Complaints

This profile includes complaints for Suburban Propane, L.P.'s headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see Find Local Branches.

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  Suburban Propane, L.P.

  240 Route 10 W Whippany, NJ 07981-2105

• 

  Suburban Propane, L.P.

  66 West Avenue Arkport, NY 14807

• 

  Suburban Energy Services

  464 S Center Street Ebensburg, PA 15931

• 

  Suburban Propane - Kingston

  CPO Box 1151, Barbarossa Lane Kingston, NY 12401

• 

  Suburban Propane Gas Corp

  1411 John Marshall Highway PO box 129 Gainesville, VA 20155

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:10/31/2022

  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.

  I have had nothing but trouble from Suburban Propane.Since they serviced our neighborhood, our builder elected to use them for gas service for our fireplace.This was 21 years ago. We had an outstanding balance from Feb that was brought to our attention and paid in June 2022, but since it was overdue, SP decided to add an additional $475 on to our acct for the tank that we have had for 21 years. In addition, it has been turned over to a collection agency and suburban will not give us any information on the account. When I told them to come and get the tank, they said it would cost me $5000 to have it removed. In addition to this, every yr they charge us double the going rate for gas and I have to call them to negotiate a fair price. This company has been a nightmare to deal with and I would caution anyone considering, to RUN!!!!

  Business Response

  Date: 11/03/2022

  Our local manger leave a message for this customer to call. We can offer to resume deliveries to her COD and sell her the tank or offer to dig up tank (fees will apply). Delivery she owed for was from 11/2021. On 1.3.22- credit and collections called to talk to her about balance and payments customer stated she would get it paid off but never made any payments after the tank was locked off. The balance was paid in 6.20.22 but the tank was not paid for.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 11/03/2022

  
  Complaint: 18336751
  
  I am rejecting this response because: My issue is not with the gas bill. It has been paid in full. My issue is with the tank charge. After having the tank for 20 years, you have applied a random tank charge and turned it over to collections. This should be illegal. It certainly is not a good business practice considering I am a 20 yr customer. But then again, if that customer is held captive by your tank, I guess you can, and do, whatever you want, hence my complaint to the BBB. I would like that charge to be removed from collections and erased from my bill. This is the first time in 20 yrs I have seen this charge.
  
  
  
  Regards,
  
  *********************

  Business Response

  Date: 11/08/2022

  We have called ******************* twice and left messages for her to call us back so we can have this resolved, with the latest time calling being this morning. We have not heard back from her either time.
  $475.60 are charges for her to purchase and own the underground tank from us. We can remove the charges if she will continue to do business with us as a COD account and we remain owning the tank. The 3rd option is for us to recover the tank from her. We can offer her a reduced rate to dig the tank up if that is the direction she wishes to proceed to.  Once we speak with her we can make the determination and resolve this.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/29/2022

  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 spoke to **** at the ******** office to arrange a telephone meeting with *****, a manager and myself to discuss the issues that are pending. She assured me that we would have this meeting the next morning, and that was the last I heard from her. I am trying to understand who sent him to my home and for what purpose; why is he telling her that I authorized parts and work when I signed his tablet as he asked me to, to show that he was present at my address, ONLY. Suburban Propane is not an accredited member of the BBB and their record of complaints indicates that they're record of complaints indicates that they are over 100 complaints per year for the last 3 years. I am wondering why no state or local agency has investigated their deceptive practices over this time.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/27/2022

  Type:Billing 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.

  I believe the company is attempting to scare its customers into paying the same charges multiple times to collect extra money and commit fraud! While scheduling a Propane delivery from Suburban Propane online, I was prompted to have to pay the total amount for a ************* fill even though i did not need that much fuel. There was a line of info that said the funds would remain in my account and my subsequent deliveries would be deducted from that. I did this on September 16. I have received no less than 5 "statements" in the following month telling me that I owe $91.77 for my delivery on September 20. I have also requested a delivery slip be left with every delivery and have never received one. When I checked, I still have $234.53 credit in my account online but the statements labeled as "Suburban Propane ************************************" keep coming. This happened the same way last year and I am concerned they might try to affect my credit score for their fraud.Thank you for your help!

