Bulk LPG - Cheapest suppliers / supply route?

Mister_G

The_Groundsman said:

I've been with Calor for over 20 years and have had telemetry in various forms for a while now. We have almost run out over the last 2 winters and only avoided that by using the gas for hot water only once the tank dipped below 3%

According to the calor web site I was due a delivery over the last couple of weeks. I monitor the tank every few days so my anxiety levels are rising. Currently at 15% and I use around1.3% per day at the moment, I have decided not to chase up calor by phone this time as I am convinced it does no good and you spend hours in a queue. They will deliver when it suits them and no amount of chasing seems to make any difference. I've complained to my MP who referred to the minister responsible. I was asking for some sort of consumer protection and regulation but he didn't want to know about that and felt market forces should be enough to drive good service. 

My contract is due for renewal on 17th of March. How soon should I start shopping around for an alternative suppliers? When Can I expect Calor to offer me terms for renewal? or do  I need to call them? Are the laternative suppliers any better ( or heaven forbid worse than Calor)

Grateful for any recent experiences.

Are you lucky enough to have any local independent suppliers?  I've been with mine for the past 13 years and have never run out or been let down on deliveries.  They are local to me and always answer the phone within a couple of rings.  I've just ordered 1000 litres at 48ppl for delivery next Wednesday.

JerryW

The_Groundsman said:

I've been with Calor for over 20 years and have had telemetry in various forms for a while now. We have almost run out over the last 2 winters and only avoided that by using the gas for hot water only once the tank dipped below 3%

According to the calor web site I was due a delivery over the last couple of weeks. I monitor the tank every few days so my anxiety levels are rising. Currently at 15% and I use around1.3% per day at the moment, I have decided not to chase up calor by phone this time as I am convinced it does no good and you spend hours in a queue. They will deliver when it suits them and no amount of chasing seems to make any difference. I've complained to my MP who referred to the minister responsible. I was asking for some sort of consumer protection and regulation but he didn't want to know about that and felt market forces should be enough to drive good service. 

My contract is due for renewal on 17th of March. How soon should I start shopping around for an alternative suppliers? When Can I expect Calor to offer me terms for renewal? or do  I need to call them? Are the laternative suppliers any better ( or heaven forbid worse than Calor)

Grateful for any recent experiences.

> there are LOADS of experiences here on this forum and I recommend everyone, not just you, takes the trouble to poll through the previous messages. I know we are on page 436 now.. but you can do the lot in an hour if you skip over the ones you don't want.

> Avoid telemetry!! Lots of previous posts about this. Why leave it to them to decide when to refill. They will do it when convenient to them. Instead wen you get to 30%, tell them you want one ... they are supposed to do it within 14 days and at least this way you get warning, if they don't. Take control!

> You can start looking for alternatives any time, from about 2 months before the contract expires. Use google, "bulk lpg supply surrey" or wherever, you should have at least six or seven suppliers to choose from.

> Calor are no better, and no worse, than any of the other major suppliers. Do try local independents and lpgsave etc. too .. keep us posted!

Uptonpark

The_Groundsman said:

I've been with Calor for over 20 years and have had telemetry in various forms for a while now. We have almost run out over the last 2 winters and only avoided that by using the gas for hot water only once the tank dipped below 3%

According to the calor web site I was due a delivery over the last couple of weeks. I monitor the tank every few days so my anxiety levels are rising. Currently at 15% and I use around1.3% per day at the moment, I have decided not to chase up calor by phone this time as I am convinced it does no good and you spend hours in a queue. They will deliver when it suits them and no amount of chasing seems to make any difference. I've complained to my MP who referred to the minister responsible. I was asking for some sort of consumer protection and regulation but he didn't want to know about that and felt market forces should be enough to drive good service. 

My contract is due for renewal on 17th of March. How soon should I start shopping around for an alternative suppliers? When Can I expect Calor to offer me terms for renewal? or do  I need to call them? Are the laternative suppliers any better ( or heaven forbid worse than Calor)

Grateful for any recent experiences.

