Osterman Propane

You wrote a review for Osterman Propane A moment ago 1.0 star rating4/6/2021 Upon receiving a statement I realized a payment I put in the mail immediately upon receiving a delivery from Osterman got lost in the mail. Thus I wrote another check emailing and enclosing a copy that informed Osterman of both check numbers and instructed them to only cash one of the checks. Osterman cashed the second check on 2/23 and then cashed the lost check soon there after (3/3). I immediately contacted Osterman, regarding the errors. My initial communications were ignored. I had to call due to emails going unanswered. I was put in touch with the Plainfield office. Samantha said she would put in the necessary paperwork to get the refund sent to me. After communications with the sales manager, Stacey, and now again today with Samantha, I was told it takes three to 4 weeks for processing. She said the check was cut on 3/26. That was 10 days ago. It has been over 1 month since I contacted Osterman about the double payment. Today I told Samantha that on my next delivery I will need 3 - 4 weeks to process my next payment and asked if Osterman would be okay with this. She said she was sorry but she does not make these internal decisions. I asked to speak to that individual. I was hung up on. $659.53 has been in their pocket and not mine since March 3rd. Tom Melkus

I had recently purchased a new home with a propane kitchen stove. Prior to closing on the house, I had set up an installation appoint for the a propane tank rental. Having take the day off from work to be there for the installation, upon calling to confirm the installation time, I was told that they had no record of my having called and made no attempts. To fix the situation. Given these horrible first impressions, I decided to use a better propane company.

Osterman is perhaps the worst supplier I have ever dealt with for anything. Nasty customer service people, never do anything when they say they will and have no records of what they have done. If you are dumb enough to allow Osterman propane tanks on your property, they will gouge you and nickel and dime you until you get rid of them. Even after you get rid of them, they will still attempt to bill you. Stay away from Osterman.

I was considering discontinuing services with Osterman. They installed a 120 gal tank for ONE de or active fireplace. The mi I mum usage charge is ridiculous, the tank Roman charge should be FREE for an unsatisfied client. The final decision was in reading all of these reviews. If you think a review is not fair, as a business, do u really think you should throw your customer under the bus in public? The responses made from this company ( out of the 4 top rated on AL) are argumentative and MOSTLY blame the consumer. Whoever is charged customer service response needs educating. It is one thing to defend your company in matters of importance ( charges of inhumanity to children, lack of response to safety issues etc) publicly, but show SOME professionalism. I'm definitely discontinuing service and I am certainly NOT expecting gracious or professional service when I do so. It will be worth the cost not to have to deal with them.

Not particularly happy getting a $59 annual minimum charge and then just two weeks later getting a $250 delivery of the "bargain basement" rate of $6 a gallon propane.

would not use this company again...

Osterman installed a small tank years ago for use by our stove/oven. They clearly do not care about the "smaller" customers who only have a tank for such purposes. I've struggled multiple times to get them out to my house ON TIME according to their estimates, 3-5 business days. When I've called I was first told it would be within 3 business days. I asked if I would be notified when they would actually deliver- no. Ok, fine. Then when I call on day 4 and ask where the delivery is, I was told not today. Ok, when?? Maybe tomorrow or maybe Monday. So now we are at 6 business days out. I reminded them they they told me 3 days when I first called and she then changed her tune and said "I said 3-5". Let's say that was true (which is wasn't!) we are still over 5 days. No "so sorry, let me see what we can do"...no apology whatsoever. I explained I have 2 toddlers that I need to have a stove to cook for and if I had known when I originally called that it would be 6 business days, meaning 8 total days without propane, I would have made other arrangements, is there any way they can work with us to get it out here by tomorrow? She then offered to send someone out here by tomorrow for $100 fee. Even though tomorrow is the last day of their 5 business day window. Wow, thanks for the customer service. We will be replacing them as soon as possible with a propane company that actually meets their timeframes and one who cares about their customers. I would strongly advise anyone against using Osterman.

Was suppose to deliver propane and check for leaks. They delivered and were paid. Found out a few months later when I prematurely ran out of propane that a fitting was leaking. They took no responsibility. I had another company refill the tank and fix the leak.

For the first few years all seemed good as all is new. But starting three years ago, the unit started to show problems with noise and gas leak. It became really bad this year when we had another propane gas service provider review and solve the problem. Some clunking noises can be heard when the furnace kicks on and cools down. It was determined that the "low loss header" was missing when Osterman installed the furnace. They cut corners. This is the piping necessary to regulate the air flow. Called Osterman one week before Thanksgiving. The service manager promised to come and check it out. But he never showed up. I called numerous times to the office. Again, no response. The clerk took the calls and said she would relay the message. But no return calls. A total of 6 calls were made to the Osterman office, but again no return phone call.

