Legal Question in Consumer Law in New Hampshire

A local home oil heating company mistakenly delivered over 600.00 worth of oil to our home (it was intended for our next door neighbor and this was the second time they have done this; the first time it was only for 100.00 of oil which they ate). We were unaware this most recent delivery happened except we saw the bill hanging on our garage door and alerted our neighbor. The worst part is, this company had just been at our home at 7am a few mornings before waking us up for a service call intended for the other same neighbor which the neighbor then called to complain and clarify again which house was theirs. My question is this...are we under any obligation to pay for this oil? Thay are trying to come and pump it out of our tank (which we are against) which is clearly marked at the inlet with the name of the company we do use for our deliveries. It was also verified by this other company that the delivery slip described the color of our neighbors house they were supposed to deliver to, which obviously was not the color of our house. We would be very appreciative for your help in this matter. Mr. and Mrs. Taylor


Asked on 10/02/11, 2:35 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
John Skinner, III Associated Attorneys of New England

Are you under an Obligation to pay for negligently delivered Oil? Yes and No. On the one hand, if you do not pay something for the Oil, then the Company COULD sue you and claim that you have been "unjustly enriched." On the other hand, had your Oil tank been full, your basement would now be an oil-spill and you would be suing them for Negligence. Moreover, they were sufficiently on notice, and made more than one error regarding the location of the Oil and so really this is abandoned property and it belongs to you. Then again they could try to hold you liable for conversion...and you could counter with a claim for Trespass.

Offer to pay them 1/2 and MAKE SURE you have signed writing stating that the payment is a full payment and NOT a partial payment, or a charge-off, or any other non-sense- you don't want them reporting the other half of the bill as bad debt on your credit. You should also add some language about how any future unauthorized deliveries will immediately become your property free and clear, and that they are expressly prohibited from trespassing on your land.

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Answered on 10/03/11, 6:56 am


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