Hi Groundsman, we are also with Calor paying 72 ppl, out of interest how does this compare with your contract. Thanks.

Sorting_Hat

The rule is you can start the switch within 28 days of the end date.
The switch can happen but the new firm cant put any gas in the tank until after the original end date.

"we confirm the customer is within one month of their exclusivity period expiring" " tank transfer and switch will complete no earlier than (your end date) when the customers exclusivity period end.

MrBic

philtrick123 said:

OK. It took them a couple of days but this is the current best offer from lpg-save with Flogas. I'll push the button on Monday afternoon for the 24 month option unless someone tells me that there is better pricing available with another supplier. Using ~2000litres per year it works out at roughly £200 per year OR £16 a month more over my previous 42ppl deal. So call it very roughly 50p a day.

✔ Option 1: 48 pence per litre, Fixed for 12 months. In Year 2, your gas price will then be capped at no more than 9 pence per litre above the Year 1 Price. (+vat @ 5%).

 ✔ Option 2: 52 pence per litre, Fixed for 24 months (+vat @ 5%)

 ✔ Tank Rental / Standing Charge: 27 pence per day (+vat @ 5%) . As with all suppliers, tank rental charges can be subject to periodic change.

 ✔ No additional costs will be applied for 'Operational Costs'. Some suppliers will now increase their overall price by up to 20 pence per litre (+vat @ 5%) over the Agreement term, for their 'Operational Costs', so for costs not included within the cost of the LPG itself.

Thanks for your post Philtrick.

My 2 year fix (46p per litre) with Flogas ends 6th March. They have just quoted me 48p for one year fix and 54p for two year fix, valid for seven days.

I quoted your offer to them 😊 but they need some evidence to back it up. Greatly appreciate if you can provide a contact name/email address etc. so I can negotiate them down. They told me that their price is the same regardless of the UK location. I suppose that, three weeks on from your quote, time might be a factor but it’s worth a shot!

The_Groundsman

Currently on 69ppl but quoted 49ppl by flogas. Still waiting for calor's renewal offer.  No local supplier available.

MrBic

The_Groundsman said:

Currently on 69ppl but quoted 49ppl by flogas. Still waiting for calor's renewal offer.  No local supplier available.

Are those prices for a one or two year fix - please?

kassy64

Hi, I'm down to about 18% of LPG in my tank (2,000 litre capacity I believe). In contract with Flogas and have an order of about 1,500 litres on my account showing since mid January. Been with Flogas for about 5 years now and tank has never gone as low as it is currently. I have messaged them but had no response (yet). Before I get on the phone to them does anyone know of any shortages or problems at Flogas, i've read on this thread that they are prioritising those that have run out 😢. Hope this is not the case as we regularly have very young and very old people stay with us. I am in East Sussex by the way.Thanks  

Sorting_Hat

18% is not bad given the red bit on the dial is 20% and that is the point to think about ordering.
So your tank would be 2200 liter. Of course your usage  is an individual thing.

kassy64

Sorting_Hat said:

18% is not bad given the red bit on the dial is 20% and that is the point to think about ordering.
So your tank would be 2200 liter. Of course your usage  is an individual thing.

Thanks for reply, my online account seems to think I have about 34 days fuel remaining, but of course this fluctuates depending on my recent usage which is dependant on the ambient temperature. As we have been very mild in south recently (16c yesterday) I'm not using the heating much over the last week (just evenings), however should we get a cold spell then that 34 days would quickly turn to 15 days or so I suspect. At least we are coming out of winter so more mild days than cold hopefully, but still need boiler for HW. I will give it another week and give them a call. Wouldn't normally be so worried but regularly have grand daughter staying over also my mother in law now and again and would hate to run out. Am i right in saying that if i got down to the last dregs I am within my rights to get the tank filled by a local supplier, I would have thought so as they cant really complain (and tough if they do). Anyone done anything similar?