Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:23/02/2024

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I bought this house last year July5/2023 and decided to switch to natural gas instead of propane for the simple reason it's much cheaper. I informed Stinson and Son to pick up the rental propane hot water tank and the two propane tanks. The two tanks had a total of 190 litre of propane at the time of the pick up, couple of days later received an invoice from Stinson with the amount to be submitted, 190 litre of propane at 0.20c, $87.60 for the two patio stones, $200.00 for pick up. I called Stinson and asked why I m getting only 0.20c/litre instead of the price I pay for it, their answer was because I canceled my account, this sounded like I'm getting some kind of punishment . I also told them that when I took possession of the property the two patio stones were missing, not under the tanks therefore I should not get charged for them($87.60).
  Was no positive outcome regarding these matters at the end of the conversation.
  I'm a single pensioner with a very tight budget, I simply can't afford to give out any amount of money for unreasonable business practices.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 26/02/2024

  Hello,

  We have contacted the customer and have resolved the issue.

  Thank you for your assistance in this matter.
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/02/2024

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  We recently changed our propane fuel provider from Stinson to another provider, due to generally poor service. I called ahead of time and asked about the process of having our two 450 litre tanks removed and was told it would be a $200 fee and we would be credited back 20 cents per litre for propane left in the tanks (rather ridiculous considering we paid over a $1/litre to have it filled). The tanks were picked up on time and now we have received an invoice for $200, with no credit for the propane in the tanks. I emailed back asking for an adjustment to credit the propane left, and the email response was that Stinson only credits back propane if the tanks have over 20% in them. Since our tanks only had 10% (90 litres), Stinson will not process a credit.This is ridiculous and unscrupulous on several levels: -First, we paid for those 90 litres. So Stinson is essentially stealing our property to sell it over again, making double the money on the same 90 litres (I wonder how that's being reported to the CRA...?).-Second, we paid over $90 and they can't even credit back $18- I guess the recession has really hit their bottom line that they can't handle making less than double their money back.-Third, my understanding is that tanks cannot be transported if they have over 30% (due to safety), so most customers are likely giving back their tanks with less than 20%...which means Stinson's current set-up means it can get back as much free fuel as possible (that it can then sell again for double the profit) from customers who are just so tired of their poor service that they are happy to be free of Stinson and won't bother to complain...and they'll pay $200 for the privilege of being rid of Stinson.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 13/02/2024

  Hello,

  We have contacted the customer and resolved the dispute.

  Thank you for your assistance in this matter.

   

• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/01/2024

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On December 18th I had propane tanks installed. When I got home I could clearly hear hissing and smelt the rotten egg smell which my wife confirmed was loud and clearly had a strong smell. We informed ********************* by e-mail what we found and the next day he sent an e-mail saying they would send someone out. On December 19th a service technician *************************** inspected it while I was at work. On December 22nd I received an invoice that stated, " no leak found" and I was charged $259.90. On this day I went out and check the tanks and they were still leaking so I did a soap test and took and video and pictures of the tanks leaking and sent them to Stinsons. They sent someone out on Dec 22nd at 9pm and it was *************************** who came out again and told me they didn't use enough pipe dope and the copper piping wasn't flared properly. He replaced the entire piece near the regulator. So after them calling me a liar and me proving them wrong I have sent a number of e-mails to ********************* over this period and have not heard back. I still have the charge for $259.90 on my bill when this should have been caught during the initial install. It took them 3 tries to get this right and still want to charge me for a service call on their own mistake?

  

  Business Response

  Date: 05/01/2024

  We have contacted our customer and have come to mutually acceptable solution.

  Thank you for your assistance.
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/04/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  [A full letter is attached.]
  
  On Mar 9, I received an invoice from Stinson dated Mar 7 for $390.81. I called Stinson and was told that it was for a delivery from Jan 24.
  
  The first issue at stake is that I didn't make a request for furnace oil in January. My last request for oil delivery from Stinson was in March 2021, for a full fill up, which I paid in full.
  
  The second and perhaps more contentious issue here is that, according to my own records, no oil was delivered to me that day. Here’s some clarification:
  
  1) I got a new oil tank Dec 2, 2022. That day, the gauge level of the new tank was above 7/8 because it's smaller (600L capacity) than my previous one (800L). This indicates that from Mar 2021 to Dec 2022, I used about 250-300L of oil.
  
  2) Stinson’s claim implies that from Dec 2 to Jan 24, I used approximately 100L of oil (from above 7/8 to 3/4), so that it would be possible for them to deliver 162L of oil, and that between Jan 24 and Mar 9, I must have used another 150L because my gauge read 3/4 that day when I checked. That’s more than 250L from Dec 2 to Mar 9. This amount compared to 250-300L over 20 months does not add up.
  
  3) According to Stinson, the driver indicated multiple times that he filled my tank, but this wasn't confirmed until after I got the invoice. I coincidentally met the driver yesterday, and he told me that any oil allegedly delivered on Jan 24 was actually intended for Apt 4 (not me, Apt 2).
  
  On the one hand, we have my claim: I have used 400-450L of oil over the course of 2 years. This seems to match the amount I used last winter and account for the fact that this current winter (22-23) was much more mild than the last one (21-22). On the other hand, we have Stinson claiming that I used at least 250L of oil over a period of 3 months (150L of which in just 6 weeks, including 1.5 weeks when my heating was at its lowest as I was actually away and set my thermostat to 16C).

