Flogas - recent price increases / switching to oil

ilikecookies

I received yet another letter from Flogas today informing me that "with regret" they are putting the price up (again) and of course they are doing so with immediate effect.

I started off on 14th October paying 39ppl (when we moved into this property - which is in Leicestershire), which promptly increased to 47.5ppl on 9th November, and now to 54.5ppl from 11th Jan. The sky seems to be the limit and call me a cynic but I don't expect the price will come down as fast as it went up! Needless to say if British Gas were to put their prices up 40% in a matter of three months there would be an uproar! We can just about cope with the increases but I wonder the effect this must have on those with tight budgets such as pensioners.

I simply don't buy the argument that the increases can be blamed on the oil price etc etc - it's as if higher winter demand comes as a surprise each year to the LPG industry and unless these operators are really stupid they will have fixed there winter prices with their suppliers much earlier in the year as part of the long-dated contracts they have with the likes of Shell, BP, etc. Folks like Flogas seem to want us to believe they buy with LPG daily from the oil suppliers are so are being held to ransom.

As a newbie to LPG (we moved into the property in Oct '10 and had always been on mains before then) I'm stuck by the lunacy of the current system. I realise things have got better since the Competition Commission stepped in to regulate contracts to 2 years and make switching easier but the current mode of operation still seems bad as ultimately you are locked in with 1 supplier for 2 years who can then do as they wish.

I'm planning to switch to oil in the summer and banish LPG. Whilst the upfront costs to switch are indeed very high and it will take a good while to recoup I see a couple of key advantages:

1) No fixed contract - you can shop around for the best per litre price and have the option of clubbing together with other local oil users to drive down the price.

2) No tank rental - of course you have the upfront capital cost of the oil tank though.

3) Thirdly and the clincher for me it that with oil it is possible to get much bigger tanks than with LPG. I understand the biggest domestic LPG tank is 2000 litres (which can only be filled to 85% capacity) vs up to about 5000 litres for oil. At least then with oil you have the option to stock up when prices are low(er) in the summer and hopefully rid out the insane price hikes in the winter.

In this regard I'd be really keen to know:

1) What other LPG customers are paying right now (esp. Flogas customers)?

2) Does anyone have experience switching to oil?

Thanks for reading my rant!

david29dpo

Flowgas has always been a ripoff. I pay 36ppl. It is possible to buy your own LPG tank and shop around for the best prices.

oldian

Hi, I'm also with Flogas,was paying 43.5 ppl in November now had 2 letters ,first in December saying price increase of 8.5 pence per litre from 15th December and 2nd received yesterday informing of price rise from 11th January of 7pence per litre !

hatchy

Judging by the list of Companies owned or associated with DCC (in the Boycotting DCC thread), Flogas is one of them. Enough said really.

Nikkic_2

We are currently in a battle with Flogas after being charged 70.75ppl !! for a delivery they made in November 2010, apparantly we were on automatic top up which meant they came out of the blue while we were at work, a whole year after our previous top up, the tank was allmost empty (as we were planning to have it removed) resulting in a rather hefty bill!

I rang them after receiving the bill to find out their current price per litre and they quoted 39ppl.

We havn't signed a contract with them since 2007 but because we didn't cancel in writing at the end of the initial 2 year period the contract terms roll on but the prices don't, this seems to give them the right to charge what ever they like!

Rip off merchants steer clear!

ilikecookies

Thanks to all for the replies - interesting to see Flogas are part of DCC!

Nikkic - 70.75ppl when you didn't even want the delivery ... ouch! Couple of follow-up questions for you if you'd be so kind:

1) When you were under contract with Flogas for the two year period was the price really fixed or did the price still fluctuate? I ask as we don't have a contract with Flogas per se - we bought the house with the tank in situ but did not sign a new contract. I did this so we could change suppliers more easily as I'd already heard bad things about FG.

2) You said you planned to do away with your LPG tank. Are you aware if FG will try to charge when you want it removed?

3) Out of interest what are your changing to (oil, Heat pump)?

HateLPG

hatchy wrote: »

the Boycotting DCC thread

That would be the "[TEXT DELETED BY FORUM TEAM] DCC / Boilerjuice.com" thread I take it would it???

Geoffwd

I've had a rather forthright and uncompromising letter from Flogas recently.

We have had a bulk tank for nearly 20 years but four years ago we converted to oil because of the frequent and spuriously justified price increases for LPG. Consequently, we have not purchsed LPG since that time though we still have 1000 litres in the tank which is used exclusivley for cooking.

The content of the letter informs me that Flogas are not happy to keep our tank rental at £49 annually and have given us notice that the rental will increase to £200. Additionally, when the tank becomes 20 years old in Nov they will charge £750 to replace it.

Having contacted them by phone they informed me that they are willing to buy back the 1000 litres of LPG at the price we paid for it in 2007 - 33p per litre. My response was that their current retail price was 60p per litere and that they were unlikely to re-sell the LPG at 2007 prices.

Anyone have a view on this?

adrianjohn

I'm not sure that I'm coming in to this thread at the right point, but I'd really appreciate some help and support. I'm tearing my hair out over my dealings with FloGas - it's wearing me down and making me ill. We took on a two year contract in March 2010 when we moved to this house. I want to get out of it and have been assured by another supplier that they will be able to supply me. Where do I stand on getting out of the contract? I'm really worried that FloGas will cause problems, we'll run out of gas, and I'll be stuck. It isn't a financial issue - though heaven knows, they are pricey. Hope someone can help.

Hagrid151

The TV program "Don't get done get Dom" BBC1 was on about Flogas Today, Some people in the village were paying 35p a litre with some paying over 150p(this may be wrong) a litre I believe, but every one was paying a completely different tariff
The village all got together and bought in bulk, for I believe under 35p a litre
Try the BBC Iplayer

bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00slm4t/Dont_Get_Done_Get_Dom_Series_4_Flogas/

Kena_3

unfortunatly you signed a contract, the max it can be if you are a domestic (not commercial) customer is 2years 42days, they can hold you to that agreement and no other supplier can refil that tank as it will belong to Flogas, flogas can come after you for lost revenue & profits be very careful. Write to flogas telling them you want to cancel immediatly, they may let you off the hook I doubt it, hope this heps
KEN