Bulk LPG - Cheapest suppliers / supply route?

JerryW wrote: »

Hey this is unfair, you guys are forcing me to compliment Calor again!
... Their contract is pretty comprehensive and covers 2 x A4 sheets. It is in plain English or at least is pretty readable. It clearly states what the possibilities are for termination by each party.
I have a had a letter from them every two years as required, stating that the contract minimum term is completed and offering to renew it. Normally I get a quote or two from somewhere else (eg Extragas) then phone them up and ask them to match it and they do - I posted here the last couple of times.
The contract does refer to the UKLPG codes of practice, and Calor do undertake to abide by them.

Think that about covers it?

Good - credit where credit is due and the Calor Knockers take note!

I have been with them 15 years and have always had courteous dealings and excellent service.

JerryW wrote: »

.. so that makes two of us, then :beer:

Calor are definitely willing to take you for a ride over price, but they are otherwise a reputable company and provided you read up here and act accordingly, they can deliver good value

A company that will try to make you pay over the market rate for their product (purely because the UK seems incapable of regulating the off-grid market) is not one that I would be happy to call a reputable company. Reputable companies offer transparent pricing. Do you happen to have a Calor price list for bulk deliveries?

The fact is that this company will quite happy lie to you about when they purchased gas to justify the prices to customers. This is regardless of the price you are on be it 40ppl or 60ppl.

I am not sure how the sales people act now but when I purchased my property they used an empty tank as a bargaining chip to get you to sign a contract, again not very reputable.

These companies will do absolutely nothing for the consumer unless forced to eg. allowing tank transfers, 2 year contracts instead of 5. Even in the case of tank transfers, the CC came up with a formula for tank pricing for transferring supplier. Calor (not sure about others) will not allow you to purchase the tank based on this formula as the order does not explicity state that it must be made available to consumers.

Reputable - don't make me laugh.

Rant over....

mcmullank wrote: »

I have seen the UKLPG mentioned many times in relation to codes of practice etc.

UKLPG are the trade body for LPG suppliers in the UK, don't mistake them for the LPG equivalent of a regulator.

As an example, if you were to look at the UKLPG answer to this straight forward question:

"Can I own my own bulk LPG tank?"

The answer to the question is "Yes, as long as it is properly maintained". However, here is the UKLPG answer

"In its Final Report on the LP Gas Domestic Bulk Inquiry (29 June 2006) the Competition Commission (CC) confirmed that it had considered a number of remedies including customer ownership of tanks before concluding that tank transfer between suppliers was, in its opinion, the appropriate remedy. The CC accepted arguments from LP Gas suppliers, against customer ownership of tanks and concluded that, whilst it might remedy certain competition law issues the CC had with the tank uplift integrated supply model, customer ownership of tanks was not an appropriate remedy for safety-related reasons."

Without blatently telling untruths, this response tells you all you need to know about where this organisation's loyalties are.

Several people have posted that tank ownership is no problem. But as some suppliers change tanks at 20 years for a complete refurb it's good to buy a new or relatively new tank. An independent which wanted to sell tanks to users was warned off by UKLPG (and as Calor is the biggest supplier it has the biggest voice in UKLPG, the trade association). I've posted a few times on tank ownership when a forum user has asked but I always quote:

I own My own tank, thanks to the previous owners son being an Area manager for Shellgas, which says a lot about costs.

from 'The Q' in 2010 in http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.php?p=31830809&postcount=185

The Competition Commission team appeared to be keen to have users owning their own tanks and shopping around for the best price for each fill. The (redacted) responses from the suppliers to this suggestion in a draft doc makes interesting reading!


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Addition. Here's a long-term tank-owner, molokoid:
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.php?p=60719267&postcount=1983
..

Littlevermin

Although I am no longer in contract, I did not receive notice from Calor about the ability to switch when the contract expired. This was a couple of years ago now so it may be that they have changed practices.

On the same general topic, I don't get any invoices from Calor. They send me a statement once a month (actually they e-mail me notification that a statement is available). I never used to think anything of it as I just pay to the statements. The cynic in me now can see a reason why this would be the case. Anything to try and stop customers knowing they can move!!!

In relation to tank ownership. My tank is now 30 years old and has not been inspected in the last 14 years. So much for abiding by the UKLPG code of practice.