Bulk LPG - Cheapest suppliers / supply route?

First_time

As a newcomer to the site I have been intrigued by the variety of prices quoted over the last few months. We have had a LPG tank for over 25 years and it has changed from a forgotten company to Shell and now Avanti who have just sent me a new contract for 2 years with a price (pence per litre) exc. VAT of .558 with a monthly tank rental of £5.00.
I must admit that in the past I have not been too worried about price increases as it just seems in line with the rest of the world but now retirement beckons then I am starting to watch the pennies. The tank was renewed last year and the service has always been good and so I do not want to rock the boat just for the sake of a minute saving and so I would be most interested in what the regular knowledgible contributors have to say.

Ace_gas_guzzler

As a newcomer to the site I have been intrigued by the variety of prices quoted over the last few months. We have had a LPG tank for over 25 years and it has changed from a forgotten company to Shell and now Avanti who have just sent me a new contract for 2 years with a price (pence per litre) exc. VAT of .558 with a monthly tank rental of £5.00.
I must admit that in the past I have not been too worried about price increases as it just seems in line with the rest of the world but now retirement beckons then I am starting to watch the pennies. The tank was renewed last year and the service has always been good and so I do not want to rock the boat just for the sake of a minute saving and so I would be most interested in what the regular knowledgible contributors have to say.

Hello First time!

And welcome to the Wonderful World of Mystery and Intrigue!

We're with Avanti since about September last year. We agreed a price of 41.9p per litre +VAT fixed for 12 months. As a result of a post on this site, I went to the Avanti stand at the Homebuilding and Renovating Show at the NEC in March. Avanti had a special show offer of 2 years fixed price. I explained that I was already an Avanti customer and their reply was that my old contract would be cancelled and the paperwork for a new one sent out to me. The price was to be the same 41.9p per litre + VAT but now fixed for two years. This will mean that I will have had 36 months of fixed price LPG by the end of the new contract. We use 6000 to 6500 litres per year and live near Kenilworth (CV8 postcode). So far the Avanti service has been very good with helpful and friendly contact, quite a contrast to some of the stories posted on this site! It is possible that LPG prices might fall in the future so that my 41.9p will start to look expensive but I doubt it as the prices only ever seem to go up in LPG Land!!

First_time

Many thanks, Ace gas guzzler,
My useage is much smaller than yours (2462 litres last year) and I live in Surrey (RH postcode) - would this be a reason for such a discrepancy in prices?

LittleVermin

First_time wrote: »

....
My useage is much smaller than yours (2462 litres last year) and I live in Surrey (RH postcode) - would this be a reason for such a discrepancy in prices?

2500l p.a. is about the average according to DAVID.T (aka DAVID.T2!) who's in the LPG supply industry.

A good retail price at present is around 45-46ppl (see HateLPG's latest chart) - so if you paid that rather than the 55.8ppl Avanti wants to charge you you'd save over £200 a year. That's quite a few pennies saved!

Ace got a very good price partly because he got the 2 yr deal at the show but also because he came on the forum some time before his contract ended, did a lot of spade work and got quotes, realised prices were dropping, got new lower quotes ... (see his earlier posts). There's no mystery about "such a discrepancy in prices"!

Suppliers are VERY happy that customers don't want to risk rocking the boat. But they have a product to sell and will still sell it at lower prices if they are making a profit! (And they'll still sell it for a very low initial price if they've locked you into a 2 yr contract and can see their expected minimum profit be achieved over the full term. This is where independents have a problem as they often cannot match the loss-leader initial price).

Maybe try talking to two independents who might supply to your RH postcode: Rose Gas and HBS Fuels.
..

J_B

LittleVermin wrote: »

Maybe try talking to two independents who might supply to your RH postcode: Rose Gas and HBS Fuels.
..

Although LV, I would always bow to your superior knowledge, my initial approach would be to Avanti asking them why they had an offer of 42ppl in March and they want to charge you 33% more than they have quoted me.
Our house is on the N W Wales coast - I would have thought that Sarrey would be much more accessible and therefore easier to get a decent deal.

agworker

First_time wrote: »

As a newcomer to the site I have been intrigued by the variety of prices quoted over the last few months. We have had a LPG tank for over 25 years and it has changed from a forgotten company to Shell and now Avanti who have just sent me a new contract for 2 years with a price (pence per litre) exc. VAT of .558 with a monthly tank rental of £5.00.
I must admit that in the past I have not been too worried about price increases as it just seems in line with the rest of the world but now retirement beckons then I am starting to watch the pennies. The tank was renewed last year and the service has always been good and so I do not want to rock the boat just for the sake of a minute saving and so I would be most interested in what the regular knowledgible contributors have to say.

HI First Time - worth ringing them and discussing your rate - we are on 51.4p and £5/month and I'm going to ring them today to try and get nearer 45p. I think they make it up. we use about 1000l/year and are in the North Wales sticks.

munchings-n-crunchings

I'm looking at switching to a bulk storage tank, as I'm sure it must be cheaper.
Over the last 12 months, I have used 20 47kg bottles of gas, at £54 each.
I have no idea of how to compare the price.

Once I have a bulk tank installed, the rental on this will be £20 per quarter.
The initial price quoted for gas is 46p per litre, although until I know if a bulk tank can be installed, I have not clarified this further.

Any advice please, mainly the pitfalls to be aware of for a new comer to the bulk tank brigade.

I am in the Nottinghamshire NG23 postcode area.
Kind regards
Munchie

DAVID.T2

munchings-n-crunchings wrote: »

I'm looking at switching to a bulk storage tank, as I'm sure it must be cheaper.
Over the last 12 months, I have used 20 47kg bottles of gas, at £54 each.
I have no idea of how to compare the price.

Once I have a bulk tank installed, the rental on this will be £20 per quarter.
The initial price quoted for gas is 46p per litre, although until I know if a bulk tank can be installed, I have not clarified this further.

Any advice please, mainly the pitfalls to be aware of for a new comer to the bulk tank brigade.

I am in the Nottinghamshire NG23 postcode area.
Kind regards
Munchie

Hi
20 x 47kgs cylinders is around 1800 lts per year
if your 47kgs price includes vat, 57p ltr, if not 60p ltr.

hope this helps

munchings-n-crunchings

DAVID.T2 wrote: »

Hi
20 x 47kgs cylinders is around 1800 lts per year
if your 47kgs price includes vat, 57p ltr, if not 60p ltr.

hope this helps

That's brilliant, thank you.

First_time

Thank you "all out there" for your advice. I telephoned Avanti and after 2 calls (the second because they had not come back to me as promised) I was given a new offer of 45.8ppl guaranteed for the first 6 months of a 2 year contract with a guarantee of no more than 5ppl maximum increase for every 6 months thereafter. I said that I trusted that I wouldn't be charged the maximum as wholesale prices were going down and the answer was that the lady would be surprised if the increase was the maximum - I wait and see. Even if it does go up and we are coming into the low useage part of the year there will still be a saving over what they tried to charge me