Penny-Wise Fuel, Inc.

Review: In 12/09 I purchased 3 new propane units from PennyWise and have continued to use them for my propane supply. In 12/12 I noticed that the viewer glass on unit [redacted]-* was cracked and called them for repair. Initially they said they would order the part and since I didn't hear from them for a long time I called several times about it. Finally I was told that the part was unavailable.

I called the manufacturer myself & received the part & on 2/5/13 they installed it and on 2/6/13 it cracked again. In speaking to a manufacturer technician I was told that other than a defective combustion chamber, a possible cause of the situation could be that the burner needed cleaning causing the flame to be misdirected towards the glass. However, the unit was just serviced and this was not the problem and a PennyWise (PW) rep. said they would have [redacted] the manufacturer honor their(10 year) warranty and request a new combustion chamber and in 3/13 one of PW employees called me and said that the manufacturer would be shipping the part shortly. Not hearing again for sometime & calling PW several times they finally told me that the part was not available and one rep told me that I was sold a floor model ( which was not indicated on my receipt)

I called the manufacturer myself and was told that the unit that was sold to PW was a "closeout special" with no warranty and very few parts available for this imported special and therefore they could not honor any warranty.

Because of this I have been unable to utilize my bedroom this past winter because it had no heat! I need for this situation to be resolved before next winter.

PW sold me this unit WITHOUT DISCLOSURE that it was a closeout model and that it had no warranty. My receipt or any conversation with the original salesman did not indicate it was a "closeout" without any warranty. I received a manual stating that this now defective part had a 10 year warranty. As a senior on a fixed income I would not have purchased a closeout unit with no warranty as I would not want a potential expenditure problem such as this.

The unit is unsafe and cannot be repaired and must be removed and replaced. I have called the contact person at PW ( the turnover there is tremendous & the original salesman & many of the people I have talked with previously are no longer there) and have not been contacted.

I sent a return/receipt letter to the owner who received it on 6/25/13 outlining this and asking how can they resolve this and have not received an answer again.

I am hoping that you would be able to assist me.

6Desired Settlement: Pennywise has an obligation to be honest with their customers and if their employee misrepresented a product that is now USELESS,they have the responsibility to replace it with what the customer thought she was getting based on the receipt and manual and warranty papers.

Business

Response:

Dear [redacted],

We have had more than 40 contacts with **. [redacted] regarding her [redacted] DVP unit purchased in 2009. This unit was a clearance model sold at closeout cost of $252.26 plus parts for a price of $340. Our company made no money on this sale, passing through the item at cost. The fair market value of the unit before closeout is about $1200., a fact familiar to the customer who purchased multiple heaters on the same purchase order.

The unit operated without incident until 2012 when the customer called to report a crack in the tiny view glass. As a courtesy we contacted our supplier for a replacement and it was not available. **. [redacted] called our shop on this point as often as ten times until disclosing that her son had located the part on the internet and purchased it for $4 or $5. We installed the glass without a service call fee and regarded the matter to be resolved. We did this as a courtesy to assist a customer in a situation in which she did not have a warranty. I myself spoke to [redacted] to arrange the courtesy service work.

Penny Wise has proposed to have **. [redacted] purchase a new unit at cost plus parts. The company, now in its 30th year of operation continues to offer this option.

Sincerely,

[redacted], Accounts.

[redacted], Esq.AccountsPenny Wise Fuel Company, Inc.Penny Wise Propane Company, Inc.[redacted]

Consumer

Response:

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]

Review: [redacted]

I am rejecting this response because:

1.It was NOT DISCLOSED to me when I purchased this propane unit that it was a closeout special and not being in the business, I accepted the price given as the cost of a model with warranties as it was a smaller unit than the others that I purchased at the same time. I learned from the manufacturer's office just a few months ago that it was closeout model. If you like,I can mail you my receipt along with the warranty which was supplied so you can see this for yourself.

2. If I contacted them "multiple times" it was only because no one initially replied to my inquiries just like how they took several weeks to reply to you and never replied to my return receipt letter asking how they were going to resolve this matter. Contrary to what **. [redacted] stated, I got the part from the manufacturer's referral of another supplier and since PennyWise installed it the same day along with another job I requested it is hard to determine that they installed it "without cost" as on that day I paid $243 for both services listed on my receipt.

Also since they were advised that the glass viewer part cracked again the next day, I do not see how they could have considered the matter resolved as **. [redacted] stated, as I called them to let them know this .It seems as if she is misinformed as the unit cannot be used and was sold to me with misrepresentation.

3. THIS IS THE FIRST TIME that I am learning that they are proposing that I can purchase a new unit at cost plus parts

and they have stated it in such a way as to make it seem like they advised me of this before which they have not. This offer is vague as there would be labor costs to uninstall the unrepairable closeout unit and labor costs to install the new one. In addition I feel that the cost I paid for the unit should be subtracted from the price of a new one as they were not forthright in their sales transaction with me.

Please let me know if you need for me to send you any necessary documents. Thank you for your assistance.

Regards,