I don't want this to be an angry bashing report. Yes I felt that way when I found out what Marts Oil wouldn't refund my money for a service I will not receive, but mainly I want to know if it was fair and legal and also if anyone else is angered by this scam.
I had signed up for their Price Cap Protection Program last year after Hurricane Katrina when oil prices skyrocketed. I was afraid like everyone else was that I wouldn't be able to pay for winter heat.in reality the prices didn't get that bad and I found out through phone calls that Marts Oil prices were actually higher then the other oil companies around. So I had paid $90 for this "Price Protection" and paid extra for the oil. Oh what a "deal" they gave me!
After I found this out and had problems with there frequent not needed deliveries, I had them stopped. That took numerous phone calls to accomplish. I thought that was the end of my problems with Marts Oil, but I was wrong.
This past week on 05-17-06 I received a bill for the Price Cap Protection Program, for the future heating season, which had already been paid by my credit card they had on file. Yes, that was a mistake of mine that they still had access to my credit card but innocently I didn't think they would use it without informing me.
I called them right away to clear up the mistake, but of course I couldn't get through. Apparently other people had concerns also. I left a message and tried calling again the next day. Still no luck!
I contacted my credit card company to dispute the charge and they connected me with someone at Marts Oil. They claimed that I was informed of this charge and it couldn't be refunded even if I closed my account. So they are charging me for price protection on oil that I will not even receive. That doesn't seem fair or legal to me. Maybe I am wrong?
I searched through my mail to find this evidence they spoke of and the only thing I found was a flier about the "Price Protection Plan". It looked like junk mail to me. There was no date on it and there was no information on how to stop it from happening by a specific date. All it contained was the supposed benefits of this program and if you are previously enrolled do nothing, which apparently I was still enrolled. I wasn't aware of that and I feel the company didn't do an adequate job of informing me.
I feel that I should have received something that looked like a bill with my name on it informing me of the charge and the exact date it would be charged to my credit card and the consequences of this charge not a flier disguised as junk mail.
I looked at the Terms and Conditions I received last year and it says, "The customer will be provided reasonable advance notice of the automation renewal allowing a time period of not less then 14 days to cancel their automatic renewal". Like I said earlier, I received nothing with a date on it informing me what to do to cancel.
I feel this company knows the difference between what junk mail looks like and official mail. When I received the bill I immediately opened it and read it, but I just glanced over the junk mail flier. Now I have a charge of $119.85 that they refuse to refund. That is called a scam to me. I am getting married in a couple of months and I need every penny!!
0 comments