What's Full?
While consumers all over town are getting less for their money, many ads say you're getting a full tank.
Hayes commented on one of those full signs, "Empty for full -- what's full?"
Although the State of Missouri says full is around 18 pounds it only takes action if the weight and labels don't match or if the cage is mislabeled. We went with an inspector to a store in Jefferson City, Mo. The price was displayed, but there was no indication of the weight. The inspector wrote the store a warning and gave them several days to fix the display before it would issue a $500 fine. It only took minutes, though, for the store to add a weight sign to the exterior of the cage.
We did the same thing in Kansas City to make sure consumers are alerted to the shrinking weight. Stores instantly walked outside and changed their signs.
We called all 20 stores in our test, and many told us they would be changing their signs or talking with their propane provider to get an updated sign.
At the Gladstone Mart & Liquor on North Oak Trafficway, we found the store crossed off the 17 pound label on the propane cage.
"People and the customer see that and it's a big problem," Gopal Talati of the store told us.
We told the store manager how to fix the problem and seconds later he walked out with a Sharpie to get the sign into compliance with the state law.
"I want to keep our customers happy," Talati said.
While Missouri customers are protected by state law, Kansas consumers want more protection.
"I'm hoping this will make everyone aware of it and plant a seed for someone to do something in the consumers name," Bauer said.
Bauer filed a complaint with the State of Kansas, and it's investigating his complaint.
If you suspect your propane doesn't weigh as much as the label says, you can weigh it on a bathroom scale. However, these can't be considered completely accurate. There should be what's called a "tare" weight on the tanks that tells you how much the cylinder weighs empty. Subtract that from the weight of the propane full and you should be able to get an indication of how much propane is in the tank.
Inspectors weigh propane cylinders and take a statistical average. While we were in Jefferson City, the state found most tanks weighed slightly more than what was listed on the cylinder.
Statements From Propane Suppliers
Heritage Propane tells us it intends to keep its tanks 17 pounds. A spokesman for the company says there are no plans to reduce the weight of their tanks. Heritage says the cages are shipped to the store with an adhesive decal regarding the weight of the propane tanks. It's up to the store to put the price on the cage.
AmeriGas tells Call For Action propane grill cylinders can hold 20 pounds of propane, but for safety reasons the standard exchange fill since at least 2002 has been about 17 pounds or approximately 4 gallons. In August 2008, the cost of propane was rising sharply. AmeriGas was one of the propane providers who chose to reduce the amount of propane in its cylinders from 17 to 15 pounds in order to avoid further increases, at that time, in the cost per exchange for consumers. We immediately changed our cylinder label to be sure consumers knew they were buying 15 pounds of propane. Unfortunately, some consumers feel they were not sufficiently informed and that’s a serious concern to us. Because we want all of our customers to be satisfied with our products and services, we are offering a rebate of $2.50 to all those who use our cylinder exchange. We are also taking additional steps to make the change even more visible, including cylinder stickers, banners and information cards at every point of purchase, and information on our Web site. This process is currently underway at all of our locations nationwide.
Click Here for More Information on the $2.50 AmeriGas RebateFerrellgas tells us it's been in compliance with state law for ten years. The company says it's just now hearing about the price and weight requirement for the exterior of the cage. Ferrell believes the state is changing its interpretation of the law since it is just now hearing about it. Ferrell believes it's in full compliance and it's still trying to understand the new interpretation. Ferrell says it has complied with the law up until now and will continue to comply.