  

  Business Response

  Date: 17/04/2023

  Good afternoon,

  W.O. Stinson is removing this invoice from Mr. ********'s account. There are several apartments at this address and this delivery was billed to Mr. ********, (apt 2) in error. I have left a message with Mr. ******** as well.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:17/01/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  We purchased a home in December 2019 that uses propane to heat. We connected with the company, W.O. Stinson & Sons, the previous owner's provider, after we purchased and determined that we could do an "on call" service when needed where we would call, they would fill our tanks when needed at the daily rate. Fast forward to spring 2022, I called to see what the "fixed" rate would be and was told that they already locked me in, without any prior discussion, at a rate of $0.939 per litre. We spoke with WO Stinsons a few times, and were told that was the going rate. We did some research and found another company that was offering a rate that would save us $0.20 per liter, so on Dec 30, 2022, they came and replaced our tanks with 3 nice new ones and left Stinsons out for easy pick up. I called Stinsons and scheduled them to come pick up their tanks and they advised they would be there Jan 4/23. I followed up on Jan 4 as they did not come, and they advised it was rescheduled to Jan 9/23. We have now received an invoice where they want to charge us $200 for return of their tanks and only want to provide us with $0.20 per litre for the returned propane vs the $0.939 that we paid a few weeks prior ($60 vs $281.70). They have provided no contracts, agreements, etc with our signature stating that we agreed to the $200 charge or the reduced propane return costs. They sent us a copy of an agreement from the previous owners, unsigned, and have no further documentation, just simply stating that we assumed their contract. That contract does not set out any fees either. Our account is up to date. We have always paid on time. This feels like a company arbitrarily trying to scam customers. They have likely made lots off of other customers who did not stand up for their rights. They have advised verbally that they will take us to Small Claims Court. Company has been very rude throughout our contact.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 17/01/2023

  We have contacted the customer and have come to a resolution.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/01/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Since I bought house 10 years ago I’ve paid $27 month for rental hot water tank . Came with piece of mind if anything went wrong it’s fully covered 24/7 . Hot water tank was pouring water from valve I called Stinson emergency line twice now over 8 hours . No call back no tech showing no help

  

  Business Response

  Date: 05/01/2023

  We have contacted the customer and resolved the issue.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 05/01/2023

   
  
  ****** ******** *******
  
  
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID 18669373, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  
  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  **** *********
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/12/2022

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  We moved into this property and have decided to change propane companies. Although we took on the old owners propane tanks we never signed a updated agreement nor were we shown that a 200 tank pick up fee would be charged if we change tanks. All the other companies do not charge this why is stinsons trying to make this extra money on rented tanks. We have more than paid for these tanks in rental fees. I would like to be shown a signed contract that has the removal fee stated. All propane companies charge a dealer very fee not a pick up fee. This is a money grab scam we don’t have paper work yet as the tanks are not picked up yet but this is what they are telling us I will send the bill when I receive it

  

  Business Response

  Date: 14/12/2022

  Hello, we have left two phone messages for the customer to contact us and are waiting for him to call us back. Thank you.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:06/12/2022

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I’ve been a Stinson customer over the last 4-5 years. This year the house furnace was switched and am now dealing with a new company. The Stinson propane tank needed to be returned; it is a large (420lb tank I believe) which is essentially full. The cost to put propane in it has been approx $1/ litre. They are now only willing to refund it at 20cents/litre which is where my issue lies with them. I have contacted multiple people at Stinson with each one referring me to another person who is unable to help.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 13/12/2022

  Hello,

  We have contacted our customer and have come to a resolution. If any further information is required, please let me know. Thank you.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 23/12/2022

   
  
  ****** ******** *******
  
  
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID 18526754, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  
  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  **** **********
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:11/08/2022

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  After being with W.O. Stinson for nine years they are charging me a $200.00 tank removal fee and only offering me $.20 litre for the remaining 20% in each of my two tanks. They charged me $1.1190 for the same propane. I paid them a rental fee for these two tanks for nine years. Only after I canceled doing business with them they decided on this removal fee. I feel that it is an insult for what they are offering me for the remaining propane and the removal fee is unjustified.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 15/08/2022

  We have been in contact with customer and resolved complaint.

  ***** 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 15/08/2022

  
  
  ****** ******** *******
  
  
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to ********* ** ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  
  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ******* ********
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/08/2022

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I am currently (for now) a WO Stinson customer. I sold a home a year ago and called Stinson to settle any outstanding charges and have the account cancelled. At that time they asked me if I wanted the tank "topped up". That was the extent of the conversation. There was no mention of a tank removal fee. There was no service contract (signed or otherwise) and we have a perfect credit history with Stinson.
  
  A year ago the new owners changed propane suppliers, removed the tanks and set the Stinson tanks aside.
  Three weeks ago Stinson picked up their tanks.
  Three days ago, ONE year after closing my account and having had no contact with Stinson regarding my old address, Accounts Receivable called me out of the blue and inform me that I owe Stinson $889.00 for removal of the tanks from my old residence.
  Seriously!?
  
  What I have found out since that call 3 days ago is that last year the new owners had new tanks installed by another provider. Apparently the new owners either used the Stinson equipment or removed it and I am being billed for regulators, copper tubing, cement pads etc. along with the tank removal cost.
  I have no invoice for these charges.
  I can provide the address of the previous property if required.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 11/08/2022

  Customer has been contacted and issue has been resolved.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 11/08/2022

   
  
  ****** ******** *******
  
  
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to ********* ** ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  
  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *** ******