Bulk LPG - Cheapest suppliers / supply route?

vick1945

I am paying 51.95p with BP.
It has been an absolute nightmare. I asked for a top up in the middle of December as I didn't want to run out over Christmas. Finally ran out on News Years Eve, despite having a telimetry device fitted, so no heating or hot water for nearly 2 weeks. Phoning and e-mailing as well as ordering on-line seemed to make no difference. I eventually got a human being on the phone on Jan 10th and explained I had a family member with dementia and other health problems and the tanker came 2 days later. This might have been a coincidence as I had put these details in the e-mails I had sent them. Either that or they were not reading their e-mails. I am considering switching but they all sound the same ! Any advice ?

Nikkic_2

We've just been charged 70.75ppl by flogas, we were on automatic top up but they hadn't been since November 2009 so I assumed we were no longer on auto top up. They turned up out of the blue while we were at work and brimmed the tank from almost empty (we were planning on switching and having a new tank installed)

As far as they're concerned that was my price at time of delivery and they're not willing to budge even though they themselves quoted 39ppl as their current price just after the delivery.

GrandadRob

Just remember everybody that if, like us, you are just letting your tank go down before either re-ordering or changing suppliers......SEND YOUR SUPPLIER A RECORDED DELIVERY LETTER.
We did this and they phoned next day to acknowledge it. Then if they deliver. They can just take it out again...................

Don't just take customer care and/or service for granted. Most of these companies have no decency at all, as it witness above.

SD-253

vick1945 wrote: »

I am paying 51.95p with BP.
It has been an absolute nightmare. I asked for a top up in the middle of December as I didn't want to run out over Christmas. Finally ran out on News Years Eve, despite having a telimetry device fitted, so no heating or hot water for nearly 2 weeks. Phoning and e-mailing as well as ordering on-line seemed to make no difference. I eventually got a human being on the phone on Jan 10th and explained I had a family member with dementia and other health problems and the tanker came 2 days later. This might have been a coincidence as I had put these details in the e-mails I had sent them. Either that or they were not reading their e-mails. I am considering switching but they all sound the same ! Any advice ?

Try this for suppliers near you:-
http://www.uklpg.org/supplier-search/search.php
Personally I am with Energas which seem reasonable (relatively)
This tells you how to change supplier: - http://www.uklpg.org/change_supplier.php
But it is relatively easy anyway IE you find the cheapest and they sort it out. It appears that the suppliers are now raising prices on tank rental from around £60 to £100 but it is negotiable. You may want to ask price of gas first then negotiate on tank rental.

SD-253

vick1945 wrote: »

I am paying 51.95p with BP.

Not a terrible price for LPG. Oil has seen some ludicrous price rises. At the end of contract you should renegotiate, you are the one with the power then. But you must check out the other suppliers.

vick1945 wrote: »

I asked for a top up in the middle of December as I didn't want to run out over Christmas. Finally ran out on News Years Eve, despite having a telemetry device fitted,

I am afraid you need to order earlier, that is leaving it too late. My company will top up once I have used 400 liters some will do a top when passing. Both of the latter worth thinking about??

vick1945 wrote: »

despite having a telemetry device fitted,

The problem with this device is two fold
1 You are at there mercy they will know how much you have left and will fill when it suits them.
2 The device it self is only as good as the gauge which is very unreliable. Took the advice of one tanker driver and left a rock on top of the gauge cover. When I go to read the gauge I first give the gauge (with cover over) a good tap with the rock. I have seen big drops in the reading doing this IE 10% get rid of the telemetry device. JB

Playpitspark

So what can we as consumers do about all this? The gas suppliers have got us by the proverbials and we seem powerless. I am about to lodge and official complaint with OFGEM, but I suspect they are as useless as a cardboard pickaxe.

I have put my problems on my blog (but as I'm not allowed to post links here you can read it if you Google playpitspark), simply so I don't have to repeat the whole sorry tale here. I live in Scotland, but I'm not exactly in the back of beyond, I'm just south of Edinburgh, 25 miles from Grangemouth where the gas tankers come from.

It seems to me that there are plenty of others with problems, many in a worse position than me. At least I have a log burning stove. No gas for cooking, though.

How is it that suppliers allow themselves to get in such a state? They claim it's the weather, but we had 30" of snow here early last year. Did they really think that was a once-in-a-lifetime event? And what about next winter? Will it be the same? You bet it will.

Janners

LittleVermin wrote: »

Thanks for sharing all the prices (and non-prices!).

If you've a little time - and are not desperate for a fill - I wonder if you'd give Mole Valley Farmers a ring, please (01769 576201) and see what they might do for you (if you joined them for £10 p.a.). Maybe they don't operate in Newark/Notts but I don't see why not as the YOBCO oil buying consortium has become national (having started in one village).

Sorry I haven't responded before now, been a busy week!

I rang Mole Valley Farmers the following day and spoke with a very helpful chap who said that if I'd rung the day before I could've had the Flogas 39ppl deal fixed for 6 months, however Flogas had now withdrawn this and IIRC he quoted the prices that Bananabread has already posted up.

I wasn't able to get through to Shell so signed/sent the renewal agreement off.

LittleVermin

Janners wrote: »

Sorry I haven't responded before now, been a busy week!

I rang Mole Valley Farmers the following day and spoke with a very helpful chap who said that if I'd rung the day before I could've had the Flogas 39ppl deal fixed for 6 months, however Flogas had now withdrawn this and IIRC he quoted the prices that Bananabread has already posted up.

I wasn't able to get through to Shell so signed/sent the renewal agreement off.

Thanks for trying Mole Valley Farmers. What I, and many others no doubt, would like to know is what happens to prices through MVF after the first 6 months or whatever! I wonder why the MVF guy didn't mention Calor or Shell - they mention them on their website!

So your Shell deal is 43ppl, max 3ppl per 6 months - but did you get the rental down to £60 from the £100 originally quoted? I know it's not a great difference but we've also seen a £170 pa quoted by another company.

Janners

LittleVermin wrote: »

Thanks for trying Mole Valley Farmers. What I, and many others no doubt, would like to know is what happens to prices through MVF after the first 6 months or whatever! I wonder why the MVF guy didn't mention Calor or Shell - they mention them on their website!

So your Shell deal is 43ppl, max 3ppl per 6 months - but did you get the rental down to £60 from the £100 originally quoted? I know it's not a great difference but we've also seen a £170 pa quoted by another company.

Just to clarify, the guy at MVF included Calor & Shell which were the same prices referred to above by bananabread. As I mentioned, I couldn't get through to Shell so have sent the renewal back based on £100. Having checked the renewal again, it's actually 43.9ppl, not 43ppl

LittleVermin

Janners wrote: »

Just to clarify, the guy at MVF included Calor & Shell which were the same prices referred to above by bananabread. As I mentioned, I couldn't get through to Shell so have sent the renewal back based on £100. Having checked the renewal again, it's actually 43.9ppl, not 43ppl

Thanks. So assuming there's not a typo/.. somewhere Mole Valley Farmers were offering Shell at 47ppl (see bananabread's post). But Shell quoted you 46ppl which you got reduced to 43.9ppl.

On November 9th mixit1 said his Flogas price went from 45ppl to 30ppl when he joined the MVF buying group. see http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.php?p=38318292&postcount=300

bananabread's deal only involved shaving a few pence (previous price in contract 54ppl, down to 47ppl via MVF).

I wonder if Anglia Farmers' get deals with the major suppliers still.