Bulk LPG - Cheapest suppliers / supply route?

LittleVermin

TheGoodKing wrote: »

Just spoke to calor about needing a new contract saying that I'd been offered a lower price elsewhere - 49.75ppl (original offer was 56.95) they said they would match it, so it is worth haggling.

Of course they'll match it! 49.75ppl is about the going rate at present! See my recent post. The companies which post their prices on the internet DROP their prices as the wholesale rate decreases, they raise them as the wholesale price they pay rises. The majors are well-known for rarely, if ever, dropping their prices. The small independents who don't post their prices also drop their prices as appropriate.

There are lots of relevant posts on the forum - e.g. the chart of Extra Fuel's price against wholesale (here). We could have used several of the independents' prices for this chart but I had collected Extra Fuel's over the last couple of years. See this post from The Hornet about Countrywide*; this from GrandadRob is about Flogas's ever upward price .

The OFT off-grid energy report included this:

"Suppliers told us that they do not pass on every increase and decrease in input costs, instead trying to minimise the frequency of price changes to the consumer. Data they have provided show that in both GB and NI, retail prices tend to not fluctuate as much as input costs."

which must have made quite a few of us produce very hollow laughs. I had ONE price reduction from BP/BP clone in about 18 years - yet they happily offered to drop my price from 53.95 to an initial 42.45 if I signed a new 2 yr deal: I moved to Extra Fuel for 36.29ppl!

*Countrywide also told The Hornet their going rate was 43ppl at present (though we know from earlier posts that Countrywide has charged different people quite different prices).
..

The_Hornet

Just to confirm I had my delivery of 1130litres this morning at the quoted 43ppl.

rendor

For info I had a top up from Listers just before Christmas. Paid 41.5p.
Have yet to have a price increase letter this winter. When we signed up with them the rep did say that people in the same post code area would all pay the same price.

LittleVermin

rendor wrote: »

For info I had a top up from Listers just before Christmas. Paid 41.5p.
Have yet to have a price increase letter this winter. When we signed up with them the rep did say that people in the same post code area would all pay the same price.

Listers sound good! I also read your previous post here.

A pity they only deliver "for all the Midland counties"*.

Do you use a lot of gas? If not, I wonder why they keep the posted price at "50ppl - less any discount for higher quantity users" and then charge you 41.5ppl? Someone else got a phone quote of 45ppl recently - when the posted price was 50ppl.

I can see that the cost of delivery needs to be taken into account - which is presumably the reason for their postcode pricing. Do you know the rep well enough to ask him about their web price, please? Maybe they lose out when they are really charging less than other suppliers' web prices!

You are paying the standard £120 or so annual rental for your underground tank?

* "West Midlands, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Gloucestershire and Worcestershire."

jessvmc

Sorry to hijack this thread I do not use forums but I am close to a breakdown with the bill I have been hit with

Had 1700 litres delivered to the property I have just moved into. £968 to be precise. Was told by landlord that this would last until April. Well had that delivery on 5th december and it ran out on 28th December ???

Equate to 50 quid a day ? I have an average sized 4 bed detached home I have 3 kids and a baby 6 months old and calor are saying unti this balance is paid I'm not going to get another delivery.

They re delivered as the tank fell below 25% so I now owe £1,915 ! This is for December and January. There is 70% remaining in tank after a delivery of 1700 litres 3rd January. Meaning the usage is through the roof?

Calor advised that they will not deliver again until balance is settled. Can anyone give me a bench Mark as to what their usage is? In my previous property I had oil central heating and being in NE Scotland we will have quite high fuel bills and a high bill for us then was £350 from start of December til early feb!

Worse case scenarion here I am scared for my babies! As calor say no deliveries until payment settled. We can pay 160 a month max so that will not clear this debt by the time this lot of gas runs out?

The scarf guys ( energy efficiency team ) think the boiler is not efficient! Onto landlord and boiler man came out. They say there is frost protection on the system this uses more gas and the boiler is 75% efficient not 100% not really sure what that all means tbh? Also boiler man said the boiler is too small fir a 4 bedroom house. So it goes into over ride ?

Im in huge debt over a basic neccesaty if anyone! Please anyone can offer me advice on this to save my baby freezing and having no hot water I will be ever so grateful ! Nearly 2 grand for heating in 2 months ? and the year I signed on lease I'm devasted

danlojo

Jeepers Jess, that is whizzing out.

