|
NEWARK
– Attorney General Paula T. Dow and
the Division of Consumer Affairs have filed
suit against an oil company after it failed
to deliver heating oil to residential and
commercial customers throughout northern
New Jersey.
The
state’s two-count Complaint, filed
in State Superior Court in Morris County,
alleges that Able Oil Co. of Rockaway and
its corporate parent, Able Energy, Inc.
(“Able”) violated the state’s
Consumer Fraud Act in failing to fulfill
the contracts it had with customers. The
customers either pre-paid for oil to be
delivered to their residences or businesses
throughout the winter or had entered into
a monthly payment plan for oil deliveries.
“Able’s
customers were left to fend for themselves,
and make their own arrangements to obtain
heating oil and keep their families warm,
when the company abruptly stopped making
deliveries,” Attorney General Dow
said. “These customers were literally
left out in the cold, during one of the
snowiest and coldest winters on record.”
The
state’s lawsuit seeks restitution
for affected consumers, plus the assessment
of civil penalties, attorneys’ fees
and costs against the defendants. An initial
violation of the Consumer Fraud Act carries
a civil penalty of up to $10,000, with additional
violations assessed at up to $20,000.
The
Division of Consumer Affairs has received
more than 60 consumer complaints to date
against Able. All of the complaints were
received since February 1, after Able failed
to make oil deliveries and also failed to
respond to calls from its customers.
“These
defendants put their customer’s health
and safety at risk,” said Sharon Joyce,
Acting Director of the Division of Consumer
Affairs. “Each winter, we hear of
the consequences of vulnerable New Jersey
residents using propane and kerosene heaters,
and even charcoal grills, inside their homes
as they attempt to keep warm.”
The
state alleges that Able violated the Consumer
Fraud Act by committing unconscionable commercial
practices and by making false promises or
misrepresentations, which include the following:
-
Failing to deliver the contracted-for
heating oil to Budget Plan Consumers (i.e.
no delivery or inadequate delivery), yet
continuing to charge their credit cards
or electronically debit their bank accounts
for the monthly installment payments;
-
Failing to deliver the contracted for
heating oil to Pre-Purchase Consumers
(i.e. no delivery or inadequate delivery);
-
Making minimal deliveries of heating oil
(i.e. 20 gallons), then failing to make
any further deliveries;
-
Failing to provide Budget Plan Consumers
and Pre-Purchase Consumers who were enrolled
in the Automatic Delivery Program with
an automatic delivery of heating oil;
-
Failing to deliver heating oil to Budget
Plan Consumers and Pre-Purchase Consumers,
which resulted in damage to their heating
systems;
-
Failing to provide emergency and/or other
service and repairs to consumers’
heating systems, in accordance with the
terms of their Service Agreements;
-
Failing to provide contracted-for heating
oil, thus requiring consumers to purchase
oil from other fuel companies;
-
Representing that consumers enrolled in
the Automatic Delivery Program, including
Budget Plan Consumers and Pre-Purchase
Consumers will receive automatic deliveries
of heating oil, when such is not the case;
and
-
Misrepresenting to consumers who ran out
of heating oil that a delivery would be
made.
Consumers
can file complaints with the Division online
at www.nj.gov/oag/ca/ocp/ocpform.htm
or by calling 1-800-242-5846
(toll-free within N.J.) or 973-504-6200.
Deputy
Attorneys General Alina Wells and Lorraine
K. Rak, Chief of the Consumer Fraud Prosecution
Section, are representing the state in this
action.
### |
