Avoid the Propane Tank Swap Scam

The story behind the
Propane Tank Swap Scam

What is the tank swap scam?
There are supermarkets, gas stations, convenience stores and drug stores
that have cages with pre-filled propane tanks out front. The first part of the
scam is that you give them your tank and they give you someone else's tank. You
could end up with a tank that is much older than the tank you gave them. Imagine
giving them your brand new tank and getting back one that's 10 years old!

The second part of the scam is that they are charging you a lot more for the
convenience of exchanging a tank and they hide this extra charge because
they count on you not noticing that they are not filling your tank.

By the way, did you know we can properly (and fully!) refill your tank in
about 5 minutes and even on our busiest day there is never a long wait?

How do we know this?
They quietly tell you that they only partially fill the tank by having a small sign on
their cages that says “net weight 15 pounds” and by putting a label on the tank
that says "Net Weight 15 lbs." That’s fine, except you have a 20 pound tank!

This is like buying a can of soda and getting only 9 ounces of soda instead
of the 12 ounces the can is made to hold or buying a gallon container of milk
and finding out its only 3/4 full.

So how much extra is swapping a tank costing me?
When we fill your tank, we bring it to the full and proper capacity. If the tank
swap companies brought their tanks up to capacity, and if their price were $19.99,
you would be paying them roughly $26.65 for a proper fill to 20 pounds of propane.

If our price for a proper fill to 20 pounds of propane were $19, you would be
paying them 40% more for a proper fill. This also does not take into account the
inconvenience of having to go out and swap tanks considerably sooner and more
frequently which incurs additional costs.

Please note the price of propane fluctuates and the example above reflected pricing on
April 7, 2011. Pricing will vary and we invite you to call us to get current pricing.

Is there trust involved?
Of course! You cannot see into a propane tank and when you get your
tank filled, there is some trust involved. The fact is, if you get a tank from a
tank swap place you would probably assume it was a full 20 pound tank,
never realizing you had been short changed.

Robinsons is a locally owned, family business that has been around for
135 years by caring for our customers. It's not in out best interest to short
change a customer by under filling their tank. You can continue to trust us
to properly and completely fill your tank.

We will also return your tank to you, rather than swapping
your newer tank for someone else's older tank.

Don't let their tank swap scam fool you,
We are and will continue to be best way to have your propane tank re-filled.

What's the media say about it?

WBZ TV
ABC - PA Affiliate
Wilmington NC Blog
Buffalo, NY News

You can find many other sources discussing the problem all over the internet

Our Propane Filling Hours are:

Sunday
10:00am to 4:00pm

Monday - Wednesday
7:30am to 6:00pm

Thursday - Friday
7:30am to 7:00pm

Saturday
8:00am to 5:00pm

Where does propane come from?

What is an Overfill Protection Device (OPD)

Propane Safety

Propane FAQ's

Don't get caught by the Tank Swap / Tank Exchange Scam

Primary Service Area
We serve the Massachusetts communities of Hudson, Framingham, Marlboro, Southboro, Northboro, Shrewsbury, Clinton, Bolton, Berlin, Acton, Ashland, Boylston, Harvard, Holliston, Hopkinton, Lancaster, Leominster, Lincoln, Littleton, Maynard, Milford, Natick, Sherborn, Sherbon, Sterling, Stow, Sudbury, Upton, West Boylston, Wayland, Wellesley, Westford, Weston and Worcester, MA and the zip codes 01701, 01702, 01749, 01752, 01772, 01532, 01545, 01510, 01740, 01503, 01720, 01771, 01505, 01451, 01746, 01748, 01523, 01543, 01773, 01460, 01754, 01757, 01760, 01770, 01564, 01775, 01776, 01568, 01583, 01778, 02481, 02482, 01886, 02493. 01601, 01602, 01603, 01604, 01605, 01606, 01607, 01608