Comfort Line - Summer 2007
Jun 01, 2007
This quarter our questions and answers segment discusses home-owners insurance as it relates to your heating and air conditioning systems.

Jun 01, 2007
This quarter our questions and answers segment discusses home-owners insurance as it relates to your heating and air conditioning systems.
New Hart & Iliff Customer Portal
Customers frequently ask us if they can log in to their account and pay a bill. We have consistently been reluctant to allow customers access to our computer system since we store sensitive customer information. Although our computer system is protected by a firewall, there is hardly a week that goes by without news about a security breach at a major organization. Companies that have had major computer security breaches include Yahoo, LinkedIn, Facebook, Marriott, Twitter, Experian and Equifax. There are hackers and thieves who would love nothing better than to gain access to the sensitive information on our server.
For those of you who have been asking to view your account, order oil or make a payment online, we have good news. We found a way to make this available without exposing any sensitive information to the whims of the internet.
For more than 25 years, Hart & Iliff has offered a winter price protection program for our heating oil customers. Initially, we offered a fixed and capped price program.
In recent years, we transitioned away from fixed price, because it offers no downside protection for our customers. Even though it was clearly disclosed, each time the price dropped during the winter, customers were very unhappy about being locked in at a higher price. For example, during the 2014/2015 heating season, prices dropped $1.40 per gallon during the winter. With increased price volatility in the energy markets, we don’t believe it makes sense to lock in a price for the entire winter.
The other program is a capped price. This program allows you to pay our regular posted price, but never above a preset price cap.
Rising energy costs have been a painful, unfortunate fact of life in 2022. The factors leading to higher energy rates are global and complex. We’re as eager as you are to see heating oil prices return to normal.
Some people think that local fuel companies, like ours, make more money when prices go up. The opposite is true. Our margins suffer, customers cut back on usage and are late paying bills. Meanwhile, we need to pay our suppliers in 10 days. It’s an awful mess for everyone.
We want to keep you in the loop during the heating season and help you navigate this winter.
These are unsolicited comments received from Hart & Iliff customers.
"Your continuing ability to so promptly dispatch such knowledgeable, courteous service technicians is what keeps me a very satisfied customer!"
"I would like to thank you for the installation of my new boiler. It was very timely and was certainly worry free for me. Please relay my thanks to your installation team for the nice job. Their work was careful and deliberate. I fully agree with the building inspector that they did a beautiful job. I am no plumber, but I can clearly see that their work is pristine!"
"To the Office of Hart & Iliff: Thank you for always having the best customer service! Thank you for all the help and advice!"