I reside in Brockton, Ma. I worked with the Bridgewater office of Osterman Propane. They worked with me to get the propane tank delivered as soon as my property was ready. The Technician, Kevin, was on time, courteous and very helpful. He explained how to read the tank levels and explained when we would need to call for a propane delivery. Colleen was very accommodating, working with my schedule for installation and helped me get all the necessary paperwork in order. I am very please with their customer service.

.

However, I saw no tracks in the snow, so I don't think they actually filled it. They left me a bill, and then they bug about paying. They claim they fill every 2 weeks. It seems that they are charging me full tank and only giving 80%. There is one employee that I like and seems to be honest, the others I am not sure about.

Horrible on auto fill and ran out of gas to heat house came the next morning at 12.noon filled the tank and then wouldn't turn it on because he said the line had a leak and I had to call the emergency service to repair . Well during a leak test all valves must be shut off at the appliance he did not shut them off he couldn't find it (its a big red valve just before the pilot) I called my plumber he did the test every was fine. But he upset my wife and family and the last time I called the emergency service they charged me $280 for an Hour and took apart my fire place and then said they could repair and didn't know how to put back together ! This company is only good for pumping gas, but you better keep an eye on the gauge. Wife called customer service after the plumber turned every thing on and they said the driver was following protocol but had no technical experience in shutting off valves ? So we went with out heat in 1/2 of our house for a weekend with relatives in from Florida for thanksgiving.

I received a call from daughter today, who was home alone at he time and she said men were on my property (3 Acres with a 250' driveway) removing the large propane tank from my back yard. I have never had contact with this firm and don't utilize there services. I have lived in my home for over 5 years without any contact or communication from them. I know the tank was full as I looked at the gauge a few weeks back, and I assumed I owned the fuel in the tank from when I purchased the home. I called the firm and asked questions of what transpired at my home today. The women said it was still registered to the past home owner and they're has been no activity on the account and they picked up the tank. 5 years for them to figure that out has me wondering how accurate and on top of their record keeping they actual are...... I said that I assume ownership of the fuel when I purchased the home and since that they have since taken the tank with the propane fuel that they owed me the money from the full they took from my property. She stated that I needed to share the documents /HUD statement from my closing showing that that it was my fuel. I said that was 5 years ago and that those documents were not accessible. What am I missing here, I will be calling again tomorrow to speak with the Manager to get my money back.

.

I have had good experiences with Osterman Propane. I had a 120gallon tank setup by Osterman, and use propane for hot water and an auxiliary heating stove. I have had them since July 2011. I am on automatic delivery, pay by debit card and they give me up to 30 days after delivery to pay, so I can time payments with my paychecks from work. They have given me no reason to complain and better pricing than some of their competitors, so I think they deserve a high rating from me. I think if you read their contract language and ask questions, you can avoid some of the issues I see reported by others, and enjoy reliable service and reasonable prices. I am continuing to use and recommend them.

unknown

Update - 3-22-2015 What a brutal winter! Thank you Osterman for the incredible service. We reduced our 500 gallon tank to a 250 gallon one in the fall and weren't hadn't figured out our delivery needs. We were almost out on Super Bowl Sunday and called for an emergency delivery. Not only did they arrive within a hour of my call they came by at least once a week throughout February to make sure we never got into that predicament again. Excellent service all around. I contacted Osterman Propane in July 2013 to schedule propane service in our new house. We had deliveries all winter all winter without problem. I was especially grateful they delivered on at least two occassions before we were able to shovel a clear path across our property to the tank in our back yard.

We were customers of Ostermans for over 10 years until one day we had a competitors truck in our driveway on a completely NON-RELATED issue (getting a new furnace) and Osterman took offense to this. They berated us for buying a furnace elsewhere and pretty much insisted we had to buy one from them since they were our fuel provider. Apparently they don't believe in a free market society. The next day, Osterman removed the propane tanks from our property with our PAID FOR fuel inside the tanks. We have a young child and they left us with no heat with a low of 19 degrees out that night. No warning, no phone call, no questions. This company is immoral and a disgrace to the ethical treatment of human safety. I was a satisfied customer for over 10 years, and they'll rip you off without even hesitating. Read the complaints. They are endless. They even have 95 complaints with the BBB!

