WORCESTER The Better Business Bureau has revoked the accreditations of Peterson Oil and another company it runs, Cleghorn Oil, citing recent allegations of improper fuel deliveries the business settled in court.
The Worcester-based oil company recently agreed to pay $450,000 to settle civil allegations from Attorney General Maura T. Healey that it sold the state oil with higher-than-contracted levels of biodiesel.
Healey alleged as have residential customers in a lawsuit filed in Worcester Superior Court that the higher levels of biodiesel caused damage to heating equipment.
The Better Business Bureau action occurred on Wednesday
In an interview Thursday, Peterson Oil President Howard W. Peterson Jr. denied that the fuel, called bioheat, caused the problems, and said he planned to ask the BBB to reconsider its decision.
Peterson Oil of Worcester to pay $450K fine in fraudulent heating oil switch
The company had fuel-supply contracts with the state.
In some cases, the noncompliant fuel created mechanical problems with heating systems at agencies serviced by Peterson Oil, according to the office of Attorney General Maura Healey.
Peterson Oil did not meet conditions of state contracts, a violation of the Massachusetts False Claims Act.
The attorney general s office announced Wednesday that it had resolved its claim against Peterson Oil, filed in Suffolk Superior Court.
“Cities and towns relied on Peterson Oil to deliver heating fuel in accordance with its contract so they could stay warm, but they instead received noncompliant fuel that caused problems for many heating systems,” Healey said in a statement Wednesday.