We bought a new house last year and there were two large gas tanks that were full of propane for a gas fireplace that came with the house. This morning a gas company came onto our property without our permission and took the tanks away. They were at least half full of $300+ in propane. As far as I knew these tanks were owned by the previous homeowners and were ours.
Does this gas company (in Virginia) have any right to:
A) Come onto my property (inside by FENCED BACKYARD) without my permission. B) Take half full tanks without contacting me.
Just call them up and tell them you think you own the tanks and contents. If they made a mistake that will probably fix it without having to go to any further bother.
If you call the police, they'll probably ask you to call the propane company and see if it was just a mistake before filing a theft complaint.
Odds are the tanks were property of the gas company; you got to use them if you bought gas regularly. Since you didn't... Happened to me with a large full tank.
Or, they might just have stolen the tanks. Give them a call and ask them to document their right to do it.
The tanks were very likely theirs. However the gas in them was paid for by the previous owner and therefore yours when you purchased the house. Tell them you want reimbursement for the gas in the tanks.
'Round here, the tanks are the property of the propane company. You might want to check with them or with the previous homeowners as to who actually owned the tanks, and if the propane they contained was ever actually paid for...
Did the gas company contact you in ANY way about those tanks and their contents before they made off with them? (Come clean now. )
If they didn't, I'd think you've certainly got a right to bitch and get them to prove they owned the contents, and if they couldn't, pay you for that gas.
Didja try and contact the previous owners and ask them if THEY paid for the last delivery before they sold the place to you?
Didn't we have a thread in just the last week in which the homeowner did't own the propane in his tank? That he was billed just for what he used. If so, even if this arrangement is uncommon, this might be another example of the homeowner not owning the gas on his property.
If someone wants to find the thread, this was a case where the poster wanted to know how to calculate how much was in the tank, so he could buy it. I and a couple others told him to fill the tank, to 400 out of a total of 500, and keep track of how much was needed to reach 400. Then he would know how much was in there to begin with.
In the Flagstaff AZ area, where we have a cabin, the propane companies will work with either situation. If you own your own tank, they charge you for a system check when you first sign up with them, then just charge you for the propane they put in your tank. If you don't own a tank, they'll be glad to either sell you a tank, or bill you a monthly rental on a tank.
It seems likely that the previous owner was renting the tank. If you never contacted the propane company after buying the house, they probably decided that the previous owner had stopped paying the tank rental, and came to recover their property. A tank rental agreement would probably make provision for them to access your property to recover their tank. They may have sent notice in the previous owner's name, which got forwarded to them, and you never saw it.
On the other hand, it doesn't seem like the propane company made much of an effort to contact you. I would have tried: A) Mail to the previous owners name, B) Mail to Occupant at the service address, C) Send somebody around to knock on the door, D) If no answer at the door, leave a note.
And of course, if the contents of the removed tanks were already paid for, it seems like they would owe you the cost of the propane.
Depends on your location. When I need LP, they put in as much as I ask for and bill me for that amount. Therefore the gas in the tank is mine. I read the mentioned thread but didn't comment since my area of the country uses a different system - a system that makes much more sense in my opinion. Bob
One sure indication that the tanks and contents were owned by the gas company would be if there was a meter attached to the tanks. Privately owned tanks, or company owned (rented) tanks where you own the contents would not have a meter.
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