Don’t get Ripped off by Fuel Oil & Propane Prebuy / Budget Scammers

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Did you know that there are NO LAWS protecting consumers in New York, Pennsylvania or New Jersey when it comes to making sure your prepaid funds to fuel oil & propane gas dealers are kept safe and you’ll actually get what you contracted for?    While that might seem impossible, it’s true.  Too many times we’ve seen sketchy oil & propane dealers take consumers’ money during the summer in plans posed as “budget” or “prepay” plans only to find out later that this was that dealer’s cash-flow plan and when the winter came, that dealer was behind the eight-ball, vanishes and ripped off the consumer as they went out of business.

Would you entrust thousands of dollars to some roadside shack with a sign outside reading “Joe’s Bank”? Why then would consumers trust the various new oil & propane dealers that pop-up in the local paper advertising the latest low price of the week without some sort of real assurance their money is safe and they will get those gallons they paid for at the price contracted.  (If you don’t believe us, simply Google “oil propane dealer ripoff fraud”).  Beyond no assurances of your money being safe – there are no laws in place to make sure that this dealer has actually contracted for this promised fuel – you are going totally on trust unfortunately. 

CES has been in the energy business for over 45 years and we back every penny of what we take in from consumers with contracted gallons at wholesale suppliers spread over 8 different supply points.  Price capped gallons are backed by contracted “call options” gallon for gallon so our price cap & pre-buy customers will be assurred that what we promise – we will deliver and their investment is safe.  

Before you entrust a penny with any fuel oil or propane dealer or get sucked into what you think is a safe transaction – take a look at who your dealing with since in the end, you have nothing more than their word that your money is safe.  Are they really financially stable or is your money their summer cash flow?  Having a tanker truck or two and a cell phone doesn’t mean that your money is safe by any means.  CES has been servicing the tri-state region for over 45 years with a team of over 110 local employees working from 3 offices, 6 of our own local storage terminals and proudly can say we’ve delivered every gallon our customers have contracted with us since day one.  

Do your homework, ask questions and in the end – think about how many propane & fuel oil dealers have come and gone in your memory.  When they vanish or go bankrupt in the winter, you don’t want to lose money.  This is another reason why thousands of customers have trusted CES since 1968!