  Business Response

  Date: 11/03/2022

  ************** had ordered a delivery through our portal. When we get a delivery order through the portal we do not know how much propane is in the tank so it is figured for the total capacity which is (96) gallons.  She is on COD credit terms and paid for the full tank 96 gallons. When we went out to make the delivery, she only took 27 gallons, leaving a credit balance currently on her account.
  She is on document push ( she signed up for this )which means she would get a copy e-mailed to her when the delivery is posted to the account. Also, she would receive a statement in the mail which shows the same delivery and her account balance which reflects her payment. So she got two pieces of mail which showed the amount for the delivery, but not her credit.  Customer was only charged for the ******************** that was actually delivered and has a credit on her account.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/20/2022

  Type:Sales and Advertising 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.

  In January of 2022 we purchased a house with the understanding we owned the tank, after contacting Suburban they stated it was a rented tank. Tank was marked ********** but had a Suburban Rental Tank sticker under the cover. The seller was unable to provide a reciept so with no proof we had Suburban come out and fill the tank becuase it was quite low. They sent someone out to check for leaks and filled the tank. They informed us how you would normally pre buy in the summer and they would automatically fill throughout the winter. They stated they would contact us when the pre buy window was open. In Approximately September we called Suburban to ask when the pre buy window was going to happen because we had not heard anything yet and they informed us we already missed the window. They told us they were unable to allow us to prebuy now because the window had closed but the current price was good so they sugguested we get the tank filled. After calling around their price was higher than everybody else we contacted and they would not let us pre buy for the year after failing to call us as they stated they would. If they had let us pre buy at the time we asked because they failed to call us as stated, we would have stayed with the company, but do to their false statement we decided to shop around and found a local company that would allow us a guaranteed price instead of the higher winter rates. We recieved a final notice bill for $200.00 after Suburban came and picked up their tank stating the account is seriously in arrears. We contaced Suburban and they stated it was due to an early contract termination. We decided to leave the company because they lied about contacting us for the pre buy period, The failure to call us in the pre buy period would have resulted in substantial expense during the winter when the tank needed filled again which the company seemed to be perfectly fine with,

  Business Response

  Date: 10/27/2022

  We set up this account in January of 2022 and the tank was picked up in September.  The early termination fee was charged since they ended the contract prior to the term stated therein.  As a courtesy, we will reverse the early termination fee.  Thank you

  Customer Answer

  Date: 10/28/2022

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Regards,
  
  *****************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/19/2022

  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.

  Last year, I signed a service contract for me to pay a set amount each month for a set amount of gallons based on previous year's usage. I paid each month on time the set amount owed and when the gallons were over, I went from paying approx. $2.50 a gallon to close to $5 per gallon. They did an unnecessary delivery in March to top off my tank (at the $5 per gallon price), making it more money I owed. When I called them to ask why they delivered when I wasn't really going to need it, they said I was on auto-delivery. I advised them to remove me from auto-delivery. Additionally, because of such an increase in the cost of fuel, even though I was paying the set amount each month on time, there was a large amount left over that was still due by June or they would cut off my propane. As a result, I had to take a loan against my retirement (yes, the bill was that high) to pay it off. Things were fine until Sept when they delivered again without me asking. They delivered just over 167 gallons and the bill was approx. $988. I called because it was outrageous as they charged me over $5 per gal when every other company was charging around $2.60 per gallon. They were not supposed to auto deliver and I was trying to save up money for when a delivery would be required. After many conversations with them, they would only reduce to $4 per gallon for the delivery and for the next. I asked about buying the tank and they said they're not in the business of selling tanks. I asked how much it would cost me to have them remove it and they said I would have to pay someone else to dig it out and they would come get it. After it was dug up and removed, they could then disconnect it from my house so I can finally do business with someone else. All of this is ludicrous. All this company cares about is money. I have less than 30 days to pay a surprise bill that is almost $1,000 or they will lock out the tank with the fuel I previously paid for in it.

  Business Response

  Date: 10/26/2022

  We have reviewed this complaint and the customer's account. We can offer to adjust her last delivery to our Pre-Buy rate of $3.419 as a courtesy and one additional future delivery at that same rate. She would need to decide if she wants to go Will Call and monitor her own tank gauges, or be on our automatic delivery schedule.  We will not dig up her tank or take it without assessing cancellation fees. If ************** does not does not lock her price in, we will not offer a better rate again in the future. The next Pre-Buy sign up period is mid May-mid July 2023. If a customer misses that sign up window, we cant extend it. ************** should contact her local store manager with her decision on how she wishes to proceed.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 11/04/2022

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me at this time.

