Irving Oil apologizes and repays overbilled customers
Irving Oil Ltd. customers, who were overbilled for heating oil deliveries stretching back several years, began receiving apologies and full refunds with interest in the mail this week.
"Sometimes we make mistakes," Irving Oil executive Johnny Grant wrote in a letter to affected customers dated May 12, but sent out this week.
"When we do our goal is to make things right as quickly as possible."
Corey Duke, who fought with the company for nearly three months to have his grandmother reimbursed in full, said he's satisfied with the settlement. Although, he disputes that it came quickly or easily.
"It seems like we had to fight tooth and nail to get them to make it right, but in the end they did the right thing," said Duke.
Duke's grandmother, who had been charged hundreds of dollars more than New Brunswick's legal maximum price for heating oil on 27 deliveries stretching back to 2007, was sent a cheque for $558 along with a $20 Irving gift card and an apology from Grant.
Initially, the oil company told Duke it would only pay a fraction of what it overcharged — $178.20 — because it had given his grandmother good deals on some of her other deliveries.
That response unleashed a torrent of public criticism and eventually the company abandoned that position, deciding to refund customers in full instead..
"I'm disappointed it took so long, but I'm satisfied with the outcome," said Duke
Also getting a full refund this week was Fredericton potter Joan Shaw.
Irving Oil had already refunded $110 that it overcharged her in February. But the company had been refusing to return another $196 in overbillings and interest from previous years claiming she too had gotten enough good deals over that time to cover the amount.
Shaw called that "unscrupulous" and on Tuesday Irving Oil apologized in a letter that included a cheque for the full $196 along with a $20 gift card.
"I'm very pleased," said Shaw.
"That was nice. That was closure."
Heather Black, the province's public intervener, who called on Irving Oil to issue full refunds to customers it overcharged back in March, said she's happy to hear it was finally happening.
"I have no knowledge of how it came about, but whatever the impetus was, it is certainly nice to see Irving Oil making this effort," said Black.
Irving Oil's heating oil billing practices came under investigation by the Energy and Utilities Board, following reports last winter by the CBC the company had been overcharging some of its customers.
Irving Oil said those reports came as a surprise to it as well, eventually causing it to review the records of all its heating oil customers.
The company has not said publicly how many customers were affected and the Energy and Utilities Board has not commented on its investigation.
