Be warned - Value Oils/Watson Fuels

roseview

Not sure what's going on with these companies but they are failing to deliver what they say they will. Value Oils has been pushing for pre-Xmas delivery of oil for over a month, so we placed an order 30th November with delivery by 18th Dec. No delivery has arrived and I've chased every day since, being told that it would be that day by 7pm. Eventually, I worked out that the supplier was Watson Fuels so phoned them direct yesterday. They apologised and promised it for today. Gues what, still not here so I've phoned again and been told thta it will now be next Thursday 28th!

Hopefully our supply will last until then. I told them that we are pensioners who will have no heating/cooking for Xmas if our tank runs out but made no difference.

Every number you ring for Watson Fuels takes you to the call centre so can't even speak to the local depot who are supposed to be delivering. We are going away in the New Year so need to make sure that our housesitter has fuel whilst we are gone.

Looking at Trustpilot reviews, we aren't the only ones in this situation either.

smallblueplanet

We ordered with Direct Oil - a trading name of Watson Fuels - and the delivery in early December didn't arrive. Contact could only be made via email, no answer on the phone number. But we did eventually get our delivery about 7 days late. The driver said he was from Southampton (for mid-Wiltshire) as the Chippenham depot were short of drivers.

sweethunter

Unreliable delivery and very poor communication

I ordered fuel from Watson Fuel on 23 December with a scheduled delivery date of 6 January. Despite repeatedly requesting an invoice via the app, none was provided.

On the delivery date, the app still showed the order as “in progress” with no delivery information. After calling customer service, I was told the delivery would now take place on 7 January. The app briefly reflected this date, then removed it.

When I called again on 7 January to ask what time delivery would occur and why no date was showing, I was then told the delivery had been delayed again until Friday 9 January.

In total, I was given three different delivery dates, received no proactive updates, and had to repeatedly chase customer service for basic information. As a result, I was left without heating fuel during the coldest period of the year.

I requested a refund but was informed it would take 7–10 working days, leaving me both out of pocket and without fuel. Based on this experience, Watson Fuel’s delivery reliability and communication are very poor, and I would advise others to be cautious.