Downeast Energy

I'll start by saying that the customer service personnel in both locations (Brunswick and Dover) are friendly and polite. However their plans, contracts, and online account information are not clear, and their billing practices are questionable. I first started receiving oil deliveries during the winter of 2013-2014, automatic delivery with 30 day billing. My expectation was that they would need a short period of time to determine how often they would need to deliver oil, based on my usage, average daily temperature, and the size of my oil tank. However, during all of that winter they came every 2-4 weeks regardless of how much oil I used. This meant that oil bills ranging from $200 - $400 came sometimes twice a month at arbitrary intervals. This made budgeting exceedingly difficult, but I never missed a payment. I tried to work with the DE customer service to reduce the frequency of deliveries, as it doesn't make sense to deliver oil, then schedule a delivery for two weeks later when I'm only down a quarter of a tank. On several occasions I was told that 'this would be the last time', when in fact it was not. For the winter of 2014-15, they began delivery again when I was only about a quarter of a tank down. I was determined not to repeat the pattern, and while their oil prices remain higher than some of the other companies in the area, I was reluctant to switch. I decided to go with the prepayment plan from November to May. I had to convince the customer service person to base the monthly payment on my usage last year, and not add 10% 'just in case'. The staff person said that they would send me a payment booklet, and I would start paying a fixed monthly amount through May. During this time, they slowed down the deliveries to occur when I actually needed them instead of every few weeks. I never received a payment booklet, and the online account information did not reflect that I was enrolled in a fixed payment plan. I called to confirm that I was indeed enrolled, and the staff person assured me that I was, and that I would receive the payment booklet 'soon'. To this day I have not received a payment booklet, though I consistently made each of my payments. To this day the website still does not reflect any contract details or plan enrollment. Fast forward to today (end of April), and I found myself with a large balance left over and 3/4 of my tank full. I called to see how the refund would be handled, and to confirm that I would not need to make the May payment. The customer service person in Brunswick said that while I didn't need to make the final payment, my 'contract' was until September 2015, and I would not be refunded the balance until October. She referred me to the Dover office where another customer service person reiterated this. I said that this was not acceptable to me, that they would hold onto a balance of almost $600 for 6 months before they would refund me. I then asked what it would take for me to cancel the contract because I would like to switch oil companies. The customer service person promised to call me back and discussed this with the office manager. In under an hour she called me back to say they would refund me the balance and move me to a 'will call' plan, with 30 days billing. Though I am happy with the end result, I am disappointed with this level of service. I will be working with another oil company next winter.

On a positive note, I do have an oil burner service contract with them (about $300 per year), and when you need burner service, they are right there (very responsive) and have had situations where this has come in very handy, saving lots of money in repair costs. They are very responsive with emergency services, but you will need to plan ahead for routine maintenance for appointment times. However, I am unsure if I will sign up with them again next year with an oil delivery contract.

Good service. Good price. Good support

The guys they sent to look at the job had no clue of what they were doing and or looking for. They can deliver fuel and leave it at that. Forget repairs.

Called for service under a service plan and response was immediate. The service person was thorough and stayed as long as necessary to ensure that the furnace was again working properly. He could have left sooner, but stayed to observe several cycles of operation. He also replaced any components that were questionable, regardless of whether they were the source of the problem.

Will be updating them in the spring.

Arrived in plenty of time, worked efficiently, were done in 90 minutes, we were able to cook immediately.

Totally pleased with the professionalism, both with customer service rep. and the repairman.

There isn't anything about their services that I don't like. I think that the price is fair. The people that I have talked to there are pretty nice. They are very responsive. I haven't had any problems with them at all. I have ran out before which was my fault but they show up when they say they are going to.

They were wonderful. He had it fixed in 30 to 45 minutes and then he left. It was fine. I didn't think it was going to be as inexpensive and I thought something major was going to be wrong.

We decided to use them because we had gone with them for a number of years when we lived in another home. They are good but the price is not as good as some other companies. Their service was good; they were responsive and came when they said they would. They were professional.

I have been doing business with them for over 30 years. I have a system that gives me a call if the power goes out and I am not home. I just really trust them. When you live in Maine your heat is very important, and it is critical that your deliveries are on time and your tank does not run out. We have a service where we buy oil in advanced so we get a fixed price. Their service is always great, they are there when you need them, and they put in a new very expensive heating system that saves us quite a bit of money. They have attached our water heater to our heating unit.

Several times (during the winter) automatic delivery of propane was not performed, and I had to use portable heaters to keep the pipes from freezing. When I called them to ask about the deliveries, I was unable to get "emergency" deliveries without paying a hefty surcharge, despite the fact that the auto-delivery failures were their fault. In three events, they failed to deliver the propane saying that the driveway had not been sufficiently plowed (despite FedEx, UPS, the oil delivery company, and ourselves were able to get in and out). I learned when speaking to a driver one day, that this company makes the DRIVERS pay out of their own pockets for towing or any other expenses incurred if they get stuck, and as a result they are extremely cautious and averse to driving on road conditions that are not "perfect." This policy, in my opinion, reflects very poorly on this company's treatment of employees, and I'll never use them again.

Putting in a new furnace takes days. These guys were a pleasure to have around my house for that time. They were very tidy in the removal of some very nasty old equipment. I did have some problems with the water heater tank. They took care of it that week in 2008. I had another issue with the tank in 2011 and they were right there and took care of it with a pleasant attitude and professionalism. Everyone has always been super nice, even when I kept going into the office because I did not understand the statements with my oil payment plan. Very professional. I did business with the Hallowell Maine office.

I've been with them for 12 years and haven't found anyone more reliable.

They have been great. They are super professional and very responsive. Everything has been excellent.

It's always been satisfactory. I never had a problem. I can't blame them for the price of oil. I do it through a neighborhood association, so we get good prices.

I would recommend them to friends and family. I rate them very highly and plan to use them again in the future.

They are very good, pleasant and efficient. They do an excellent job; they deliver on schedule and follow through if there is something I have to ask them. I would use them again in the future.

Everything about their service was fine. They were there when they said they would be. There were no problems. I would use their services again in the future.

I'm one their customers. It was a nice experience. I've been using them for years. They've always responded. Their quotes are very good.

We've been using their services for the last five years. I didn't have to spend anything this time. They have a twenty four hour service and that's definitely convenient. It's especially convenient for customers who have a service problem at 1am in the morning and if you don't have heat in the middle of January, that's a big deal. They were not the cheapest in terms of price. We've used them continuously for so long. We will use their services again in the future.

Downeast Energy and Build Supply Company is reliable. The people who come out are courteous. We would continue to use them in the future.

Very well. They arrived on time and finished earlier than I expected. They didn't run into any unexpected problems as far as I can tell. They did suggest that the tank draining would be a lot easier if I could temporarily unseal a cellar window that I had insulated and boarded over. This was no trouble for me, and also helped the oil smell diffuse quicker. They had access through the cellar bulkhead, so cleanliness in the house wasn't an issue, but they did keep the cellar clean (as clean as it ever was). They even used some touch-up paint to repair some scratches on the tank, which I probably would not have bothered about.

They do an okay job with furnace maintenance. The work is fine, but they weren't able to come out on the scheduled day and didn't call to let us know until the end of the day. Their oil buying programs are not as good as Ring's, a competitor they bought last year. I will probably switch my oil company.