Get Marty: Complaints Pile Up Against Ohio Propane Company

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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- As Pittsburghers try to stay warm this week, more people are accusing a propane distributor of leaving customers in the cold, and now they're taking their complaints to the state.

It's crisis time at the Bohanski home in Finleyville. Darlene is taking care of her mother with severe Alzheimer's, and her propane is running dangerously low.

She says she's been calling Thrifty Propane, out of Ohio, every day to get it filled after making the initial call about a month ago. When nothing happened, she emailed KDKA's Marty Griffin last week.

"Order was placed a month ago for fill with Thrifty Propane and has yet to be delivered. I need to have heat. The tank is now under 10 percent," the email said.

"If I run out of gas, we're at the mercy of them coming to fill it," Bohanski said. "Who knows when they're gonna get here?"

KDKA got her propane the next day from another company. Thrifty is looking into her complaint.

In the meantime, there are other complaints for Thrifty.

"I had a huge problem with them," one customer said. "I think my floor in the building has been ruined and my pipes are frozen."

Another customer said, "I have already paid for 1,164.4 gallons of propane for this year from Thrifty and was treated like they never heard from me."

KDKA found another supplier for Bohanski, whose home is now warm. Her mom is OK.

However, she says Thrifty still owes her for nearly $1,000 worth of propane she says she pre-paid for. She says it was never delivered, and they refuse to call her.

She's filed a complaint with the Attorney General's office.

KDKA's Marty Griffin: "What kind of situation has this put you in?"
Bohanski: "Financially, bad. I mean, you know, we're gonna have to go get propane somewhere else, start over with another company."

Thrifty has previously had problems in Ohio. There, they were cited by the Attorney General's office for the same issues they're having here.

The owner of Thrifty told KDKA's Marty Griffin they resolved all problems in Ohio. She also says the customer who said her floor was ruined and her pipes frozen finally got her gas from Thrifty two days ago, 17 days after it was ordered.

If you'd like Marty to help you solve your problem, email him at GetMarty@kdka.com.