Service Department is just OK. If you have anything out of the ordinary, in terms of your oil burner, they may not have parts on hand. Oil Delivery is NOT OK. They are unreliable, and at times, dishonest. With the current pricing of petroleum products, they are on the very high end. read more

This company is a rip=off and tried to charge us $900 to come out after hours and change an oil filter on a burner. Stay away from them, They are very dishonest. read more

It was time to renew my contract with Automatic TLC and I wasn't concerned about that process. Melanie Diaz was a true professional and you could tell was proud of her customer service skills. Renewing my capped priced budget agreement was right for me and it gives me a greater level of comfort to work with an organization who treats the customer right. read more

I am not a customer, but my place of employment uses TLC/HOP energy. The employee who arrived today at my job spoke to us with such a disturbingly sexist attitude. He stuck his head into the room where we were working and said "Hey girls." First of all, one of the people in that room is a man. Second, the rest of us are WOMEN, in our 20s, 30s, and 40s. Do not refer to adults in a professional setting as "girls." Then, he named dropped the former owner the business who has not been involved in well over a year. The HOP employee asked if there was another "guy" he could talk to about if he was "even supposed to be here." When I replied that he should find our female manager, he said "is she like, a manager, will she know?" So condescending to women. He seemed to have no problem speaking with our male maintenance person. He also pulled his mask down to talk, which defeats the purpose. read more

Three weeks ago paid my oil bill only to get a delivery the next day at 4.19 gallon when going rate for that day was2.45/2.60. Called and was told they would bring it down to 2.99 gallon only if I signed a contract and paid an additional 150 dollar fee! No thank you, I had been a customer for some time and enrolled my family! We will all be leaving! This is how they respect their customers! read more

I have been waiting for a quote since 6/15/2022 - that's almost 3 weeks. Meanwhile my second floor doesn't have AC. I called service and I was told that I have to remind my service technician to send me a quote. I asked why would I as the customer be responsible for that? Isn't there a supervisor who should be responsible for that? I wish Richard the owner, who has posted below, would reach out to me! read more

We have been using Automatic TLC Energy for many years and have stayed with them because we have been pleased with their responsiveness and service. They installed a new furnace with heat pump and condenser last year which has performed very well. We just renewed our capped price budget agreement with Kristy and she handled the paperwork accurately and was very pleasant. read more

In reviewing my account, I had a question about the calculation for my balance. I spoke with Jessica in billing. She was so patient in explaining every input into the calculation. I am consistently impressed with the customer service at Automatic TLC - from both the service personnel and the office staff. read more

My appointment was between 3pm and 5pm; after 6pm when I called (as they didn't have the decency to call me) they said they are "on their way." They weren't the slightest bit apologetic. After receiving poor customer service and subsequently requesting a credit to my account, they ignored me. I received a letter in the mail today stating they are raising my budget plan amount from $200/ month to $467/ month, "..based on the fluctuation of our pricing market...." At the time of setting up the budget plan, I shared my ideal temperature, age and square footage of my house, the lack of energy efficient windows and doors and number of occupants. After being in business for "over 90 years," shouldn't they be able to appropriately estimate a budget plan? Did oil prices mysteriously double? Being a little off is acceptable as it is just an estimate. Now, I have to pay 233% of the estimate. read more

I wish for once I could give zero stars. I've had over 15 years of unfortunate experience with Automatic TLC. When we first purchased our house, my father recommended TLC as it was his oil company. We purchased a service contract, and then the scam started. They would deliver with no notice even though we requested not to be on automatic delivery. Then they would admit to their "mistake" but there was nothing we could do. Cancelling was not easy - they insisted we send in detailed paperwork to get out of the agreement we never signed. Finally I went with other oil companies as "will call" and I have a fantastic furnace guy who handles my service issues as they arise. Fast forward to now. My father, who is suffering from Alzheimer's, is living in a nursing home. I manage his affairs, but TLC still calls him which causes him great anxiety. In December 2013, they delivered 500 gallons of oil to his house even though he was NOT on automatic delivery and they did NOT have authorization. We've requested that they remove the oil but they have refused saying that it's "contaminated" with the oil that's already there. They admit that the delivery was in error, but insist we pay for the oil. We've paid the bill, but they still call my father and won't change the contact number. I'm at the point of reporting TLC to the state and BBB for unfair trade practices. They are a scam of a company. Do not do business with them. read more

ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE COMPANY!!!! STAY AWAY!!! DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH THIS COMPANY AND TAKE NOTE THEY ALSO GO BY THE NAME OF HOP ENERGY, Consistent with all the other complaints regarding this company I was also scammed, charged a higher rate than agreed, charged "Late Fees" which were incorrect and illegitimate. They use bait and switch tactics, then they make way too many deliveries so it is hard to keep track of when they came and also do not provide the delivery tickets. They deliberately make deliveries too often and then bill in a very confusing way so that they end up tacking on "Late Fees" which are another one of their scams. They are a horrible company and they also go by HOP Energy so stay away from them, they are the same company. read more

Be very careful reviewing your bills from this company. We paid to lock in a price for a year last February. They applied the money to our next delivery instead of the price lock. We trusted them to bill us honestly and didn't check the bills. We just paid what they said we owed, (almost $4 per gallon even though prices have dropped and we had locked $2.19.) We had a verbal agreement and we paid them. When we called to question them, they said we never replied to the email they sent so we don't get the price lock. They said it is too expensive to send a contract by mail and they only correspond by email. My husband checked his email and did not find the email they claimed to have sent. We were over charged over $1000 in a year and they charge almost double what other companies charge for the oil. We have notified them that we will not pay for any future deliveries. They were rude on the phone, telling my husband that it was our fault we didn't check the bills to see if we were being overcharged. We will not make that mistake again. The deliveries were dependable, but the billing department is not to be trusted. read more

I was an Automatic/TLC customer for 18 years up until a month ago (September 2020) The reason are listed below, as to why I closed my account: 1. Service Technician arrived and said my oil tank was not serviceable (keep in mind they had been servicing it for the previous 18 years) because it have a compression fitting on the line feeding the furnace. The technician said it may break when changing the filter and might leak. I asked if the correct fitting could be installed and he called his supervisor who said there was sufficient extra tubing to do that. So I said fine but the technician refused to repair the line as directed fearing if it were to break he would lose his job. I said to him that his boss said it was ok to fix the line and again he said he would not touch it. 2. The tank had a plastic plug at the top to close an extra port. Plug has been on the tank since 1985. Technician said that was a real show stopper and needed to be replaced. I said fine to that replacement but apparently the correct metal plug was not on the truck he had. I asked if he would come back with the correct one and he said no not without a work order. He called his boss again and I spoke with the technician's supervisor about the line, plug and the fact that the technician was reluctant to touch any part of the tank. He said that the older tanks were historically unpredictable when working on them, so his technician was being safe. I asked if replacing the tank and line would solve all of these new found issues and he said yes. I said "great" who do I call to get this all done. He told me then that the technician would enter the order into the system and an Equipment Manager would be in touch with me in a couple of days. 3. No callback, no response from my multiple calls for service and the discovery that the technician who entered the order also placed a "DO NOT FILL" restriction on our home because of the plastic plug at the top of the tank. Rather than replace the plug, he entered a DO NOT FILL order without notice putting our home at risk if we ran low on oil. 4. Calling multiple times (every other day) to try and get an equipment manager to our home to replace the tank or at a minimum get a technician there to replace the plastic plug at the top of the tank was futile. Every call ended with "Someone will be in touch with you in 24 hours". Never happened! Do yourself a big favor and stay clear of this company. They are not any good. Used to be the best in service and now forget it!!! read more

I called Automatic TLC because I had received an invoice for service that was completed in February. The service had actually been paid for prior to when it was completed, however, I still received an invoice with a due date of March 27th. I spoke to Marie about the problem and she pulled up my account and verified the information. She explained that everything was current and the only balance remaining was my monthly budget plan. Additionally, she sent me a complete account of the Billings and payments on my account. Great customer service, thank you! read more

