated. PETRO is hoping to get away with this. THIRD, I called posing as a new consumer and asked about pricing.... They said my oil would be $3.09 per gallon and with a cap of $3.99. I then said, how is it that PETRO (one of the largest heating oil suppliers) is $3.09 when ALLIANCE (a regional Heating Oil Supplier in Maryland) is $2.16 and their contract is $179.00?

The contract has no provision to go below the $3.97/gal pricing. Petro tells me it will cost me $299.00 to get out of the contract. The Petro rep immediately stated she would bring my monthly rate to $400.00/month. I asked her about the extra monies I had sent in and she said it was in my account and we would reconcile at the end of this new contract??? I asked her if she could use this monies during the holiday season and she replied YES and so did I. I requested a check be issued immediately and a complete reconciliation statement be mailed to me as well. I just received the check (no statement) and immediately deposited it. I had my partner call them a few days later to get pricing and only representing (1) home.

The following was offered: Ceiling package: $3.09/gal max price, spot purchase: $2.54/gal. I know there are oil companies that are less expensive, don't have as nice trucks, etc., however enough is enough.. I have a 275 gal tank and at a $1.43 delta/gal that equals $393.00/tank difference. This is another time where the big company takes advantage the common folk and as for the Morton Civic Association, they need to have an attorney look into this contract and get everyone monies back with interest and renegotiate another contract with a reputable company not crooks and make sure to have a contract attorney review the contract in order to avoid this mistake again.

Early in October, I received a letter from Petro asking about third party notification in case you're having trouble paying your bills. This letter had an account number attached to my name. I immediately called Petro to explain that I didn't renew any contract with them and they inadvertently sent me the letter. I was told I automatically renewed and for a $299.00 cancellation fee I can get out of the contract.

I explained that I didn't even renew my membership with the Civic Association. At this point, I was told the Civic gave them my name and that's it, I'm automatically a customer. Petro hasn't delivered any oil to my home or has Petro tuned up my burner, basically Petro has done nothing for me. But yet because someone has given them my name, I'm expected to pay them $299.00.

The next day they did call us back and told my wife that we were going to be charged a $399 cancellation charge. My wife called me enraged that we could be charged for cancelling an unauthorized renewal. I contacted Petro and said that the old contract was still in effect and we are cancelling the renewal. The person I spoke with said that we were liable for the cancellation charge. I said we were cancelling before the renewal went into effect and because I misspoke when I said I was authorized to renew my wife's contract. She replied that if we had called within 24 hours, perhaps something could have been done but now, some 40 hours later, it was too late... we were going to be charged for cancelling.

If this matter goes to collections or damages our credit ratings in any way, as they imply will be their next course of action, can we sue them? Do we have any recourse for the unethical and overly aggressive treatment we received? Can punitive damages be sought by us in small claims court? Do we pay the $399 and then sue for it? Is this renewal/verbal contract valid or enforceable?

Your company has just lost a loyal customer, who for the last 10 years has always paid promptly and in full. I now wonder how often in the past I've been overcharged. Being a person of integrity I will pay my bill, as always, in full, knowing your company is taking an extra $46.28 that I could have saved by dealing with a more competitive and reputable company. I will guarantee you however that your $46.28 extra profit will be gobbled up quickly by the cost of bad Public Relations. In your numbers game I suppose you figure that people like me who scrutinize the system are easily offset by the ignorant masses that can be taken advantage of. This is why I will be educating your potential and possibly current customers where I work and elsewhere.

The Collingswood Public School system employs approximately 300 people that I'm sure will be amused when they read my e-mailed experience dealing with Petro. Hopefully they will share this knowledge with others, who will also share it with others, and so on, and so on. When I think of all the economically disadvantaged people that you are knowingly taking advantage of in these tough economic times, you are not much different than the CEOs in the stock market who made themselves wealthy upon the suffering of the middle class. In parting I leave you some words of wisdom. The little pigs shall be fed, but the HOGS will be slaughtered.

P.S. If morally you feel compelled to return my $46.28, I will gladly accept it as your parting gift.

I told him that I was going to replace it next year and I don't want to spend any more than I already agreed to. He spoke several times to his supervisor and felt he could do the work for the original price and he did. The system ran for a day and I noticed an oil leak under the oil tank and a water leak under the boiler. I called Petro, they sent out a salesperson that wanted to sell me a boiler for $6000 and a oil tank for $2000. I called and asked if any of this was covered under the contract and I was told that it should be and that they should not have filled the tank without testing it first.

I attempted to speak to a supervisor several times while oil was leaking out of my tank and water leaking out of my boiler. I called several times on the Thursday before Labor Day. I expressed the urgency of the matter. I asked the Supervisor's name Chris **. I did not get a return call until Tuesday afternoon. Mr. ** gave me the impression that I was trying to get away with something and that Petro was not responsible. He offered to send out an emergency oil tank that I could use for two hours for a cost of $550. I told him to take his parts and his oil and he could keep his contract that I was charged for. His response was, "We can't do that." I have been cleaning oil and water out of my basement since. They are attempting to collect $1,612.86 at this point. Please help.

I believe an oil company should be able to sell their oil at some reasonable price over spot (that which they paid for it) but in an economic climate that is the worst since the depression, this overpricing seems to be irresponsible and in fact, highway robbery. Further to this, I have a contract with Petro which locks me into purchasing oil from them until 10/2009. If I cancel with them before that date, the company says they will charge me a $399 early termination fee for leaving them. Again, this is excessive and over the top. I don't even know if this is enforceable in the courts.

Being I had to lock in a rate by tomorrow, I was forced to lock in at a much higher rate than it would have been last week or even 2 weeks ago. I feel that Petro's tactics are less than honest and feel I am being profiled and penalized just because I am calling every day to beat them at their own game, which is my prerogative as a consumer. I have been a loyal customer with Petro for 8 years. They are higher than any other oil company on Long Island and they penalize you for being a loyal customer. I would like a full investigation of this please and hopefully they will take notice that they can't just rip off people because they are loyal paying customers. I called other oil companies and they are almost $1.00 cheaper per gallon!!!!

She also told me we were due for a delivery in April, I also argued the point that this is only March and once again I called up and told them NOT to make anymore deliveries since we were planning on having our oil tank removed and the oil tank company that removes tanks told us NOT to get anymore oil put in the tank.

Maryann told me she was able to get a hold of the recording that was taped when I had called in, but i also told her i had called on a Saturday and spoke to a woman in her office and told her we were going to cancel the account. Maryann told me that nobody works there on weekends which I totally disagree, since people do run out of oil, how are they suppose to get a hold of somebody? So Maryann told me she could give me a break on the oil price and put me on a payment plan. I told her that was not good enough for me, i want the oil REMOVED. She then offered to put a temporary tank up and syphen the oil out of the old tank into there temporary one. Once again, i told her NO, I do not want this oil and that she needed to come remove it. She again told me that would not happen.

This month(06/04), I received a statement with a late fee charge added to the $54.26 and my due is $55.20. I don't know what to do to get someone attention about this matter. This is why I am writing you this letter. I really need your help. Please help me look into it. Thanks a million