As you have Calor they should maintain and check for any leaks on the tank. There must be some leakage somewhere to be using that amount!!:mad:

We live in a 6 bed house and were topped up on 7th September with 1054 litres and the tank is still 40% full. We are careful though but even so you either have rubbish insulation and have the heating on 24/7 or there is a problem with the boiler or leakage.

Speak to the Landlord again as that is far too high usage.

Hope you get it sorted

rendor

In relation to Listers we don't use that much gas. We had a stove put in a couple of years ago and tend to use that alot of the time. We did get a letter - can't remember exactly when - but about November time saying that they might be having to put the price up - but they never did so.
The rent for our underground tank is - from memory - £50 a year.
I have always found the company and their drivers very helpful. A complete breath of fresh air after Flogas. What attracted us was the fact that their pricing policy seemed fair.
Haven't got the rep details any longer - but all I can assume is that the price on the web is an average?

jessvmc

danlojo wrote: »

Jeepers Jess, that is whizzing out.

As you have Calor they should maintain and check for any leaks on the tank. There must be some leakage somewhere to be using that amount!!:mad:

We live in a 6 bed house and were topped up on 7th September with 1054 litres and the tank is still 40% full. We are careful though but even so you either have rubbish insulation and have the heating on 24/7 or there is a problem with the boiler or leakage.

Speak to the Landlord again as that is far too high usage.

Hope you get it sorted

Sorry it gas been a while since I have used a forum and I am unsure if o am quoting here

But basically I have s calor rep coming on Monday and my landlord is going to be present. A boiler man has already measured the house and confirmed that the boiler is not efficient as it is too small.

I am very strict with heating! What is this top up scheme ? Is that when it drops to 25% ? and you have it filled again up to 85% ? there wad s leak and it had been fixed and it also needed a new regulator which has been fixed? But my logic tells me that maybe the regulator busted due to boiler going into over ride ? It needed another new part aswell but cannot remember what it was.

My husband is gearing up towards claiming this bill back from landlord ( well part of it anyway) so I might need to be pointed in the right direction of how I go about cleaning it back due to costs incurred to myself because of an inefficient boiler and a system that gas had leaks in the passed too.

[Deleted User]

jessvmc wrote: »

Sorry it gas been a while since I have used a forum and I am unsure if o am quoting here

But basically I have s calor rep coming on Monday and my landlord is going to be present. A boiler man has already measured the house and confirmed that the boiler is not efficient as it is too small.

I am very strict with heating! What is this top up scheme ? Is that when it drops to 25% ? and you have it filled again up to 85% ? there wad s leak and it had been fixed and it also needed a new regulator which has been fixed? But my logic tells me that maybe the regulator busted due to boiler going into over ride ? It needed another new part aswell but cannot remember what it was.

My husband is gearing up towards claiming this bill back from landlord ( well part of it anyway) so I might need to be pointed in the right direction of how I go about cleaning it back due to costs incurred to myself because of an inefficient boiler and a system that gas had leaks in the passed too.

Being on automatic tops in our experience means your tank can get topped up anytime no matter how full/empty it is which made it hard to budget for...

The only real way to have some sort of control is to suspend automatic topups and just phone up Calor for a fill. Or If you have telemetry then they should come out when the tank gets low. Although if a bad winter is predicted they may just topup your tank no matter how full/empty it is so none of their customers should run out in a cold snap...

We had a small leak and Calor compensated us as a matter of course, didn't need to make a claim as such.

The_Hornet

I last posted here on 9th Jan when I placed an order for 1130 litres from Countrywide at 43ppl. This was delivered a few days later. Today I just received a letter from Countrywide which starts off:

"Prolonged economic uncertainty and the Euro region crisis have combined to have an effect of the price of LPG. After a period of relative stability the Propane market has turned adversely in the last month or so, and we are faced with an immediate price increase. Your individual increase will be 3.5p per litre."

This is followed by the usual platitudes, regrets etc. etc. ....

Is this the same market that is documented here? This shows remarkable stability up to January 2012 with no sign of the quoted price rise. Indeed you have to go back over a year before the wholesale market price was less than is is currently. Do these people take us for fools?