Crap oil company which I will be kicking to the curb as soon as our contract is up. I have never dealt with such deplorable service. We've had issues with them since day 1: claiming they never received our payment which we NEVER missed a payment, lazy oil delivery man that could not be bothered delivering in a foot of snow so we were left without heat and hot water in the dead of winter with a new baby... but the most recent service takes the friggin cake!! We had our yearly furnace cleaning which we pay $$$ for and the incompetent service man breaks something in our furnace and it starts making a horrific rumbling noise that sounds like the whole house is vibrating. We schedule a service for the next day.. they gave us a ridiculous 8 hour window and then they never bothered to show up during that window.. no call or anything! We had to call THEM and they said that we're backed up and could be out there by 9pm.. uh.. WTF and no thank you. They did come out early-ish the next day but sent a rude and arrogant service man who could barely be bothered... spent literally 5 minutes down there, says he fixed the problem and wouldn't even let me run the hot water to see if that noise continued. 2 days later the noise is back again with a vengeance and we call to set up an appointment two weeks in the future. Well needless to say they gave us the stupid 8 hour window, never bothered to show up, and never bothered to call AGAIN. I had to call them and gave them an earful. They said they had to idea when the service guy would be done at their current location and he was an hour away. I gave another earful and told them forget it. I asked to make another appointment and they said no I'll have to wait to make it the next day. Infuriating!! Now I still have to wait for an appointment for who knows when and who knows what the heck they even did to my furnace but I'm certainly not paying for it. I cannot believe they way they run their business and they will be losing a customer for sure!! read more

The single worst company I have ever dealt with. Absolute I would recommend never trusting this company and certainly never doing business with them. I ended my relationship with them five years ago, but the matter is now before an attorney. Some companies just need to be sued, and this is one of them. Also, to those who have given TLC written notice to terminate but then gotten oil delivered, I believe under CT law you no longer have to pay for such deliveries. The law changed in 2012. Google it to make sure. read more

Careful with signing a budget contract with this company as it renews automatically year to year. Through the past few years my "contract" price continued to rise without justification. This year it soared to $3.99. When I called to terminate my contract, which ends at this billing cycle first they demanded I tell them why I was leaving then demanded I pay my full amount right on the spot. They were extremely aggressive during my conversation and it took me multiple times for me to demand they immediately close out my account for them to finally stop. read more

I haven't had any issues with this company other than my budget amount increasing for the next year.

I called this company today to set up an appointment to have my furnace cleaned. After being transferred between 4 different people I gave up. read more

Furnace stopped working. A repair person arrived within a reasonable time. He was friendly and courteous and knew exactly how to restore the heat. read more

I concur with Melissa, who wanted to give ZERO stars to this bunch. My experience resembles that of S.Z., who was shocked to see what he was charged when his annual contract expired. I let mine lapse, thinking the spot market wouldn't be so bad. WRONG. They charged me $4.399 a gallon on 12/27/17. I called 3 other dealers afterwards and they were selling on the spot market for about $2.68 -- so AutomaticTLC gouged me with an extra $1.70 a gallon. Their explanation?? the spot market is C.O.D. instead of 30-days net billing, and they don't monitor your tank level, and this is supposedly worth $1.70 a gallon. (Not that they monitor too closely; my tank level was reading zero when I called them.) Naturally I fired them, but the damage was done. Run, don't walk, away from this company. read more

As an existing customer, we called on Sunday for an emergency fill up (which shouldn't be needed as we're signed up for their automatic delivery). No one showed, no one showed, and we continued to call to check in on an estimated delivery time. Customer service could not provide an estimated delivery time and when they did, no one showed to deliver the oil. Their prices are low, but the service is poor. We will be searching for another company ASAP. read more

I had the same experience as karen b and alex k. Biggest crooks I've come across. According to their contract, written notice is to be given to not renew, which i did in December. My contract was up the end of January 2016. Well much to my surprise i received oil far past my contract end date....and at a price gouging rate of $2.899. Pricing other companies, their prices were at $1.40 - $1.80 p /gal. When I called to challenge the price and the fact that they were no longer my oil company, I got such a run around. We agreed on a lower price, still much higher than competitors. I hope everyone that reads this takes all of these reviews under consideration. Totally totally disgusted with this company. read more

