To the editor:

In response to Bruce Howard’s recent propane letter, thank you for writing! I was having real issues with my propane costs as well. I was on an auto-fill and budget payment plan with Ferrellgas. But they were charging me way more than some of my friends and neighbors, supplied by other propane companies.

You can call around and get prices, but that is only their stated current price at that time. Who knows if they are competitive once you are their customer for a while. I would love to see a watch dog group take up this issue!

I started emailing my friends to see what they were charged, then I called my supplier to complain about the difference. You expect some variation, but not dollars per gallon! I was totally prepared to switch to another supplier. It took persistence, because my “local” office didn’t return my calls. So I went above them until I had the regional manager’s attention. I was able to get on a plan that keeps my propane much lower than it had been by sheer persistence alone. I am sure he was tired of hearing from me.

So call around, and ask your friends to let you know what they were charged for their latest delivery, and if your bill reflects a much higher price, make a stink about it! Then compare your next fill up price, and the next. I probably over paid hundreds and hundreds of dollars over the years. I heard Cenex is a fair propane company. I will switch to them if I have issues again. But I will have to pay to have the tanks swapped out if I do, so for now I am satisfied. But I will keep comparing.

Shelly Ackerman

Langley