Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller reached a settlement with Ashland Propane Demotte, LLC over its failure to honor contracts. Customers who were overcharged by the Jasper County-based company this past winter will receive nearly $20,000 in restitution.
Ashland Propane entered into pre-buy contracts with 93 Indiana consumers at a locked-in rate of approximately $1.49 per gallon from fall 2013 to April 2014. When national propane prices skyrocketed, the company reneged on its contracts and charged customers up to $4.79 per gallon.
“During the worst of the winter, our priority was to make sure Hoosiers had access to heat,” Zoeller said. “When propane prices skyrocketed, there was concern that the hundreds of thousands of Hoosier consumers who rely on propane to heat their homes could be taken advantage of during the crisis. Ashland’s customers who were overcharged will be made whole after the company’s failure to honor its contracts.”
Consumers will be offered a credit to their Ashland Propane account, or a direct refund if they no longer wish to do business with the company. Based on the Attorney General’s Office’s investigation, all consumers who were affected have been made whole according to their original contracts. Deputy Attorney General Mark Snodgrass contributed to this case.