DO NOT use Automatic TLC!!!! They are ripping off consumers. I had a contract with them and at end of contract if you don't sign up again they continue to bring you oil and charge you much more than what they charge anyone else that would call for just a fill up. They charged me $4.69 when the going rate was $3.30. I got scammed and called and canceled right away. DO NOT sign a contract with them for a cap or automatic delivery. I am disgusted by how many people may be overpaying especially elderly clients that cannot read those chicken scratch receipts they leave you. Maybe the department of consumer protection will be stepping in. read more

I've been a customer for many years and have no complaints about service, delivery, etc. Yes, the prices seemed high and I was stunned at last year's prices, but the "capping" worked in my favor and this year I was very pleased with the greatly reduced payment on my new contract. I think this is a very fair company to deal with. read more

Signed a "capped" program with these guys last year with the cap being $2.40. While competition has dropped rates to $1.50 and they are quoting $1.44 to new customers as a new cap - they charged me $2.40 for the latest delivery. I signed a capped not fixed contract and they administer like a fixed contract and now say i owe $170 for a "program fee" which was never discussed. These guys are crooks. Do not sign anything with them. Bait and switch programs. read more

So I understand when I lock in at a set price for a year that will be my rate. But when I'm paying DOUBLE the price of the current price of oil when being advised that when or if prices would drop I would get that rate doesn't seem financially moral on their end. Big thumbs down for TLC. I talked to 2 people in the service department who were very rude and very unintelligent. I asked why I was being charged when oil is under $2 at this time and they claimed they sell at a suggested retail price. Who makes up these prices? Highly recommend going somewhere else so you won't have to go through what I did. read more

Any oppouto over charge you or hide charges even for customers of 4 years they will disgusted with how i have been treated

Horrible company to deal with. AVOID ANY CONTRACTS WITH THEM. Capped price means it wont go any higher than capped price, but they will just charge you what their "Prevailing Retail Price" not actually market price. They are crooks read all below, everyone says same thing. read more

Stay away from this bunch of crooks!..Like many of the reviews here, I paid for a CAP on my price, not a lock in. I was told that when the "MARKET RATE" drops I would pay the lower rate. The Market rate dropped considerably during 2015 to well below $2.00. When we called to ask why our bill was so high they said that their daily rate is still $3.19 so we are "lucky" to have capped at $2.99! They don't seem to realize that MARKET RATE is not just a figure they pick out of thin air. It is a comparable rate to other suppliers in the area. At this moment in time the rate ranges from as low as $1.51 to about $1.89. I actually ran into a TLC driver who told me that their rate was around $1.79 (he actually wrote down his name and driver number on a Dollarwise Oil Card. They own TLC) which makes sense as their Web site quotes $1.69 for new customer first delivery. This is the Market rate. I have obtained copies from other customers in my neighborhood of their oil bills through out 2015 and they have paid way less than me. This shows that the market rate had dropped and they were dropping the price as they should for some people. I have put my last bill in dispute and am currently gathering more evidence for a claim through small claims court. They are nice to you at first, and then when you sign a contract they price gauge and rip you off. You cant get an answer to simple questions. I can only imagine what they are doing to some older more trusting people. STAY AWAY! read more

Do not use this company the are crocks and very misleading.....tell you when you sign you will receive the market price and never to exceed cap.....market is a dollar cheaper than cap read more

Awful. Deceptive delivery/billing practices. Avoid. Seek out a co-op, like Pinergy. If you do sign a contract, make sure you budget your estimated gallons on the high side. Report to the Department of Consumer Protection. SWITCH TO NATURAL GAS! read more

AKA-HOP Energy, Valley Oil and who knows what other names they do their dirty scamming under.Had a contract and still got gouged. Better Business Bureau has 128 complaints on just one of the names they use..Valley Oil! I don't know how the heck they are still in business. The Hartford Courant wrote them up in 2009. I thought I was a pretty savvy shopper. Well, word of mouth can kill a company. I hope it works in this case. read more

