ComplaintsforAirgas, Inc.

• Initial Complaint

  03/02/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  We have been leasing an oxygen cylinder since May 2021. Suddenly, Airgas began charging a HazMAT fee, which was not in prior billings. This was NOT in our agreement. The rental has DOUBLED and they are also charging a HazMAT fee. The price of our lease has TRIPLED as a result. Trying to talk to someone falls on deaf ears. My listed rep on our account is not with the company any longer, and I am referred to sales to discuss this, but no one has contacted me since December 2022. There is no page 2 of the PDF bills, and their site does not detail the charge as their invoice states. Sneaky stuff, and not good business practice. 

• Initial Complaint

  02/23/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  On August 25, 2022 I reached out to ****** ***** and ******* **** at the local Airgas location in Orlando, FL. I communicated that I was looking for a quote for CO2 siphon tanks for a limited time Halloween event. I was advised to send an email with me exact needs and timelines to get an accurate quote. I did so, and later had separate phone calls with ****** ***** and ******* **** confirming a total price to rent 21 canisters for our limited time event. I received the canisters and everything was in working order. On the final day of our event on 10/31/22, I called them to advise of "ready for pickup" status. They did not come to pick up the canisters for several business days, but finally retrieved them. On 11/21/22 I received an overdue bill notification, and made payment on the phone in the amount of $1703. This final paid amount was similar to the amount quoted to me by ****** ***** over the phone, based on the email I sent to him on August 25, 2022. In December, Airgas reached out to me again with another past due notice, this time for a new charge of $600. I was advised that this was additional rental fees, that were previously never disclosed or explained to me. I have made several calls explaining my predicament to Airgas and protesting this additional charge, as it was a surprise charge made to me that falls outside of the quoted rate. I've spoken with three individuals at billing, and ****** *****, and no one seems to care. They simply say, "That's how it is". This may be how it is for their ongoing customers who use their product, but we called and emailed with specific dates and quantities and were given a specific final price. To tack on hundreds of dollars a month alters a deceptive consume practice.

• Initial Complaint

  02/19/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Hi there!I have a contract with Airgas which clearly states I would NOT be charged hazmat fees.I recently discovered that Airgas has been charging multiple hazmat fees monthly, 4 different hazmat fees a month. My contract states $5 delivery and no hazmat fees.Airgas has been stonewalling me to get this issue corrected and claims they sent out notices in the past which I never got. I would have NEVER agreed to pay a feee my contract clearly states I should not be paying.I wish for my contract with Airgas to end immediately. I will find a more reputable supplier.

  Business response

  02/23/2023

  I have received the attached complaint.  I have already spoken with the customer and we have worked everything out.

  Business response

  02/23/2023

  Airgas National Carbonation provided the customer with a notification of a change to their contract. The customer has disputed this. We have mutually decided to end our supplier/customer partnership effective on 2/22/2023.

• Initial Complaint

  08/26/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I have two bottles I purchased from Airgas years ago, between 2003 and 2006. I have exchanged them for a filled a number of times with no problem. I only use the gas when I have a contract requiring it and it's been a number of years and a move from Colorado to Oregon since I purchased the bottles. I believed I have even had them exchanged and filled here in Oregon. The collar of the bottles have different companies on them, but that was never mentioned as an issue in past exchanges. The bottles still have their Airgas stickers from the last time I exchanged. Now no Airgas location will fill the bottles or exchange unless I produce a 20 year old receipt for purchasing the bottles. I'm looking but not hopeful. This is a huge violation of trust! Airgas gave me these bottles and I took them in good faith and now Airgas won't fill or exchange them, but will happily charge me $100's of dollars for new bottles.

  Business response

  09/07/2022

  To whom it may concern,

  The Oregon South Airgas team located in Grants Pass, Oregon has connected with the customer and presented a solution to the cylinder issues which the customer has accepted.
  If you have any questions please feel free to call Mike M****** (Oregon South DM) on his cell number : ###-###-####
  
  Thanks
  
  Greg W**** / AVP Oregon

  Customer response

  09/09/2022

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. It's not a perfect solution but it allows me to continue doing business with Airgas and move forward with my contract.
  
  Regards,
  
  ***********************
  

• Initial Complaint

  11/30/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Delivery Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  I placed an on-line order on www.airgas.com using my account login on 11/05/2021. I received an Order Acknowledgement from Airgas, #********** dated 11/05/2021.Details of Order:Product (10 pound container of welding rods) - $125.20,Airgas Hazmat Charge - $ 20.31,Shipping & Handling - $ 12.95. Airgas shipped the product and provided an invoice (**********) dated 11/12/2021.Details of Invoice:Product (10 pound container of welding rods) - $154.70,Airgas Hazmat Charge - $ 23.46,Shipping & Handling - $ 14.95. Beside not honoring their price from their Order Acknowledgement to their Invoice over the 7 days, I am unsure what the Airgas Hazmat Charge covers considering this order was for a 10 pound container of welding rods. I e-mailed Airgas's [email protected] asking about the discrepancy but they have yet to respond.