The work was done in October 2013. There were problems all along the way. A pipe burst within 10 days of the install and flooded our basement. It took weeks and a second leak to finally get Osterman to approve replacement of the defective part. We have had to battle with Osterman because they did not want to take any responsibility for the damages to our property due to the flood. In fact they suggested that we should contact the manufacturer of the defective part. When the second leak occurred we immediately attempted to contact Osterman Propane to repair it before another flood occurred. It took them more than two days to finally get back to us. They have not been honest or forthcoming when we tried to meet with a manager to discuss the issues arising from the install and resulting flood. We actually had one employee directly contradict another in front of us concerning our account. They promised that we would not pay sales tax if we signed the contract by the end of August. The sales rep made changes to the contract and send it to us the morning of August 30 and we promptly signed and returned it on that date. Now they are trying to tell us that "the end of the month" actually meant before midnight August 29 so we will have to pay almost $1000 in taxes after all. There are many other issues related to our contract and install experience which would take pages to explain. This has been a nightmare experience that has gone on for months and still has no final resolve in sight and it is now late February 2014. Our insurance company is still fighting to get reimbursement for our losses. We have even resorted to contacting a lawyer. We can't wait to sever all ties with this disreputable company! I would not under any circumstances do business with them again or recommend them to anyone.

We signed up to have them supply propane for our fireplace insert. They wouldn't put it on a regular delivery since we "don't use enough" propane. They only deliver on one day per week to our area so you have to schedule for that day. There are ridiculous service charges for going empty (they have to spend an extra 2 min to prime the tank). They aren't really competitive on pricing but they did supply a tank without rent. We've never been late with a payment or objected to payment of the silly empty tank fee the one time it happened. The final straw was when they sent us a bill for $85 for not using enough propane. That was after we got a delivery of $250 worth of propane. That delivery put us over the minimum but we were a few day's outside of the year's deadline as they measure it. When I contacted them to inquire and see if they'd consider waiving the fee they were very rude. They siad it was in my contract and I should've known. Then they sent a registered letter saying if we don't pay the fee immediately they'd come take our tank and charge us an additional $99. I called after receiving that letter and after speaking with the rude operator, she transferred me to a supervisor (even more rude) who said that she could waive the fee but wouldn't. This isn't my idea of good business or caring for a reliable paying customer. I guess they just don't want non-commercial accounts. Anyway, I'm done with these people and I suggest anyone looking for a propane supplier avoid them unless you like being nickle and dimed everywhere and being treated rudely. FWIW - My neighbor also has free tank rental from another supplier and currently gets his propane for almost $1.00 less per gallon than we're being charged, He has had no fees, or nasty letters for using them for his fireplace insert.

Working with propane requires extra safety; only certified propane technicians can do the work and the Town requires preliminary and final inspections for safety. The extra safety increases the cost; my project cost $634.38. The Osterman Propane Service Department didn?t call my Town inspector to learn my Town?s building codes for installing a copper gas line in a brick chimney; my Town inspector needed a PVC sleeve in the brick chimney for the gas line. The installation Osterman Propane Service Department did failed inspection and had to be done again. The Osterman Propane Service Department didn?t ask my Town inspector when he works; my Town inspector only answers calls on Tuesday and Thursday. The Osterman Propane Service Department ?do-over? took an extra month of time. I expected the Osterman Propane Service Department to take responsibility for the project schedule. Osterman didn?t apologize for making a mistake and they didn?t make any special effort to catch up on lost time. They stopped answering telephone calls and started communicating with incomplete emails. The Osterman Propane technicians didn?t wear shoe booties when they came into my house. They made a mess that I had to clean up. I think Osterman Propane needs to step up their customer service.

Until last year my propane service was provided by Energy USA Propane . The account was purchased by Osterman propane. Within a brief period I was notified that my automatic delivery has been cancelled, ostensibly due to the fact I had not used enough propane. I was satisfied that this was alright since my propane use was not that great and was compounded by somewhat sporadic us and I accepted the fact that I would have to call them when I ran low. Approximately two weeks ago I received a invoice in the amount of $85.00 as a fee for not using enough propane. This is infuriating to say the least and raises some serious questions regarding consistency with state and federal energy conservation policies. Needless to say I will be giving serious consideration as to continuing my relationship with such a greedy company following the end of this heating season.

Once they were here to provide service and the service was professional but they were somewhat delayed in calling me back. The services were good but the wait for service was longer than anticipated

It’s how they treat their community. They’re very efficient. Other than that they deliver whenever you call them.