*I'm sharing this here because Automatic TLC is a sister company of Dollarwise and Kaufman Fuel* I have never received such dis-respectful customer service. The debacle began when our oil was delivered to our tenant at the cottage on the same property. Simple mistake by the driver turned into an incredible ordeal with not only Dollarwise Oil (whom also owns TLC) but Kaufman fuel (aka Dollarwise). They basically told me I was lying and would need to send a technician out to verify my gauge wasn't broken. Duh! I placed the order on Sunday morning for a Monday delivery. They took my $665 out of my account on Monday. I then woke up Tues to a freezing 46 degrees home. I called both DW and Kaufmann and told them of our now dire situation and they could basically care less. They didn't get oil there until Wednesday afternoon even after I told them the day before we were completely out. A simple apology and some sort of re-assurance that they would get oil to us as soon as possible would have been the logical solution but like I said it turned into a total customer service debacle. read more

I used TLC for a year on their automatic fill up system. I had just moved into a new house and being a first time customer I decided to purchase a service contract with them at a discounted rate. Fast forward a year, I was locked in at $3.64 a gallon for the last few fill-ups and can't get out of that price until I have used all the oil that was originally allotted to me (for reference the market price for oil at the time of me writing is $2.39). They also automatically renewed my service contract at the full $500 without my consent. I was never notified that this contract would auto-renew and had no idea until I saw my bill. I immediately called and talked to customer service on the phone, insisting that they remove the charge and also closeout my account as I no longer wished to receive automatic payments. For a while they tried to convince me to stay, trying to explain how in a market where oil was going down every week it was still a good time to lock in a price for the next year. After about 20 mins they finally agreed to close out the account. I was told the service contract was removed and I paid off my remaining balance over the phone. Quite a surprise I have when a month later I see a bill from TLC with the service contract on it, plus a $70 late fee. I called back and had to explain the whole story again. Now I finally think my account is closed out with a $0 balance, but I won't know for another month. The only good thing I can say is that the second customer service agent Janet was very nice, didn't try to convince me to come back, and removed the service contract and the late fee. Janet, if you see this, you were wonderful, but I will not be purchasing oil from you company again. read more

Wow the worst service they USED to be the best in the business they have almost tripled my payments without my knowledge I was paying 1.89 then seen 3.80!! I called and they said it was a mistake it happen again and that time was the last time and I closed my account I can not believe what frauds they are and I can't believe my bill! Gonna have to call the department consumer protection or something Do NOT go here for oil!! -0 read more

We have experienced TERRIBLE service with Automatic TLC. Issue #1 We called 3.5 months in advance to schedule a furnace cleaning (they do not notify you when you are due for your annual cleaning). They could not schedule us within the time-frame that we requested. I found out today that you have to call exactly 4 months in advance or they cannot schedule you before then. They do not offer to call if there is a cancellation! NO FLEXIBILITY FOR THE CUSTOMER. Issue #2 We had no hot water! It took Automatic TLC 12 HOURS to come to the house to fix the problem. I had to call 3 times and got a different time of arrival each time I called. I don't know what that was all about?? When I talked to the manager regarding how long it took them to fix the problem the basic response I got was that they came within the 8 hour window of time that I was given. 8 hour window! This company is not customer friendly and does not care about customers that have been with them for over 30 years. Issue #3 We have requested a bill not to be left at our home (as we are snowbirds). Of course during the winter there was a bill left at our home. Bottom line is that we are looking for a new company! read more

