Cheap Heating Oil guide discussion

Former_MSE_Archna
Former_MSE_Archna Posts: 1,903
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  • Brack-29
    Brack-29 Posts: 2 Newbie
    edited 22 January 2014 at 9:34AM
    I appreciate that (finally) there's some recognition that many people in the UK are on oil-fired boilers. And I'm sure that some could possibly save a bit of money by buying their oil in a more sensible way.

    However, I'd like to suggest that there should also be some kind of push for equality where boiler grant schemes are concerned.

    I live in an area where there's no option of connecting to a mains gas supply, we have 3 small children of infant school age, we've been qualifying for Working Tax Credits for the last couple of years, and our boiler is over 20 years old. Despite all this we still don't qualify for any boiler replacement grant scheme – simply because we have an oil-fuelled boiler. Surely this can't be right?

    I've lost count of the number of times I've looked in vain on the internet in the hope that the rules might have changed. But unfortunately the plain fact is that owners of oil boilers have always been left out in the cold.

    Bearing all of this in mind, does anyone know how to start up a petition to get this situation rectified (hopefully before next Winter;))?
  • Hi Brack

    Have you looked at the Green Deal (where you pay for measures from the savings they give on your energy bill)? It's worth having a look, some types of oil boilers are included.

    http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilities/green-deal
  • Hi Archna,

    I've already seen the Green Deal, but thanks for pointing it out anyway.

    A Green Deal loan might be fine in some situations, but when you consider the amount of people in the country who are eligible for a complety free gas boiler it feels like owners of oil boilers are being penalised into getting a loan – which feels morally wrong to me. So I'd personally rather not be complicit by going down that route.

    Apologies if I sound at all self-serving. The reality is that if the government do rectify this current anomaly it'll probably be too late for us anyway. Our children are all in full-time eductaion as of last September so my wife and I are in a better position now to work longer hours so will no longer qualify for working tax credits.

    Ironically, it's the people that most need the help of a grant scheme like this (who have young children) who have the least time on their hands to rectify the current situation. So it's for them that I raised my point.

    If anyone knows how to go about convincing the government to include oil boilers within the current grant scheme then I'd be very interested, as I've no idea how to go about it.

    Perhaps lobby my local MP?
  • neilporter69
    neilporter69 Posts: 6 Forumite
    edited 22 January 2014 at 5:57PM
    Through making my heating more efficient and the luck of the weather I've managed to shift the times in the year when I need to order oil. It used to be early December and mid March but is now mid January and May. For some reason oil is more expensive in December and drops after Christmas. Maybe people are all spent out after Christmas.

    I always haggle on price and call back earlier quotes giving them the opportunity to beat the price. Some companies give their best price first time and say don't bother calling back if you can beat it which is fair enough.

    Sometimes a preferred supplier will match the price but let me pay by credit card instead and waive the surcharge. This last time I got a quote from Boiler Juice mid way through my ringing round and I ended up placing my order with a local supplier who matched the price but also offered delivery within a week rather than the 2 weeks that Boiler Juice offered. So sometimes, when the lowest price has been reached there are other incentives that you can still get.

    My last tip is with budgeting. I know roughly how much my oil is per year and I put 1/12th of that away each month so that I can afford the bill when it comes along.
  • ukoilman
    ukoilman Posts: 5 Forumite
    edited 31 January 2014 at 4:03PM
    Correction. [Text removed by MSE Forum Team] does not cover NI or the Channel Islands. We do not consider ourselves a broker because we do not receive commissions from suppliers nor do we charge consumers.

    Other sites listed do charge commissions of up to 5ppl on top of an approximate minimum suppliers margin of 4ppl above wholesale price.

    We like to be considered as a complimentary lead provider to suppliers that are chosen by the customer. :beer:
  • Hi,
    First of all - great new guide - long overdue advice, support and information for the 1.5 million of householders in the UK who don't have access to mains gas.
    Re oil tank security - whilst I have tried to screen my oil tank from view, and fitted a fairly elaborate oil tank lock to my plastic tank, I am under no illusion that locks on a plastic tank are little deterrent to a determined thief. I understand that they simply melt a hole thro the tank with a hot metal rod, then pump the oil into their get-away vehicle tank. This often results in a great deal of spillage and expensive clean-up costs that may or may not be covered by insurance.
    I am seriously considering changing my ageing plastic tank (nearing it's recommended working life in any case) with a much more secure metal one - try drilling a hole thro that without arousing suspicions! OK - there is a potential increase in maintenance wrt painting, but there are ones out there that are factory coated in 2 part epoxy paint that shouldn't need any repainting for years to come.
  • another site worth checking .....
    heatingoil*co*uk

    (Sorry it won't let me post web addresses! ... so replace the '*' with a '.')

    Can be cheaper than boilerjuice.
    Just been quoted £283.87 for 500 litres by boilerjuice & £281.72 by heatingoil
  • Tis
    Tis Posts: 36 Forumite
    I use bungaybuyers.co.uk who are a group within http://mybuyinggroup.co.uk. I find them cheaper by a penny or two a litre than Boilerjuice.
    In our area (Norfolk/Suffolk) the order is on the first Monday each month and the price will be known on Tuesday. If you choose not to go ahead you can cancel the order at this time. They say delivery may be up to 10 days but I have always received mine in three days or less.
  • It is not often that I will defend a competitor but the facts are:- at one time Boilerjuice*com was owned by the DCC/ GB Oils group now known as the Certas Group.


    Heatingoil*.co.uk is owned by the Certas Group (formerly DCC/GB Oils) and is their replacement site for boilerjuice*.com and fueloidirect*co*uk

    However, boilerjuice*.com was sold back to the original owner some time ago about November 2012. That being said it does trade independently from the Certas group, there is no financial tie up.

    Check companies House and the web for history.

    Having said that, we believe , heatingoilshop*com, that to survive after being sold back to the original owner some trading links still exist. After all, boilerjuice*com is a commissioned based site as is heatingoil*co*uk .

    For a truly independent site that has more suppliers to offer than any of the other competitors, heatingoilshop*com fits the bill perfectly.
    We do not charge anybody. This is a truly free service.




    David J Brown
    heatingoilshop*com
  • The same as many other people on here I have for some time now had to resort to using internet based sites such as Boilerjuice and the like to obtain the best price for heating oil.

    The other day while having a new oil tank fitted the engineer passed me a flyer on a Local company called Woldlink (Louth Lincolnshire) and told me to give them a call as they were cheaper than Boiler Juice and standard delivery was only a couple of days.

    It turned out they were over 2ppl cheaper and the fuel was delivered with in two days!!

    Woldlink is part of a company called Woldmarsh which is the largest Agricultural buying co-operative in Lincolnshire and its this buying power that gives them their competitive price (So the blurb says).

    When placing my order they said there will be slightly cheaper in the summer but come winter I should really see a difference in price. claimed as much as 5ppl :) would be suprised but will continue to update.

    If you live Lincolnshire, Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire might be worth giving them a call. Contact Number is 01507 605230
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