Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Consumer Complaint: Carroll Home Services / Carroll Fuel

JC Leahy, MA Accounting
August 15, 2012

General Manager
Carroll Fuel/Carroll Home Services
2700 Loch Raven Road, Suite 200
Baltimore, MD  21218

Dear Sir/Madam:

Ref. Account # 10-51

Your accounting department is abysmal.  So much so that it is a barrier to doing business.  MOST bills that you send contain errors!  Although I believe I usually catch the errors, having to carefully check each billings and deal with the constant corrections takes too much of my valuable time.  Consider, for example, the fact that I am writing this letter now.

You have been dunning me for $80.52 since last heating season.  Given your abysmal track record, I have not paid.  I knew that you were probably in error.  I explained to your accounting folks that I pay by individual invoice, and I demanded to know what invoice had been underpaid.  All this time, your accounting department has been UNABLE TO TELL which invoice it was.  Then FINALLY on July 30 (postmark) you were able to send me documentation that invoice #6457659 had been issued at $580.41 and paid at $499.89, leaving a balance due of $80.52. Sigh....I am enclosing a copy of that invoice.  Also I am enclosing a copy of an e-mail from your sales agent specifying my fixed price agreement for last season.  My price cap was $3.599 per gallon.  You invoiced me at $3.999 per gallon for 138.8 gallons of fuel.  I adjusted the erroneous invoice to the correct price per gallon.  I also enclosed a $25 coupon as payment towards the invoice.  The adjusted amount due was, correctly, $499.89 and that is the amount of the payment you received.  Which leaves a balance due of ZERO.

I like your field reps and delivery service, but your accounting department is too much to bear.  It is irritating to receive a dunning notice.  It is distracting to have to check every bill I receive.  It is time consuming and frustrating to have to talk by phone to your accounting folks who are SO confident in their accuracy but are ALWAYS wrong.  What kind of a way is that to run a business???!!!!   

As a way of apology and compensation for everything, you should send me $75 in coupons towards next seasons' fuel.  Otherwise, there is not a snowballs chance in hell of my continuing my two delivery accounts with you.

Sincerely yours,
JC Leahy, MA Accounting

2 comments:

Claudia said...

What was the outcome of this? This sounds so irritating! Did they give you your $75 coupon?

JC Leahy said...

Carroll Fuel admitted they were wrong. They aplogized. They said they have a new, improved accounting system in place for this heating season. They issued me credits of $200 to sign up with them again this season. What more could I ask? Now we'll see if their new accounting system has actually improved. :)