Norton Oil Co. prepay customer wants her money back but says she isn't hopeful

Reilly, 65, of Liberty Township, said she and her husband, James, 66, are "very frugal" when it comes to heating oil in their home in the 100 block of Lakeside Drive South and have other heaters that help limit oil consumption. They had the cash, so they put down $2,719.20 at Norton's Washington office, she said.

Then, she said, she saw a Facebook posting from a friend that Norton was having troubles. Later, she ran into another friend at the A&P and they, too, spoke about the oil company's problems.

The retired municipal clerk and township administrator was concerned so she called the longtime Phillipsburg company earlier this week and learned, through a recording, it was closing. She left three messages at Norton's and then on Wednesday spoke to someone at the Rockaway, N.J., office of Sycamore Cos., who told her it was taking over deliveries for Norton.

But when she told the man on the other end of the line that she prepaid, he responded there was nothing Sycamore could do about that, she said. She told the man that she was calling an attorney and soon she heard from Norton owner Richard Norton, she said.

He offered a 100-gallon delivery, Reilly said. The 300-gallon tank is at three-quarters and Reilly wasn't sure it could hold 100 more gallons.  Anyway, she said, her concern was about the money she prepaid.

"'I'm not at liberty to talk about that, goodbye,'" Reilly quoted Norton as saying before he hung up.

"I was very, very upset," she said. There was "no cooperation."

Not sure what to do next
The Reillys, who live off their pensions and Social Security, aren't sure what to do next. The 1966 Easton Area High School graduate, who grew up in Riegelsville, Pa., said she's spoken with an attorney, but it looks as if she will have to find another oil company. She's concerned if Norton declares bankruptcy that she'll never see her money.

A message this morning on Norton Oil's phone system said prepay customers should "wait until further notice" and the company would contact them about those accounts. The phone system at Sycamore hung up after saying the caller should wait for the next available representative.

Reilly said James and she, who have been married for 43 years, are fortunate they own their home of 37 years in the Mountain Lake section of the Warren County township. And after many years of using Norton -- they would only switch when they could get a better price -- the whole experience has been a shock, she said.

"I never thought this would happen," she said, although recalling a conversation with a Norton employee in Washington as she prepaid now seems telling. The woman was very upset, Reilly said, saying Norton's was cutting her hours and she wouldn't be able to stay there.

"Now it's all making sense," Reilly said.

A lesson learned
While Reilly said she hopes other people aren't going through the same experience, she figures they are.

Richard Einfalt, 74, of the 600 block of Heckman Avenue in Nazareth, said he prepaid more than $1,500 and hadn't needed oil yet this season. After listening to a message on Norton's voicemail system, he said he called Sycamore. When he asked about his money, he said he was told if he were running out of oil that he should find another oil company. The person who answered the phone said Sycamore wouldn't deliver to Nazareth, Einfalt said.

The retiree said he eventually reached a woman at Norton's who told him the company had 30,000 gallons left in its tanks in Phillipsburg and was going to deliver that fuel to customers in the Phillipsburg and Easton areas, but not Nazareth. He said the woman told him many senior citizens were calling about their accounts.

The five-year Norton customer said he was going to call his credit card company to see, even though he paid the bill in May, if it could help him get his money back.

Later in the morning, Einfalt said a Norton truck came up the street and filled his tank, taking $288.04 off his account. He said the driver told him he only had enough oil for a few deliveries and that Friday was going to be his last day on the job.

Then Einfalt got on the phone with his credit card company, Chase, and he said a representative told him he would be rebated for the remaining $1,514.87 that he had prepaid Norton. Einfalt said he would believe it when the check arrives.

Einfal added that he felt terrible for people who paid by check or cash.

Reilly doesn't hold high hopes of seeing what's left of her $2,700 after a September delivery is subtracted.

"I would rather take that money and gamble with it," she said. "I would stand a better chance to get money back."

And has she learned anything from her experience?

"Now I won't prepay for anything," she said.

Prepaid customers are a county concern
Warren County Department of Weights and Measures Superintendent Michael Santos said the department's "major concern" is what will happen to prepaid customers.

“It’s an ongoing process," Santos said today. "We’re waiting to hear back from the company.”

He said the department reached out Wednesday to company owner Richard Norton.

"It’s a sad state of affairs when a company that’s been such a good provider for the people of this county and outside of this county is no longer in business," Santos said.

People are understandably worried about what’s going to happen when their furnace runs out of oil.

“... When you wake up, and the thermometer says 24 degrees, it is a concern.”

Norton's has been doing business for about seven decades in Phillipsurg.

“They have a track record and a history of being one of the absolute finest providers of that service in our county. I really have no reason to think they’re going to drop the ball now, and I hope that they don’t. ... I’d hate to see any consumers hurt by this, and I’d hate to see their good name end up on a bad note.”

Only one person so far has registered a complaint with the department, Santos said. And the prebuy contracts are going to require scrutiny, he said.

“We’re going to have to take each case one at a time," he said. "It is something we’ve never had to deal with.”

But Santos is counting on the company's integrity.

“I’m hoping the company is going to end their business as well as they ran it. ... I’m sure that they don’t want to face any litigation from anyone."

They want to give customers service they signed up for, Santos said. That’s what he's hoping for.