Home heating oil help. We cannot wait for the 'detail'. Can help come retrospectively? Need oil NOW

Ultrasonic

lindatoo said:

I said exactly the same as you but I then deleted my comment because I don't think the OP is just referring to the £400, 

I thought your now deleted post was really helpful! I was wondering why @Section62 had felt the need to repeat what you'd said but I understand now  .

Section62

lindatoo said:

Section62 said:

Francis63 said:

Section62 said:

Francis63 said:

My electricity bill is very small...

You have a mains electric supply?  You'll get the £400.  As simple as that.

You'll either get the money refunded to your bank account, or your supplier will reduce your direct debit.

No I won't. I am such a low electricity user. My expense is oil, not electricity. It won't work out that way.

Yes, you really will.

A total of £400 will be credited to your electricity account over the Winter.  It doesn't matter how little electricity you use, you will get the £400.

Whether the £400 will be automatically credited (back) to your bank account or not depends on your supplier's policy.

It will work out that you get £400.

(Not sure if there is a way of making that any clearer?)

I said exactly the same as you but I then deleted my comment because I don't think the OP is just referring to the £400, as of course they will get that as you say, but I think they are referring to the price cap help that Truss mentioned a week or so ago when she said there would be help for people on alternative fuels.

They are asking if they buy their fuel now and then if oil is capped will they be able to claim the difference between what they have paid and any capped price if there is going to be one.

My reply was based on the OP's comment "No I won't. I am such a low electricity user" to my "You have a mains electric supply?  You'll get the £400.  As simple as that."

I agree there is also an issue relating to the capping of the price of oil, and for those of us who use oil this is a consideration. But I don't think any of us are expecting a "promised" £400 off a delivery of 500 litres?

I'd guess the MP's signposting the OP to CAB will be repeated, on the basis their follow up email is not very clear and the reference to "We will have scraped by without heating during the wait, all for nothing" (incorrectly) implies their financial position is such that they cannot afford even a minimum delivery, despite the £400 Energy Bills Support Scheme payment.

Nobody should be suffering sitting in a cold house because they are expecting additional help with oil costs - that isn't money saving.  Any further help on the cost of a (minimum) delivery of oil isn't going to equate to a vast sum of money, relative to the £400 which each household is already getting.

mark_cycling00

For the OP, sadly I would prepare yourself psychologically for not much "help" in terms of price reduction. Perhaps a cap at £1 per litre but maybe even higher. 

For the reasons in this thread. 

I doubt the government has an accurate list of people who have oil heating that they can match up to benefits, known savings etc. 
That leaves the option of an application type system open to fraud and lots of manual effort. So I'd expect a simpler solution who suppliers or refiners claim costs over a certain level. Easier to audit a few companies to reduce any fraud or errors 

But I could well be totally wrong, these are strange times

savers_united

I think a cap on the price of oil for the next 2 years is the most likely, as people buy their oil at different times and by different amounts the price can fluctuate so an upper cap would seem the most logical. Looking at the the Gov't rate of 10.3p for Gas I would expect a cap around £1 a litre. Last time I checked the price per litre was sitting below this so if I needed oil now I would be buying. 

Francis63

Q

91p/litre plus VAT is still cheaper than mains gas. You are unlikely to get any help towards your oil cost. If you need oil now, buy it.

How can you say its cheaper than mains gas? It depends of a variety of factors including the efficiency of the oil burner. Mine is old and rubbish. My neighbour in the flat below is a HA tenant and they have replaced her old boiler with a much more efficient one. Unfortunately I would have to pay to get mine replaced and with no income I daren't at the moment. 

Why do you say unlikely to get help? Liz Truss announced ther WILL be help. So it's definite.

Francis63

dunstonh said:

Francis63 said:

dunstonh said:

Oil has dropped in price over the last few days and is back to the level around March time and whilst it is about 30% higher than the average over the last 5 years, it is not that bad.  Plus, we got away with dirt cheap oil in 2020.  So, you take the rough with the smooth.

Mine was 41p p/l last November.
Now is 91p (plus VAT)

Nov 2020 was around 41p.  By Nov 2021 is was back into high 50s/low 60s.  By April it was £1.15.  Currently, it is 85p

It's area specific, so I'm quoting for my area. Yours may be totally different.

GingerTim

Francis63 said:

Q

91p/litre plus VAT is still cheaper than mains gas. You are unlikely to get any help towards your oil cost. If you need oil now, buy it.

How can you say its cheaper than mains gas? It depends of a variety of factors including the efficiency of the oil burner. Mine is old and rubbish. My neighbour in the flat below is a HA tenant and they have replaced her old boiler with a much more efficient one. Unfortunately I would have to pay to get mine replaced and with no income I daren't at the moment. 

Why do you say unlikely to get help? Liz Truss announced ther WILL be help. So it's definite.

Truss said that help with heating oil will be provided through a discretionary fund -what the criteria are for support from that fund we don't know.

The important thing, as @Section62 has pointed out, you will get the £400 through your electricity supply, like everyone else connected to the grid.

MattMattMattUK

Francis63 said:

Q

91p/litre plus VAT is still cheaper than mains gas. You are unlikely to get any help towards your oil cost. If you need oil now, buy it.

How can you say its cheaper than mains gas? It depends of a variety of factors including the efficiency of the oil burner. Mine is old and rubbish. My neighbour in the flat below is a HA tenant and they have replaced her old boiler with a much more efficient one. Unfortunately I would have to pay to get mine replaced and with no income I daren't at the moment. 

Oil is cheaper than mains gas per kWh, that is a fact, it has nothing to do with age or efficiency of the boiler. Oil or gas can both have highly efficient or highly inefficient boilers, neither of thos factors relate to the fuel they use.

savers_united

Francis63 said:

Q

91p/litre plus VAT is still cheaper than mains gas. You are unlikely to get any help towards your oil cost. If you need oil now, buy it.

How can you say its cheaper than mains gas? It depends of a variety of factors including the efficiency of the oil burner. Mine is old and rubbish. My neighbour in the flat below is a HA tenant and they have replaced her old boiler with a much more efficient one. Unfortunately I would have to pay to get mine replaced and with no income I daren't at the moment. 

Why do you say unlikely to get help? Liz Truss announced ther WILL be help. So it's definite.

Same variables for those using Gas, not everyone has a new heating system properly balanced with good controls like room stats and radiator valves. You need to compare apples with apples, so comparing the price per litre v price per kwh is the fairest way and as things stand even after Oct 1st Gov't intervention heating a home with oil is still cheaper than Gas. As we move through the winter months the price of oil may move above the new gas rates, that is when any cap will come into play, but at the minute information is sketchy, at least with oil if you do not use it then your not still stuck paying a daily SC. 

Francis63

Yes, we don't know so that's why I'm waiting. Even if it's just the removal of VAT that would be very helpful. On a full 1500Litre tank 5% VAT costs nearly 70 pounds. That's a lot of money to me.

My elec is 39 pounds per month. I have no elec shower or freezer or cooker. so it's really just lighting, kettle and microwave, phone & laptop charging for 1 person. I don't even have a tv.