Fuel payment plan dispute

Berniem_2

I have a monthly standing order fore fuel oil on a payment plan. After two years they are saying I owe tem £2k because they didn't change my monthly payments to reflect usage/price increases. What can I do?

Ectophile

If you're paying by standing order then you tell the bank how much to pay the supplier. The supplier cannot increase the amount they take.

With direct debit it's up to the supplier how much they want (though they have to tell you in advance).

dogshome

You have my sympathy, it's a real pickle with many questions
How much oil do you use a year?
What was the price per litre when the Stand. Order was set up ?
What is the total amount of oil delivered over those 2 years?
What was the price of oil on each of those deliveries ?

The real answer is that a deal where the supplier just fills the tank whenever asked and you pay a fixed sum every month is the worst deal you can do, get rid of it as soon as you can

Oil prices vary by the day and all suppliers except yours, compete with one another on that days price - Look up the web or Yellow pages for suppliers in your area, and phone every one of them for their price when you want a re-fill

Oakdene

dogshome wrote: »

You have my sympathy, it's a real pickle with many questions
How much oil do you use a year?
What was the price per litre when the Stand. Order was set up ?
What is the total amount of oil delivered over those 2 years?
What was the price of oil on each of those deliveries ?

The real answer is that a deal where the supplier just fills the tank whenever asked and you pay a fixed sum every month is the worst deal you can do, get rid of it as soon as you can

Oil prices vary by the day and all suppliers except yours, compete with one another on that days price - Look up the web or Yellow pages for suppliers in your area, and phone every one of them for their price when you want a re-fill

Another way to go maybe to ask a neighbour (or neighbours) if they need oil & you all get topped up the same day. Oil companies often will give a good discount on the ppl price for larger quantities. I know my folks do this with a couple of people in the village.

Cash-Cows

Berniem wrote: »

I have a monthly standing order fore fuel oil on a payment plan. After two years they are saying I owe tem £2k because they didn't change my monthly payments to reflect usage/price increases. What can I do?

I think you need to check the documents you received with each delivery. If the higher prices are on it and you are using more you will still owe them. You basically have a contract. It's a bit like meter readings and direct debits for electricity. Sometimes too much is collected sometimes not enough.

If you had a contract to receive all the fuel you like at a given price for a given period then you would have a case that they cannot retrospectively try and charge you. It's all down to your contract.

You need to by the sound of it negotiate how you will repay the debt. £85 per month for two years would clear it.

G_M

Well the first point is - ditch this plan. They are never cheap.

As for

What can I do?

the answer is read your contract! None of us know what exactly you signed up to.

But as a common sense approach

* check what you've paid in total over the period in question
* check how many litres you've received, and at what price(s), over the same period
* calculate whether the two totals match!