Bulk LPG - Cheapest suppliers / supply route?

XRAT

JerryW said:

jamesg123 said:

Email from  Avantigas. - you are out of contract, get in touch before end of May for a great deal -    I have just called annual usage 2100 litres. I do not qualify for “best deals” assume usage too low or postcode not right….  Ok so how much please -    Ok so we can offer you 100 pence per litre ….. !! 

That is AvantiSpeak for "Get lost, we don't want you here." Avanti used to be Shell fuels .. I am beginning to think they want to close themselves down completely, as Shell themselves have done with their retail electicity business..

Time  for you to move on, I hope you have enough in the tank for a little research and comparison shopping ..

Thanks, that maybe explains why Calor increased my price from 46ppl to 74ppl last year. 2,000L is lasting me just over 3 years, it's an efficient modern house with a log burner. (£150/year on logs is cheaper than heating with gas.)

Badger04

About to start negotiations for next contract with flogas. Has anybody reached a deal recently with a supplier?
with oil prices dropping again I was hoping for less than 50ppl.

Cloverleaf2

I've been a customer of Calor for 34 years at my current address, almost all of it out of contract and negotiating a price with them every year or so. Then in 2022 I had to go into a 2 year contract with a first year price of 40pp as my tank was 30 years old and had to be replaced with a newly certified one. I made sure I had the tank filled up a couple of days before year one expired, then, as expected, they put my price up to 67ppl for year two. I had to have one fill at that price but in April 2024 that contract ended so I asked them what my out-of-contract price will be. Answer was 67ppl or 59ppl if I signed a new 2 year contract. Meanwhile I'd been quoted 44ppl from both Flogas and Avanti, however, there's a big problem and I know I'm by no means the only person to face this situation. Both Flogas and Avanti want the tank installation to comply with current protocols (basically the tank has to stand on a clear piece of land with 3m all around it) whereas mine is apparently too near a hedge and also an outdoor electricity meter box.  Calor were quite happy to install their new tank on that site in 2022 and quite happy to keep filling it up at their extortionate price for ever, well why wouldn't they be?  I've approached Calor several times to ask if they'd like to quote me a price at the market rate, but their response has always been along the lines of "pay up or get lost".  So I either have to be a hostage to Calor for the foreseeable future or prepare a new site in my garden and have a new tank installed by Flogas or Avanti.  If anyone has any suggestions it would much appreciated.

JerryW

Cloverleaf2 said:

I've been a customer of Calor for 34 years at my current address, ian surprisedalmost all of it out of contract and negotiating a price with them every year or so. Then in 2022 I had to go into a 2 year contract with a first year price of 40pp as my tank was 30 years old and had to be replaced with a newly certified one. I made sure I had the tank filled up a couple of days before year one expired, then, as expected, they put my price up to 67ppl for year two. I had to have one fill at that price but in April 2024 that contract ended so I asked them what my out-of-contract price will be. Answer was 67ppl or 59ppl if I signed a new 2 year contract. Meanwhile I'd been quoted 44ppl from both Flogas and Avanti, however, there's a big problem and I know I'm by no means the only person to face this situation. Both Flogas and Avanti want the tank installation to comply with current protocols (basically the tank has to stand on a clear piece of land with 3m all around it) whereas mine is apparently too near a hedge and also an outdoor electricity meter box.  Calor were quite happy to install their new tank on that site in 2022 and quite happy to keep filling it up at their extortionate price for ever, well why wouldn't they be?  I've approached Calor several times to ask if they'd like to quote me a price at the market rate, but their response has always been along the lines of "pay up or get lost".  So I either have to be a hostage to Calor for the foreseeable future or prepare a new site in my garden and have a new tank installed by Flogas or Avanti.  If anyone has any suggestions it would much appreciated.

I am surprised a hedge is treated as a barrier. Flogas were quite happy to take on my tank despite a wicker trellis with  climbing plants just a meter away.

Try phoning Flogas again, speak to technical support, ask them to agree that as it is gas permeable it should not count as a barrier.

Failing that chopping the hedge down would be the cheapest option.. let us know how you get on!

LessImpecunious

Hi Cloverleaf - I commented on my experience with a very similar situation earlier in this thread - see https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/80424460#Comment_80424460

It might be worth mentioning to Calor that you would be forced to take your case to the Dispute Resolution Scheme [though I wouldn't actually do that without getting a lot of advice on what pitfalls to avoid!] as you are unable to "get lost" as they have sited your tank in a non-compliant position - threat of legal action often makes companies think again, and they might offer you a more reasonable (if not the cheapest) price, as they did us...

Cloverleaf2

Sorry, it was in fact Avanti that I was talking to about the hedge. After endless emails back and forth and photos being sent, they announced that a hedge is only allowed if it is 'evergreen' and they'd decided that mine is not. I have the impression that they think that a deciduous hedge will shed its leaves which later, when dried and decayed will spontaneously combust and cook the tank. I really don't want to remove it as it's about 2m wide and forms the boundary between our property and the road. There's also the problem with the electricity meter box, 1.5m from the end of the tank.

JerryW

Cloverleaf2 said:

Sorry, it was in fact Avanti that I Awas talking to about the hedge. After endless emails back and forth and photos being sent, they announced that a hedge is only allowed if it is 'evergreen' and they'd decided that mine is not. I have the impression that they think that a deciduous hedge will shed its leaves which later, when dried and decayed will spontaneously combust and cook the tank. I really don't want to remove it as it's about 2m wide and forms the boundary between our property and the road. There's also the problem with the electricity meter box, 1.5m from the end of the tank.

Avanti are different as it appears they are actively trying to shed business. Try lpg save...

LessImpecunious

It was lpg save / flogas who rejected my attempt to switch to them, because of the (newly-installed by Calor) noncompliant tank...

Cloverleaf2

LessImpecunious said:

Hi Cloverleaf - I commented on my experience with a very similar situation earlier in this thread - see https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/80424460#Comment_80424460

It might be worth mentioning to Calor that you would be forced to take your case to the Dispute Resolution Scheme [though I wouldn't actually do that without getting a lot of advice on what pitfalls to avoid!] as you are unable to "get lost" as they have sited your tank in a non-compliant position - threat of legal action often makes companies think again, and they might offer you a more reasonable (if not the cheapest) price, as they did us...

I did think about taking that approach but I assumed that as I am now out of contract they could say they have no obligations to me and now that they know my tank is non-compliant they won't supply gas to me any more either.
I have the impression that since the law was introduced some years ago to force them to sell your tank to a rival supplier if you wanted to change, the 'big three' agreed between themselves that none of them would take on a non-compliant tank from one of the other suppliers, but continue to supply gas to it themselves, ensuring that they all gradually acquire an increasing portfolio of 'gas hostages'.

LessImpecunious

We were at the end of our contract too... The negotiation was done by Customer Services who spoke to their "Account Transfer Out Team", so you could try asking to speak to them. Jerry W may have more comment on this? - looking back he said "Calor have a legal duty to make their tank comply with all current regulations". So it may be that they preferred to offer an acceptable deal, rather than to have to come back and resite the tank (presumably at their cost, since they had placed it in a non-compliant position).