Daniel MacIsaac
Northern News Services

Inuvik (Mar 17/00) - Cheryl Scott has a word of advice for anyone thinking of converting from heating oil to natural gas: beware.

The Inuvik resident said she was outraged recently to learn she would be charged a $200 pump-out fee by oil distributor Arctic Dove to have her full tank drained -- and receive no compensation for the approximately 500 gallons of oil it contains.

"That's no way to treat your customers," she said. "If you treat a few people like that the word's going to get out. Customer service does mean something to some people."

Scott said her frustration stems from several factors. She said when she recently decided to convert to natural gas heating for her home the contractors came to carry out the job soon after her oil tank had been filled, leaving her with a lot of unnecessary oil. Second, she said that when she converted to gas while living in Prince George, B.C., the oil distributor there charged a $50 pump-out fee and bought back the unused oil at the current market value.

Arctic Dove owner Paul Wiedeman said he can't reimburse customers for pumped-out fuel, however, because he can't re-sell it.

"The big issue is liability," he said. "We have no way to confirm the quality of the product in the consumer's tank. Water may have leaked into it or they may have put car oil or additives in, so that we can't safely say in our minds that we can safely take it and sell it to another customer."

Wiedeman said Arctic Dove came up with its no-buy-back policy last July after one of its two fuel trucks had to be steam cleaned after pumping out fuel from a tank that contained contaminants. He said he gets few pump-out requests, but added the service is still worth the $200 fee.

"I'd be willing to do a demo to show what work is involved," he said. "If I was a consumer and wanting that service, I would put it in the contract with my gas contractor."

Resident Vivian Hunter said her own gas conversion came through before her oil tank was filled and so she avoided any problem, but has since warned friends about the high cost of having of the pump-out.

Vicki Boudreau, executive manager of the Inuvik Housing Authority, said about half the town's public units have been converted to gas but that problems with pump-out fees were avoided because the oil from converted units was pumped into others that continue to burn oil. She added, though, that she could understand Arctic Dove's no-buy-back rule.

Other companies in town have performed the pump-out service, but Brian McCarthy from Arctic Tire said he only did it for the housing contract, and called Wiedeman's $200 fee "not too bad." He said the other alternative is to remove the fuel in jerrycans and dispose of it or give it to a friend, an option Scott said she'll most likely choose.

She said she remains unconvinced by Wiedeman's arguments, however, particularly considering her British Columbia experience and Arctic Dove's distribution monopoly in town.

"I've talked to a few people who had thought about converting but who weren't aware of the fees," she said, "and now they'll take that into account."