- Jurisdiction
- New Jersey
We had a company replace our 500 gallon underground propane tank with their tank last fall. The tank was filled when installed and filled again in early December. We paid in full for both fill ups. About a week after the second fill up my husband smelled a strong propane odor in the backyard. The company came and said there was a hole in the weld line that they did not notice either of the times they filled the tank . They said that is was small and to run the tank as normal and when it was empty we would hook up to temp tanks until the ground thawed and it could be replaced. The tank was at 86% on the day the leak was confirmed and we ran it until the end of January. The correct action should have been to drain the tank and go straight to temp tanks. We have been in contact with the NJ Consumer Affairs office who told me it was crazy to run a tank with a known leak.
The company set up and filled the temp tanks without getting a required town permit. We asked for money off on the price of the fill up because we had been leaking propane since day one. They told us it was such a small leak they could give us $47 back. They have been down playing the seriousness of the leak since it was brought to their attention. We have refused to pay for the temp tank fill ups until we get a reasonable solution to our leak. The company left a message that if we did not pay our tanks would have a lock on them. That was the day I called both the NJ Consumer Affairs office and our local building department and found out the company was missing the permit on the temp tank and just how dangerous it was to let the leak go.
Right after they installed the new tank last fall our boiler stopped working and we had them look at it. They said it was the motherboard and would cost over a $1,000 to fix. We got a second opinion, it turned out it just needed to be cleaned. It has been working flawlessly since the cleaning and the motherboard was fine.
We have a 2 year contract with a $400 early termination fee. We feel since they could have blown us up do we have grounds to end the contract. We do not trust the company's judgement. Does anyone have advice for ending the contract . I have a string of emails from the NJ Consumer Affairs agent in charge of propane saying the company did not follow safety protocol for the state.
We have a second problem. The original underground tank had a permit. The inspector was fighting a cancer battle he lost and our town passed the tank sight unseen based on a few photos from the installation company. We feel if it had been inspected the flaw might have been caught before we used it for months. We feel for the situation but are upset that we were put in a dangerous spot. Any advice would be appreciated.
The company set up and filled the temp tanks without getting a required town permit. We asked for money off on the price of the fill up because we had been leaking propane since day one. They told us it was such a small leak they could give us $47 back. They have been down playing the seriousness of the leak since it was brought to their attention. We have refused to pay for the temp tank fill ups until we get a reasonable solution to our leak. The company left a message that if we did not pay our tanks would have a lock on them. That was the day I called both the NJ Consumer Affairs office and our local building department and found out the company was missing the permit on the temp tank and just how dangerous it was to let the leak go.
Right after they installed the new tank last fall our boiler stopped working and we had them look at it. They said it was the motherboard and would cost over a $1,000 to fix. We got a second opinion, it turned out it just needed to be cleaned. It has been working flawlessly since the cleaning and the motherboard was fine.
We have a 2 year contract with a $400 early termination fee. We feel since they could have blown us up do we have grounds to end the contract. We do not trust the company's judgement. Does anyone have advice for ending the contract . I have a string of emails from the NJ Consumer Affairs agent in charge of propane saying the company did not follow safety protocol for the state.
We have a second problem. The original underground tank had a permit. The inspector was fighting a cancer battle he lost and our town passed the tank sight unseen based on a few photos from the installation company. We feel if it had been inspected the flaw might have been caught before we used it for months. We feel for the situation but are upset that we were put in a dangerous spot. Any advice would be appreciated.
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