• Initial Complaint

  11/15/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  Airgas had quoted a price and we were purchasing as a monthly customer. During the pandemic, they raised their priced by 2x-3x without our knowledge. We let everyone up the ladder know and asked for management/supervisors, but the requests have been ignored for months. They have been reporting us to *** while invoices remain in dispute. This is not a company doing kosher business and surprised to see all the similar complaints!

• Initial Complaint

  09/24/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Airgas weekly supplies ******** 10 cylinders total of oxygen and acetylene and 5 propane in the winter. We keep 15 cylinders in stock. March 2021 we discontinued using Airgas. June 31 2021 we received an invoice of $19,702 for 80 cylinders that Airgas said were never returned. We reviewed invoices and found that we had been paying rent on cylinders we had returned. We saw in 2013 the cylinder balance had been adjusted adding 121 cylinders. After returning all of the cylinder in April the June rental bill showed a remaining balance of 112 cylinders. However the June invoice was for 80 cylinders. We have return all of the cylinders that were shipped to us. Airgas will not accept that their accounting of the cylinders could be incorrect. For about 8 years we have paid rent on approx. 47 propane and 28 oxygen cylinders that we did not have at $216 per year totaling $ 16,200. No one from Airgas questioned why the rental cylinder balance was so high since we only order 10 per week.

  Business response

  11/22/2021

  Airgas had been servicing this customer, ******** ******** ******, for over 20 years.  This customer utilizes gas cylinders, which are Airgas owned, that they rent from us.  In order to keep track of these cylinders ("Assets"), Airgas has defined Standard Operating Procedures ("SOP") that include several layers of redundancy to ensure the accuracy both the customers balance at their site and the balances we use to operate our business.  These processes are regularly audited internally through things like daily cycle counts, truck reconciliation both outbound and inbound, monthly inventories, etc.  Once these Airgas owned cylinders are delivered to the customers site, the customer is responsible for having processes in place to manage any cylinder movement and/or deviations from the balance they are ultimately responsible for which could be cause by a number of reasons (home use, theft, borrowing with the intent to return, transporting cylinders on their own vehicles, etc.).  We also provide real-time visibility to our customers, allowing them to verify the balances we show they have vs. what they actually have.  This visibility is as recent as the last delivery but at a minimum monthly via a Rental Invoice that generates monthly and shows the balance on-hand and the associated quantity, days, etc.  

  
  

  ******** ******** ****** had expressed a concern with the cylinder balance at which point Airgas visited the site and worked to complete a "Cylinder Audit"  which is the standard process to validate what cylinders are actually onsite vs. what we (Airgas) show they have onsite.  If we show they have more cylinders onsite than what we end up finding onsite, the customer is responsible for paying loss of use ("LOU") to replace the cylinders that they no longer have in their possession, which could be cause by a number of reasons (home use, theft, borrowing with the intent to return, transporting cylinders on their own vehicles, etc.).  In this case, Atlantic Building Supply was missing several cylinders that we can prove, through our redundant processes and associated paperwork, that they should have onsite.

  
  

  When the value of the missing cylinders was presented to Atlantic Building Supply, which they were aware was the next step prior to the cylinder audit being completed, they refused to pay any of the open invoices for both product and rent.  In an effort to minimize the cost of the LOU owned by Atlantic Building Supply, Airgas met with the owners to try to come up with an amicable resolution, at which point the owners became aggressive and attempted to physically intimidate the Airgas employees onsite trying to help them.

  
  

  For the safety of our employees, we had ceased any effort to try to help them and/or lessen the total amount owed, as it was clear their intent was to deliberately not pay for product and services that they agreed they received and used, thus, leading to us turning the collections efforts over to a third-party collections agency.

• Initial Complaint

  08/30/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  Application of "Hazmat Fee" without disclosing it in any discussion **even when explicitly asked if there are any hidden fees** (see attachment). THIS FEE WAS 27% OF THE ITEM COST, thus misrepresenting the cost of doing business as a pass-thru and, instead, clearly using it as a profit center. This is a form of corporate corruption and I don't want to have to write to my congress person and state representative about it. I would like a refund of this fee or be shown written documentation that CO2 incurs a STEEP hazmat fee. Also, I actually liked my experience with AirGas, or at least the sales person there. I would like to continue doing business with AirGas but I want a way to avoid this fleecing of my wallet in the future. Any information here would be helpful. Thank you.

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