5 On Your Side resolves AmeriGas bill confusion for Wake woman

Lori Ehlert said she sold her home a year ago but continued to be billed by AmeriGas for propane deliveries.

"Rich, the new owner, had said that [AmeriGas] had filled his tank and wanted to bill him. And he was like, 'I don’t have a contract with you. We’re not using you,'" Ehlert said. "Then, they started coming after us."

The erroneous billing started in March, almost six months after Ehlert canceled her contract with AmeriGas.

"People were not getting the gas they needed, but then, in March, they were delivering gas to us, and we didn’t even have an account with them anymore," Ehlert said.

When her husband called AmeriGas, she said, "the person he spoke with said, 'OK, yeah, we understand. We’re going to remove this.'"

But that didn’t happen.

After more calls and emails to the company, past due notices started arriving.

"Then, a collection agency got involved, and now we’re up to $150 or so more in late fees," Ehlert said.

The total amount of money in dispute is up to $883.12.

The Ehlerts' last call with customer service was the last straw.

"He apologized that it couldn’t be resolved through him, and I said, 'What’s my next step?' And he said, 'I don’t know,'" Ehlert said.

After that, she called 5 On Your Side, which contacted AmeriGas and got immediate action.

The company offered credit, removed the collection agency and closed the Ehlerts' account.

"What a relief after so many months of frustration!" Ehlert wrote in a thank you email to 5 On Your Side.

An AmeriGas spokeswoman said that, after delivery delays last winter, the company is now operating at 95 percent on time for all routes, with deliveries happening six days a week.