Came with the house

The fact three years has passed hardly means they have abandoned their property - you simply got three years of use rent-free. That covers the one tank that came with the house.

If the garage sale tanks have their ID number on it, you've been in possession of stolen property. Most providers of LT consumer lease products have their own set of laws that apply to them and their property. They have been well aware for decades that their equipment has a habit of disappearing and they have laws that allow them to go about seizing it without going through the court system.

I worked for a soft drink company for a couple years - you have no idea how pop machines disappear into private garages and basements every year. If we located one, like a bounty hunter we walked in and TOOK IT without a yes sir or a no madam. All legal and according to the law. Someone raise too much fuss, we'd call the cops and have them arrested for possession of stolen property.

I would also ask the local DA what you could do.

A few notes..... ..... .....
If the gas company thinks the other 2 tanks are stolen they have to prove this in a court first before removing the tanks. The driver should have called the law on the spot. They only had a contract for 1 tank at that location.

If the 1 tank was rented why did they wait 3 years to come and get it. They knew where it was at.

They said they removed the tanks for safety reasons not for rent due. I am sure there story has changed by now.

You will most likely loose the one tank but I sure would press the issue on the other 2 tanks. I would want to know if they can prove these tanks are theirs; how? where they were stolen from; and on what date. The only way they can say these tanks are theirs is if they were stolen from a renters house or their yard and they should have records and police reports of this. If they can not show where they reported them stolen they most likely sold rental tanks to someone. These rental tanks may have been marked but does not prove they are stollen; only that they owned these tanks at one time.