A Medina propane company is being sued by the Ohio Attorney General's office, which says it misrepresented services and failed to deliver propane to Ohio customers.
The A-G's office says 38 customers in the past eight months have complained about Thrifty Propane about not receiving propane, propane tanks or refunds.
The office says the lack of propane deliveries left some customers in the cold - literally.
(Ohio Attorney General's office, news release) Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine today announced a lawsuit against Thrifty Propane for misrepresenting its services and failing to deliver propane to consumers across the state.
In the lawsuit, the Attorney General accuses Thrifty Propane of violating Ohio's Consumer Sales Practices Act and seeks restitution for consumers plus an end to any violations of Ohio's consumer laws.
"Many Ohio families rely on propane to heat their homes, and they rightly expect to receive the propane they pay for," Attorney General DeWine said. "In this case, we found a pattern of people who didn't receive what they were promised. We are filing this action to protect consumers."
Thrifty Propane sells propane and propane tanks to consumers throughout Ohio and in surrounding states. It offers various delivery and payment programs, such as allowing consumers to pay fixed rates in advance or to have their tanks automatically filled when the tanks reach a certain level.
In the past eight months, the Ohio Attorney General's Office has received 38 complaints against Thrifty Propane. Consumers generally cited problems receiving propane, tanks, or refunds.
According to the Attorney General's lawsuit, Thrifty Propane at times failed to deliver propane or propane tanks within the timeframe it promised, causing some consumers to be unable to heat their homes or to have to buy propane from other suppliers at an additional cost. The lawsuit also alleges that consumers frequently were unable to get through to Thrifty Propane on the phone, and that some had to contact the Attorney General or Better Business Bureau for help resolving their complaints.
The Attorney General's complaint, filed in the Medina County Common Pleas Court, names Thrifty Propane Inc., Thrifty Propane Northern Ohio Inc., and Thrifty Propane Columbus Ohio Inc. as defendants.