June 4th, 2009 
BBQ season is upon us and who doesn’t love grilling out on weekends with friends and family? The only problem? You may be paying a lot more than you should for that fill ‘er up on the ol’ propane tank. I received the following in my inbox from Clark Howard about how some, not all, retailers are scamming consumers when they fill up your tank. See below for the full story.
“Scandal at the BBQ pit! The propane sellers may be ripping you off when you refill your existing tank or get a replacement tank. This scam started last year when energy prices were at record highs during the summer. As a way to cut costs, many of these retailers would only fill your tank up about three-quarters full.
Of course, you never want to fill up a propane tank all the way. You need a little safety buffer. Today, it’s not uncommon to get about 18 pounds of propane in 20 pound tank. But you’ll still pay the 20 pound price! You may see a quoted price and then some little mice type about how you’re actually getting less than what your tank holds.
Retailers say they’re just following industry practice, but not everyone is doing it this way.”
According to Clark Howard, propane is selling for less than half of what is was a year ago. To make sure you don’t get ripped off, visit a store that actually has a meter that you can look at while they fill up your tank. I’ve heard that at True Value they actually have a meter that shows you how much actually goes in, and you can stand there while they put it in.
Happy Grillin!!
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