Smokeless just went up 33% :(

dekh

Supertherme from CPL just went up by 33%

I nearly choked on the phone when I was told.

Can anybody recommend an alternative supplier? I'm in the North East. Newcastle.

A._Badger

I'm not in your area, so can't suggest an alternative, but I'm sure your Yellow Pages will have an independent coal merchant.

However, you've highlighted one of the great rip-offs of our time which, because so few people use solid fuel these days, the media have ignored.

Coal and other solid fuels went up in the early Autumn simply because because oil and gas prices had risen. There was no other reason - it was just an opportunity to cash-in.

Icewytch

Same here. For a small 25kg bag of ordinary Household coal I got charged £16 recently. I can`t afford to pay that so have had to order on credit bags of anthracite at the same price but bigger bags.
I only have a stove plus open fire in one bedroom. To be honest I was raised without and have never had, central heating, so I`m fine with that, but I find it hard to heat the livingroom efficiently as the stove is always just on `tickover`, which is fine in mild weather but when the north wind blows and the cold hits here (I`m on an Orkney isle btw) it`s bl**dy freezing!
I supplement the stove with driftwood but as I`m sure folks know, wood burns hot and quick, so it doesn`t last long...my supply of wood is going down and I live on an island not exactly known for it`s trees.
Does anyone know, please, if there`s an official body or something which is supposed to monitor the cost of solid fuel?

A._Badger

It irks me, too, Icewytch (appropriate name!) but if there is a body that is supposed to be keeping an eye on this, they have long since give up, as far as I can see.

I use a large stove to heat a very old house which has no insulation, nor can it have any (it's listed). Being stuck in the middle of a field, the only options are oil central heating and solid fuel (LPG isn't even worth considering). I have the former but simply can't justify running it at today's prices. So I use the stove which heats most of the parts of the house I use on a regular basis.

It seems to me that those of us who live in rural locations are completely ignored by the media in so many respects - but particularly with regard to the way we are exploited by energy suppliers. When the price of crude oil is discussed, the only concern is its effect on petrol and diesel - heating oil is never mentioned. And when solid fuel prices are inflated, simply because the alternatives have also risen, no one seems to notice, or care, except we users.

In the absence of any official body, all I can suggest is writing to your MP. I don't imagine for a moment they can do anything, but it can't hurt to bring pressure on the government, which is desperately running around tryng to look helpful and concerned at the moment.