  However, I do want to add that when I spoke with their local representative (who is actually very sweet) regarding the tank removal and their assessment of cancellation fees, she deferred to her manager who said that they do not do that. Regarding Will Call, their Will Call still forces you to have at least one delivery a year. Since this was already done, there should be no deliveries to my home without my contacting them for such.  If this does occur, I will make another complaint. 
  
  Regards,
  
  *********************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/18/2022

  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.

  10 /18 22, a receipt was left at my door for ****** stating that 25 gallons of propane was delivered, I just checked my tank last week and it was 80% full, I only use propane for heat, this is the second time of an unauthorized delivery The gauge on the tank has not changed no propane was delivered, please remove this bill.

  Business Response

  Date: 10/20/2022

  We spoke with this customer and resolved the issue.  We waived the charge for the last delivery since they had already filled their obligation of an annual delivery.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/29/2022

  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.

  On 4/5/22 suburban propane filled our tanks at $6.93 a gallon X ***** gallons for a total of $1176.97. We thought price was excessive and started looking for new supplier and was told the price we were charged is almost double the normal price. We have a new supplier and need suburban to pick up tanks and refund the cost of propane. I was told by suburban they would pick up tanks and credit us the cost of propane minus $1.00 a gallon. It has been 1 month and I've called 3 times and been told they are very busy. I think that is plenty of time to get tanks and give us our refund. ***************************/ account No. ***********

  Business Response

  Date: 09/30/2022

  Our local store manager spoke with *************************** and informed him we are picking tanks up this afternoon. Thank you

  Customer Answer

  Date: 10/05/2022

  
  Complaint: 18148607
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  
  We still have not received a refund for Propane in the tank
  
  Regards,
  
  ***************************

  Business Response

  Date: 10/06/2022

  Customer looking for a date to have LP tanks picked up and we spoke with the customer, informing him we had a technician in the area that day Friday 9/30/22 and would pick up LP tanks that afternoon.  The tanks were picked up as planned at 2:16PM.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/28/2022

  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.

  Due to notice of a potential hurricane threat, I ordered a fill of my propane tank which is used for my generator. On the evening of 9/27, suburban propane delivered propane to my neighbor instead of my tank They have charged me ******** I called within an hour of realizing this when my neighbor found the bill at their door. The call center spoke with driver who was already off duty and stated that he would call me in the morning. On the morning of 9/28, I called back the call center (local office was closed due to the storm). They left message with dispatch and said I would receive a phone call. I waited a little over a hour and called back the call center. At that time, they told me that the drivers were called in due to weather and they would not be able to fill the tank. While I am not completely out of fuel, I know there is a possibility I will need to utilize my generator and I am left without extra propane. I have my child with meat a hurricane approaches and this is very disappointing that they had a chance to correct the mistake they made, but failed to do so. I received no call from that driver and I spoke with someone early enough in the day to get fuel before the storm came. If we do lose power, I will need to stay in the area because I am an emergency medicine physician and I will be needed for recovery team if others cannot get to the hospital. Again, mistakes will happen, but the response to this mistake is upsetting. Not to mention, I need a refund of this charge. My account number is *********** listed under *****************************

  Business Response

  Date: 10/03/2022

  This has been taken care of. The customer was refunded the credit card payment and is aware that when she gets her delivery, she will need to make payment for that delivery.  Customer is pleased now that all is taken care of.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 10/03/2022

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Regards,
  
  ***************************************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/26/2022

  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.

  I have a gold maintenance contract and have had for years. service tech tried to fix furnace in March of 2021 and did not. Over the last 16 months there has only been 2 unresolved service calls. Service Mgr made a service call, shortly after he was hired, in Dec. 2021. He left saying he would research problem and resolve it. Numerous calls did not did not get any action. Finally, Feb 7 2022 an Interstate (sub-contracted) tech named ****** was dispatched to trouble shoot. He thought he knew what problem was (never cleaned "firebox" ??). He called local Carrier distributor (Carrier-Northeast) to confirm with service ***** It later was. I have made 29 calls to Suburban since Jan 2022. I'll detail some of the more recent ones here. July 18 Service Mgr will put together what he needs and call back tomorrow- no call back.July 29 left message to respond by Monday- no call back Aug 3 left message for the service scheduler to call me back- no call back Sept (20) talked to Service Mgr. and the scheduler- service call is being scheduled - No call back Sept 26 Service Mgr was "outside"; left message that I need a call back today or I will file complaint with BBB.This is only a small portion of my effort to get Suburban Propane to meet the service contract obligations over the last 2 years. I have been courteous and professional with everyone I have dealt with and they have been with me. I am extremely dissatisfied with Service Mgr's performance and frankly, lies.I need someone to service my furnace correctly as soon as possible. If they need to contract it out at their expense, fine. I'm not willing to wait any longer. Suburban(Auburn) ************ Service Mgr (c) ************ (***************** and Auburn)

