A West Tisbury resident has filed a complaint against an Island fuel provider with the state attorney general’s office, claiming that his and other Islanders’ fuel tanks weren’t adequately filled over the winter.
Michael Bellissimo filed the complaint on March 19, stating that AmeriGas, a propane provider, filled tanks with only a week’s worth of fuel on two occasions, and caused him to worry he’d run out of fuel; he said that other customers had similar issues on the Island.
“On both occasions we were left with just a week’s supply of propane, which during a normal winter would be sufficient. Not so this winter,” Bellissimo’s filing reads. Bellissimo added that Vineyard Propane, before it was taken over by AmeriGas, was a reliable and trustworthy service, but AmeriGas’ call center has been outsourced, and they are “incapable of responding.”
The West Tisbury resident noted that companies typically fill a tank completely, but the company was filling tanks to only 50 percent, and his tank and others were dipping to 10 percent at times. In comments to The Times, Bellissimo said that AmeriGas has been responsive since complaints were filed with the company.
AmeriGas sent a note to customers in March noting that it had issues getting enough supply to the Island because of transportation issues.
“Due to challenges with the Steamship Authority, outside of our control, we have been limited in the amount of propane supply coming over to the Island,” reads a statement from the company sent to Island customers in early March. “As a result, we will be short-filling (filling to less than 80 percent) some customer tanks from now through approximately the end of March. This allows us to make more deliveries to more customers, limiting interruptions in service.”
In a follow-up, a spokesperson for AmeriGas, Brilynn Johnson, said that it has not charged customers for additional deliveries that needed to be made because of the shortage. She also noted that having to make extra deliveries because of the shortage has lowered productivity.
Johnson did not have a specific number of cancellations from Steamship ferries, but said that there were a significant amount this winter, compared with past years, that led to the challenges.
But Steamship officials refute any claim that there have been more cancellations this winter of hazmat vessels — trips that take propane and other materials to the Island. Steamship communications director Sean Driscoll said that they have not had a rash of cancellations this year, compared with prior years.
Other fuel suppliers on the Island reached by The Times said they have not had issues this year, and were able to get fuel to customers in a meaningful way.
For Bellissimo, he’s hopeful that filing the complaint with the attorney general’s office will speed up a resolution. He believes that the Steamship bears responsibility, and notes that while a canceled ferry has its inconveniences, when supplies start being affected, that’s a larger issue.
A spokesperson for the AG’s office said that it does not comment on specific complaints, but acknowledged that they have received complaints over AmeriGas. The office encourages consumers to file a complaint if they believe a propane company has violated a home heating contract.
Consumer information and tips regarding entering into contracts for unregulated utilities may be viewed on the AGO’s website at bit.ly/MA_UnregulatedUtilities.
This issue is years in the making. The company should get a hefty fine and perhaps have their license to operate revoked. When they failed to fulfill auto-fill commitments for my house and family members, I wrote to the AG, who claimed to be conducting an investigation. The next time my tank got to 10%, I called and they told me that I had already received a delivery. When I told them that was a grill tank, not a 500 gallon tank used for heat and hot water, they blithered incoherently. I switched to Rymes the next day and have never had an issue. There are dozens of people with similar stories.
Gee, Star Propane was able to keep our tank well filled. Glad we left Amerigas!
It wasn’t that cold this winter
Was it colder than the average of the last ten years?
They left my granddaughter with a 7 week old baby and 5 year old out of heat for 6 days in February. We all called the emergency line several times either no answer or they would talk because it was not our house.
The thing about gas is, it can be a really stinky situation. If you lived with my wife you would understand.
I would be surprised if the AG’s office does anything. A bigger issue is underground tanks. Some of these propane companies, like Rymes, will give you a free underground tank but not tell they will be selling you gas at a much higher rate, will raise your fees annually, and then surprise you with a minimum usage amount. Then if you complain, they tell you to dig the tank out of the ground and return it to them! I know one customer who did not want to disturb their lawn by digging tank up and offered to give them a brand new tank, but Rymes said they only wanted the old tank back to make it more difficult. To make matters worse, propane is an unregulated utility in Massachusetts. That needs to change. This news reporter needs to expand his scope.
For those affected, I will get to the answer we are entitled to- uninterrupted service. If you have a 500 gal tank, switching entails digging up and replacing the tank at your expense. Further, everytime the SSA cancels a hazmat boat and does not replace it that day, that means that propane, gas, and other hazardous supplies cannot be brought over. They have cancelled many early freight boats this winter causing a back up in deliveries, by my calculation 25% of the time. As usual, both companies are obfuscating the truth. No more!
I had to switch to Island Propane Inc. They don’t have all the unexpected fees that Amerigas bills. Like annual tank rental. Amerigas would over bill me for a delivery and then keep the extra charges on my account to charge me for bills on rentals and delivery fees that I never got billed for. They told me it is all on the website and I clicked the little box that say I accept everything in their policies. They went from annual signed contracts to this internet scam. You call for support and get told someone will email you a decision. They never ever get back to you. Go local!
This was several years ago, but we had problems with Amerigas, switched to Star and never had another problem.
Same here.
When I moved to MV in 1978, there was only one guy selling gas for the entire island. Manny Estrella would show up with a pick-up truck loaded with 100 lb. (about 22 gallon) tanks and switch out your empty tank carefully checking for leaks with his lighter. Of course you’d have to do your part and watch for the little red “empty” indicator and give him a call so he would know to bring you a new tank load. I imagine he would have chuckled at the idea of an auto refill program. He told me I had installed one of the few gas furnaces on the island at the time. I had done the math and gas was a give-away compared with oil or electric and I was used to gas heat having come from St. Louis where natural gas was provided to just about every house in the city and county.
Rymes, for all their New Hampshire address, has treated us very well in the years since we switched to them. We’ve never run out of gas in the house and rental property we have; they’ve always been courteous and responsive. They give us a bit of a break because of volume for the two dwellings.
Is Amerigas the company that used to belong to the Estrellas?
Sara, the Estrellas owned Vineyard Propane which was bought out by Amerigas. When Amerigas nixed local control, Estrellas opened Star Propane. We switched to Star….they have been and are terrific. Go Local.
The Facebook group, Islanders Talk, offers helpful advice and experiences when considering heating fuel— and just about any other service islanders need.
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