I believe Suburban Propane is price gouging. Price went from $3.4939/gal on 12/10 to $3.6939/gal on 12/29/09 or a 5.7% increase. This was largely in-line with the national average, which went from $2.346/gal to $2.463/gal or a 5% increase.
But then Suburban Propane's price skyrocketed to $5.0390 on 3/9, or a 36.4% increase. While the national average only went to $2.649 or a 7.6% increase. At this point Suburban Propane's prices were over 90% higher than the national average.
They remain artificially high to this day. I called around on 5/11 and was quoted the following prices: Cenex $2.56/gal, Ferellgas $2.60/gal, and Amerigas $2.94 gal. Suburban Propane was still charging $5.03/gal.
When I called to complain, they told me they were not adjusting bills due to propane prices. I was told the price increase was due to market forces. But I disputed this because both February and March were unseasonably warm in Seattle. 22 days in February reached a high of 50 degrees or above, as did the first 7 days of March.
After they refused to adjust my bill, despite their clearly unwarranted price increases, I told them to close my account. They tried to bill me an extra $150 for early termination claiming I had a 3 year contract - which I disputed. I made them actually pull my paperwork and check section 4 which clearly stated I had a 1 year contract. Finally they relented on the early termination fee.
Moral of the story - call and get the price before every fill up. If you have auto-fill cancel the service. And if you can, cancel your contract and sign up with someone else.
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