  Business Response

  Date: 10/03/2022

  Our local manager spoke to *************** and have a plan in place to take care of his concerns.  We have a service appointment scheduled for 10/19. Thank you

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/22/2022

  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 ended our business relationship with this company in June 2022. Their policy is to pay any outstanding balance if you do not sign a new agreement, but before we could pay, they needed to come pick up their propane tanks and credit us for the propane in them. It took weeks and weeks for them to pick up. Meanwhile, we continued to make our regular monthly payment of around $308. I have been calling this company every single week, sometimes multiple times a week, since the end of June to have this matter resolved. I ask to speak to a manager and none is ever available, but they will " call me back" and never do. For almost 4 months I have dealt with this nonsense. I went through every single invoice against our credit card payments and show that we are substantially less than they claim (we owe around $1,500 - they claim we owe $2,600) but I can't get anyone on the phone to resolve. Everytime I leave a message for a manager (******, *****, *****, etc), no one calls me back and I have to start all over again. They have threatened to send our account to collections (their credit department has no issues with calling me promptly), but I've explained my situation to that ***** and they understand and have been trying to help me reach someone in the local office (******, *****, and *****). I do not know what more to do. Never had this problem with any company. We were customers for almost 10 years. They would deliver late, overcharge us, let us run out of propane (which we use for heat and hot water and cooking) at least two times a year, etc. They have been a nightmare to work with. I just got off the phone with the credit department and they can't even reach their own teammates at my local office. They claim they can't get ahold of them and yet they don't have any direct phone numbers or email addresses for me to reach out myself. I

  Business Response

  Date: 09/29/2022

  Customer requested that the pool tanks be picked up on 06/27/22 and the tanks were picked up on 07/12/22.  Several days later customer called to have the house tanks picked up, those tanks were picked up on 08/11/22 and her specific request was to pick them up after 08/04/22 because that is when the new company was coming to set tanks at her residence. Credit was given to her for the gas remaining in the tanks without charging her a restock fee for those gallons. After review, it was discovered that she did not include the deliveries from 07/09/21, 07/23/21, 08/06/21, 08/16/21, and 08/27/21 in her tracking records and was under the impression that her Pre-Buy started on 09/19/21 as when her first secured plan budget payment started.  We emailed her a signed copy of her Pre-Buy contract and will review those charges with her again on Monday but these charges do apply to her and she is responsible for them.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 10/03/2022

  
  Complaint: 18063789
  
  I am rejecting this response because for various reasons. For one, they did not address the fact that it took me submitting a claim to the BBB for them to reach out to me to try to resolve this quickly. I have been calling for four months and when someone finally calls me back, there is no update and no resolution. Also, they claim to have sent me an email with a copy of the pre-but contract and will call me on Monday - neither of those things happened. I have a copy of the agreement and it says nothing about the supposed four deliveries that we owe. In fact, I showed them my tracking sheet that shows we only owe $711 and not $2600, but they claim otherwise. 
  

  their response does not address the horrible customer service we have received and what they intend to do to record that for us. The least they could do is accept my due diligence and allow me to pay $711 and be done with the relationship. 
  
  
  
  Regards,
  
  *****************************

  Business Response

  Date: 10/11/2022

  Our local manager explained the Pre-Buy contract and how the deliveries were not a part of the contract. It was determined that on 06/01/22, 06/30/22 and 07/09/22s deliveries were not included in the Pre-Buy contract nor the monthly contracted budget amount. These three deliveries will be billed at the Pre-Buy PPG even though charged at the current market rate outside a contract.  We removed the late fees and customer will be emailed the corrections and pay the amount due.  This matter is now resolved.