De Carli’s Petaluma Butane Distributors

Shoddy delivery, unprofessional customer service, and crooked billing practices are just a few of the highlights you can expect from De Carli’s.
It is unfortunate that most customers inherit this business when they move, there is no easy way out since the propane tank is owned by De Carli. So, much like the DMV, being efficient or pleasant is not a concern of theirs. They have you.
Unlike the DMV, however, which at least has some kind of government accountability, De Carli’s is a Wild West of shady dealings. They refuse rental customers a regular billed account, charging your credit card directly. Apparently renters cannot be trusted. They also make you pay for a full tank when you open your account, regardless of what is in the tank (and regardless of the fact that you can never actually put 150 gallons of propane in a 150 gallon tank, for example). They are supposed to credit you whatever is left in the tank when you terminate your account (if you are ever so lucky to be able to get out of De Carl’s evil clutch). That’s the idea – but in practice this almost never happens and requires a huge effort, threats of lawsuits, and endless calls to a supremely rude receptionist.
Just as incing on the cake, during my five years a prisoner of De Carl’s I don’t think there was a single propane delivery that came without me having to first call and tell them the tank was almost empty. They insisted we were on a regular schedule but they must have been using a very strange calendar indeed.
The only real question about De Carl’s Propane is whether their mishandling of accounts is a ploy, that they hope to profit by obfuscation, or if they are truly the inept mess they put forward to the public. Either way, one star.

Do not use DeCarli’s! After 30 years of residential service w their company (they fill the tank, we pay the bill) out of the blue they mailed us a bill for $ 900 going back to 2007! I’ve worked in accounts payable for decades and have never seen such abysmal billing practices. They are not owed, it’s the first time DeCarli’s «charges» have ever been billed or seen on a statement. When you call to dispute, they are rude on the telephone. Go w McPhail’s, they charge less per gallon and are pleasant to deal with.

I still use them, the service proved fine.

If I could give zero stars I would. The receptionist is rude and not at all helpful. She is abrupt and could care less about customer service. Since we’ve stopped service with them, their tank has been on my property now for 2 months! Incredible that they think I’m their storage facility!!!
Wow, just wow! Stay away from this business!

Well this place is not what I will ever use again. I had a full tank like 85 out of 100 I only use propane for dryer. Tank would of lasted like 5 years but they come and top it off and charge me 100 somthing dollars when at the beginning they didn’t explain hey your tank Is going to get checked every 4 weeks and possibly topped off. Sorry i don’t need my tank topped off every month every body doesn’t own a crappy business like you. I had problems with this company at the beginning also I’m bummed customer service blows don’t give them business all the other propane places are cheaper than this I could understand when tank gets low like 30 percent filling it and telling us. not just hey we filled your tank now your charged if I didn’t call I wouldn’t of even known. real cool professional. You need to make clear at beginning that this is how it Is and you didn’t no stars you get 5 terds!

I’ve known and worked with the DeCarli family for a number of years and if you were to ask me qualities as to how they are as a family and run their business it would be obliging, considerate, extremely generous and openly helpful. Richard has always stood up for what is RIGHT and he and his family’s support and cooperation is beyond reproach. I choose to continue to do business with him because he is a great, honest person I can trust!

Excellent service and great people. We have used DeCarli for 13 years now. We have never been out of gas and the system they installed (tank, new underground gas lines to house, and regulators) have all worked without an issue. When one of the pressure regulators finally did need replacing, they came out the next day and did the work for free. The driver has never damaged anything backing in and out or running the hoses to the tank. They come and go without so much as a peep. I also found their rates competitive on the few times I looked at solicitations from others. Thank you.

DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH THESE PEOPLE! They are horrible with customer service. Don’t send bills for over a year and then when they finally issue a bill for thousands of dollars they send a 5-​day notice for payment. Their bookkeeping staff is a joke and no one returns calls even after they leave messages for you to call them. Run, don’t walk, to another propane supplier. Even their own staff will admit their accounting practices are «sloppy» and that is a complete understatement.

I cant figure these folks out. They will certainly not be in business for much longer. I believe the original owner was awesome and built a good business but now whom ever has control just doesn’t care. They would be better off without customer service then to have «Rene» deal with customers. They’re billing practices are shotty and questionable at best! Un trustworthy and just an overall bad business. Fired them this year and they took 6 months to remove the tank off my property! There are reputable and professional companies that provide propane in Marin and Sonoma, use someone else!

Stay away! Terrible company! Only send you a bill right before Christmas every year. Let your tank run dry. Fired them in March last year and told them I would pay after they got the tank and sent a bill. They just picked up the tank (1 year later) and then told us we had 7 days to pay the bill or they would «come after us» and «we know where to find you» verbal threats. They have been sued before and lost a class action for incorrect measuring, leaking tanks and overcharging. Try Kemgas! They are great!

Local and family-​owned. Always knowlegeable and helpful. I have used them for 40+ years.

These people are horrible. Do not use them. The refuse to return deposits and also refused to allow upwards of 50 to change to a new propane company.

We’re basically stuck with De Carli’s as they own our tank. Otherwise we would certainly try our luck elsewhere.
The drivers that come to fill our tank are very nice but they have the most disorganized office I’ve ever encountered. They can never seem to tell us when our delivery will come, can never confirm whether we’re on a driver’s schedule or not, can’t tell us how to get put on a regular delivery schedule, how much we owe them from a previous delivery (bills sometimes come in the mail, but sometimes not). ETC.
And much of the time the person handling your call is rude to boot, though I’ve been pleasantly surprised a few times recently.
De Carli’s really needs to focus more on ORGANIZATION and CUSTOMER SERVICE.

This company delivers on time, but bills extremely late (in my experience sometimes 3 months late) and has an inefficient system for regulating gas usage. What the field employes have in braun, they lack in brains.
For them to know how much gas you used during a given period, they have to fill up the tank to the top. However, they will not fill up (to measure gas usage) and lock the gas tank when you move out without charging you a 75 $ fee-​even if they are already in your yard and don’t need to make a special trip. This means that when the new tenant moves in they are using the gas that you paid for until they open an account. The company has no way to know who used that gas, you, or the new resident. You might be charged for all the gas the new resident uses until/​if they fill up the tank or go with a different service.
Further, this company take MONTHS to return your deposit and reimbursement for the gas left in the tank. Your choice is to pay the 75 $ fee and hope they get there before the new tenant moves in and uses up all your gas, or, lock the tank yourself and remove the line (then they will charge you 85 $ for a re-​pressurizing fee).
Finally, They owe me a 250 $ deposit for the tank (which they know is still there and undamaged) and reimbursement for 40% of 150 gallons of gas in the tank. It is now the middle of January (I moved out in August) and they still have not payed me back despite multiple calls to their office.
I am about to take this company to small claims court for my money, to dispute the charges on my credit card, and to report them to the Better Business Bureau. They seem to be running a ponzi-​scheme and using my deposit money to pay other bills… or something.
Check out these articles about DeCarli’s Propane:
Go elsewhere for your gas, even if you already have a DeCarli tank in your yard. It’s not worth the headache to do business with them.