Eek! Methinks not is about the mildest opposition that comes to mind as I think about this company. DO NOT buy oil from this awful company. Don't do it... you might have a great experience with their sales people, you might even have a good experience for your first fill up but I beg you... DO NOT enter into any long term contract with these liars. Believe the reviews you've read here. A few things to know: 1.) Price Cap agreements are a sham... I capped in June at $2.499 a gallon. You know the prices of oil right now... $1.79 or less. The cap was supposed to benefit me by giving me the prevailing retail price IF the price was lower than the cap... I can tell you right now, that's not what I got. I got a delivery in December, still charged $2.499 despite the fact that the company was now advertising price cap agreements at $2.099 a gallon and actively selling oil, to customers with no contracts at $1.799 a gallon. But wait, there's more.. 2.) Anytime you have a problem, fully expect to receive a massive attitude from staff in East Hartford. They will assume you are wrong and will unequivocally tell you why you're wrong. 3.) Keep in mind, if you buy a service contract, like I did, and you end up cancelling your sales agreement, like I did because they are fraudsters, your service contract will also be void. 4.) Don't waste your time trying to get any resolution through the BBB - they will say that they issued a refund and it magically won't come because what they meant was that they returned your money to you that was left in your account after they took their early cancellation fee out. Best descriptive words for TLC: Awful. Deceptive. Sham. Liars. Thieves. I wish I could give them ZERO stars. Their old perception is still their current reality. Being bought by HOP Energy did nothing to change that. I wish they would go out of business already. read more

PEOPLE REALLY NEED TO READ THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! NO STARS FOR THIS COMPANY. MY MOTHER WAS A CUSTOMER FOR WHAT I BELIEVE TO BE MORE THAN 38 YEARS. THEY ARE HORRIBLE. THIS IS PART OF A LETTER THAT I SENT TO THEM AFTER TERMINATING THEIR SERVICES. In the past you have abused your ability to take automatic payments. You took an unauthorized payment and carelessly emptied my mother's account; leaving her with no money do to your mistake, . You then acted as if you didn't even care. When ask to discontinue taking automatic payments you did so for two months and then restarted siphoning her account (unauthorized) on the same months that I already sent a payment. You charged a fee for covered services, extorted cash payments for emergency services and ignored many request to correct your mistakes. Too many other things to mention knowing this is falling on deaf ears. The all time most important thing to mention is that you grossly and unethically overcharge for your product. You over value your services and I hope that in time you learn a lesson. When people realize that they can get a better product for much less money, they're going to do it. In my case, saving 888.00$ in the first year (for BETTER products and services) and saving 1200.00$ the second year as compared to your prices is a no brainer. This other company also offers many incentives to keep their customers happy and takes measures to keep their consumer costs down to do better than the competition just as so many other oil companies do. You seem to have a much different philosophy, an arrogant one. Just thinking about your practices makes me nauseous. You took advantage of my mother for almost 40 years. You're no better than the scum that calls the house and tries to scam my 81 year old mother. What you do is as bad as robbery. I know your cost of operation is no higher than any other similar company! THEY BLAME THEIR GREED ON OPERATING COSTS. THEY HAD THE NERVE TO TRY TO CONVINCE ME TO STAY WITH THEM EVEN THOUGH THEY KNOW THEY OVERCHARGE. I JUST SAW AN AD WHERE THEY CLAIM NEW CUSTOMERS ONLY PAY 1.69$ @ GAL. I TOLD THEM I WAS TIRED OF COMPENSATING FOR THEIR NEW CUSTOMERS. I HAVE ESTAMATED THAT MY MOTHER COULD LITERALLY HAVE SAVED 32,000 DOLLARS OVER THE YEARS IF SHE HAD AN HONEST OIL COMPANY. THIS IS NO JOKE. PEOPLE NEED TO READ THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! read more

Made a poor decision to contract with this company for my oil this year and it was a horrible decision. We discussed a mapped out price point and monthly budget plan which was not followed on multiple occasions. There were two junctures where I paid almost double the amount required. In the contract they were to deliver no more than a specified amount of oil and we have now surpassed that cap. Additionally, they continued to bill me past having any oil delivered. My account shows a little more than $100 due BACK to me. They still had my account prepping to pay for next months installment rate although we have now surpassed the cap and they owe me money. They are non responsive to or pass the buck to somebody else when a problem is brought up. I would never ever go with this company and hope others who read this review understand that it is a poor decision as their customer service is horrendous and their process for all things business related is inadequate. read more