Heating Oil - Shop Around!

[DTCwordfan]

Just a tip for fellow ABers - for those of you who live in the sticks beyond the long tentacles of the Centrica British Gas organisation and who have oil heating, make sure you shop around when you come to buy kerosene or heating oil.

Standard heating oil complying with BS2869 class C2, one quote of 57p/litre plus VAT and another 64.5p - perversely the lowest one came from the company that has the image of being "up market" around here.

7p difference is ludricous - no difference in contractual terms, and it represents a delta of over £50....destiny for that the Christmas fund

[DTCwordfan]

Goodbye Mr Exxon

[SpikeyBush]

I used to use Boilerjuice for deliveries to my Irish house but the last few times I tried to access their Irish webpage it was down for maintenance. Tried searching individually for various suppliers only to find out at the last stage that they don't deliver to my remote part of Co. Cavan. Been buying from Top the last few times in the region of €0.80 per litre. There is a supplier near work in Belfast that will fill portable tanks for £0.60 per litre, I have five 20 litre UN approved cans in the garden at home so I can smuggle 100 litres a time back over the border and save a few bob.

[ukoilman]

Boilerjuice is no longer owned by DCC or GB Ils it was sold back to the original owner. However, If anybody really believes all the hype about Boilerjuice being independent from today... think on.

Paul Ward has bought back the company, but clearly to make it work he also has to service existing customers, 90% of which are distributors owned by.... and you've guessed it DCC and GB Oils. So he will still be in the pocket of the Irish puppeteers.

I have no doubt that Paul Ward will not want to bite of the hand that has fed him for the last 3 years and brought him back from the brink of bankruptcy. He really did nearly lose his house!

So with that in mind, I am sure he will be not be severing loyalties with the enemy within. He will be very proactive in trying to gain new business.

The industry has a long memory and won't be rushing to sign up with him given all the bad publicity. Boilerjuice effectively damaged the industry's reputation and dragged every good hard working distributor down to their depths last winter.

Anyway, why would a supplier want to increase prices to pay up to 5 ppl in commissions effectively to a broker that has no real industry experience and still retain the same profit margin? When he can go and get it himself... if he wants to.

Consumers are more savvy than ever especially after the detrimental publicity surrounding boilerjuice early this year and payback is a wonderful thing even if un-Christian like.

The whole boilerjuice business model whilst clever in as much as "let's rip customers and suppliers off at the same time" shows a nievity beyond belief and a total lack of respect for the heating oil industry.

[ubasses]

Another tip is try not to need a delivery just before Christmas, last year we were advised to leave it until after if we could as it would be 6p a litre cheaper. Supply and demand in cold weather!!

[ukoilman]

What was it Albags or windbags? You try and help out..

[ukoilman]

Ubasses is absolutely right. I have over 30 years in the oil industryn UK and US and consumers buy when they are desperate and overload the supply system. In the end you end up paying more because some consumers want it too cheap and don't plan ahead.

[DTCwordfan]

Advertising is not permitted - read Ed's Site Rules, bottom of page and click on it.

[DTCwordfan]

And so have I by the way ukoil

[SpikeyBush]

I'd like to add that when I was buying through Boilerjuice, it was cheaper than elsewhere. I only stopped using them when their Irish website went "phut"

It's a pain in the backside now to visit oil distributor after oil distributor, starting at the cheapest, and in the last screen when you enter the delivery address to be greeted with the message that you're not in their catchment area.

[sherrardk]

Sorry, are we meant to say if we've reported something? I've reported your advert (both of them).

[Chaffinch]

In our village (no gas) we have all got together, and buy our oil in bulk (about 25 housholds) this makes it much cheaper. Have any of you thought of doing this?

[DTCwordfan]

congrats, chaffinch, an excellent idea......what about those on LPG as there more competition than just Calor Gas.

[SpikeyBush]

Boilerjuice was supposedly doing something of that ilk. I never benefitted of that, maybe because I was so far out in the sticks and my neighbours (a herd of bullocks) didn't have oil-fired heating. But if they did, and Mr. Bully and Mrs. Heifer ordered five-hundred litres at the same time as me then maybe we'd save enough to go out for a steak dinner each.

[Chaffinch]

No idea DT, I have oil and a wood burner (which again about 10 of us villigers buy in bulk, they even drop to your own door) Co-ops are the next big thing!!

[Chaffinch]

Spikey, why not convert to methaine? The Mr Bully and Mrs heffer cojuld contribute!

[ukoilman]

It wasn't an advert it was a piece of advice which you can take or leave. If I was selling something or charging you for a service it would be and advert!