UPG Customers Get Refunds in Settlement

Attorney General Andy Beshear announced Friday that more than 500 Kentucky customers of Paducah-based United Propane Gas Inc. will get an average refund of $291 through a recent $150,000 settlement by his office with the company.

The settlement resolves alleged violations of the Kentucky Consumer Protection Act by the company and its affiliates. Beshear said the agreement was reached following a lawsuit filed in 2014 after complaints were made to the Office of the Attorney General and the Better Business Bureau of Kentucky.

United Propane Gas had difficulty receiving and delivering propane during the 2013-2014 winter. The Attorney General's office got an injunction at that time to allow UPG customers who rent tanks to get them filled by other companies. But UPG didn't honor its pre-pay contracts for awhile, so those customers had to pay soaring market prices. 

As part of the agreement, United Propane Gas, headquartered in Paducah with offices throughout the state, agreed to strengthen customer protections.

Beshear’s agreement with United Propane Gas also requires that the company remove a clause from its standard contract that allowed it to raise customers’ prices in certain situations without notice and agreement by the customer.

United Propane Gas agreed to change its allocation of existing propane during a supply disruption and not to assess or collect fees that have not been disclosed to consumers.

Friday's settlement provides refunds to most of these those customers through account credits, but some will get refund checks.

Beshear said UPG customers who have not yet received a refund should expect a letter from his office telling how to claim it within the next 45 days. Those consumers will have to sign a release and return it within 30 days.