Bulk LPG - Cheapest suppliers / supply route?

mover wrote: »

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Current supplier charging me 59p/liter is Calor

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Hmmm. Calor was stinging you at 59ppl - and now they are offering you 44ppl (plus £200 'free gas'). I'm sorry, but there's a definite odour of rat in my nostrils.

Two years ago I was out of contract with BP, paying way over the odds at the time - and complained: they offered to drop my price from 53.95ppl to 42.45ppl to start a new 2yr contract. Fortunately I'd just found this forum. I signed up with Extra Fuel at 36.03ppl. (And despite the guff in the CC Order about outgoing and incoming suppliers working together to ensure the user had gas BP refused to give me half-a-tank .... they told me they didn't do anything else except full tanks now - as in the latest contract they'd sent - which I hadn't signed! Extra Fuel got me filled without any legally binding paperwork, which was much appreciated. BTW BP gave me only one price drop in donkey's years - but that's one more than Flogas offered GrandadRob! see here).

mover wrote: »

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"automatically" renewing with Calor 2 years ago (completely unaware that you could switch supplier)

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The suppliers have to inform their customers about switching rights - that's in the CC Order. From the Explanatory note (here) again:

38. A supplier must ensure that a customer’s contract includes certain specified terms, including the date on which the customer will first become eligible to switch supplier and the notice period that will apply in the event of termination of contract. The reference to a termination charge in article 15.5(c) refers to circumstances where a customer who terminates a contract before the end of any exclusivity period incurs an early termination charge for so doing. A supplier must also provide to every customer with every contract a document containing certain information including a description of the switching procedure, details of the supplier and its association’s websites and guidance as to how the customer may establish their eligibility to switch.

mover wrote: »

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Sharon Dias replied and clarified that Calor do *not* make the uplift charge for terminating the contract due an above 3.5p increase but she also stated that they were working with Calor & other suppliers to make sure the wording around termination & charges is clearer.Well it couldn't be much more opaque than it currently is

I have to say I was impressed with Sharon speedy response - is the OFT this prompt with every enquiy?

Here's Sharon's reply in full:

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Thanks for posting Sharon Dias's very speedy reply. I'm impressed!

After being underwhelmed by the OFT Off-grid Energy Study's report - at least as far as bulk LPG goes - OFT does seem to be doing a good job now. But of course it's up to us users to keep them posted on what the suppliers do. The OFT off-grid energy team had several meetings with the suppliers - but I doubt if they met a single user, though they did get several submissions from users (which appeared to have been ignored in the report - allowing UKLPG to trumpet that the industry had a "clean bill of health". They've removed that press release from their website. How strange!).

The OFT press release was highlighted by HateLPG here and he gives a link to the OFT press release.

mover wrote: »

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£250 cash-back - I'll call them tomorrow & try my arm with this

Since wholesale prices are falling you could choose to be out-of-contract for a bit. Calor would still own your tank, you'd pay them rent and only they could fill it. But you might like to get some quotes in a month or so if the wholesale price has dropped further. (For everyone's benefit would you post the offers, including rental, you were made, please. And also your approx annual usage, and roughly where you are? Just like Ace gas guzzler being offered £250 "free gas" when you were only offered £200 "free gas", all figures help us negotiate. And my contract is up this month! Though I've very little choice down here in Cornwall).
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mover wrote: »

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Sharon Dias .......also stated that they were working with Calor & other suppliers to make sure the wording around termination & charges is clearer.Well it couldn't be much more opaque than it currently is

I have to say I was impressed with Sharon speedy response

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OK, so here's the relevant page on the OFT website (i.e. NOT their press release).

It's worth quoting a few bits:

Investigation into certain domestic bulk LPG suppliers

Complainant: OFT own initiative, following the OFT's Off-Grid Energy Market Study published in October 2011
Case opened: November 2011
Case closed: March 2012
Case reference: MP-SIP18-21, MP-SIP23
Relevant instruments: Enterprise Act 2002, Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999, Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008

The major suppliers have agreed to make the relevant changes in their future new contracts and to offer the same benefits to customers on existing contracts.

The major suppliers have agreed to amend their documents where necessary to improve clarity regarding the exclusivity period, the circumstances in which termination and/or switching can occur and/or the above costs of switching.

Finally, we note that we have worked with the major suppliers so that we could quickly achieve improvements for the large majority of domestic bulk LPG customers in the UK. However, the OFT and/or local authority Trading Standards Services can take action wherever it identifies further concerns.

Notice that the work was completed in March, with voluntary agreement being reached. The press release went out 5 April ..... and yet Calor is sending out a contract that mover describes as

Well it couldn't be much more opaque than it currently is

Earlier today mover posted (here) that

Calor .. immediately said the clause was badly worded

Jeez, it takes a bunch of amateurs (us) to point out this - and they've got loads of lawyers. Well, I presume they have (judging by all the small print in their contracts).

BTW - how many existing Calor customers have received their clarification yet? I hope they'll let us know!
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frankie wrote: »

Current supplier charging me 59p/liter is Calor

I'm surprised it was Calor at this price, looks more like a F*gas price! Comments on F*gas seem to have gone quiet, are they behaving themselves by some chance?!

BTW I currently pay 48.9 +VAT with Calor, but I'm a light user, only use just over a tank(1200lt) per year. If I used more I'd probably look at Extra Fuel.

BTW - how many existing Calor customers have received their clarification yet? I hope they'll let us know!

I'll have a root round through my Calor docs and see if I've been notified, pretty sure I was though when I renewed last year.

Hi,


I'm with flogas, and no they are certainly not behaving there selves, current price 63ppl on a metered estate (so we cant switch!)

Sammyantha wrote: »

We just had a bill of £377 for 621 litres lpg tank gas with vat on top. This is the price for ONE MONTH (1 hour in the morning, 2 in the evening)! Last month's bill was the same. And this is March and April, not mid winter (don't even ask!!). We live in a 2 bed flat in the middle of nowhere and are tied in to calor gas. Really really desperate to escape this madness. We rent so ripping the monstrosity out is not an option

There is something very wrong with your system if its costing that much, especially if only heating a two bed flat.
I can heat my 2 bed 24/7 for less than that (cost £200 over the Christmas month on constantly @ 20C)
You need to get your system checked by an engineer asap for leaks and inefficient burning

Yep, we live in a 5 bed detatched (old in places) and although we suppliment using a stove in one of the big rooms, we have only used 600 litres since November. I would suggest you may have a leak somewhere or your boiler, is, not to put too fine a point on it, [EMAIL="sh&#64;gged"]sh@gged[/EMAIL].