LPG - Tank - what are you paying?
Discussion
I'm a year and a bit into a 24 month contract with Calor for our gas. When we started it was 39p a litre - then I got a renewal letter saying it was rising to 68p. I managed to get one more top up at the old price, but I am thinking about what to do when renewal comes around.
I'm not the most experienced when it comes to LPG - I have read in a couple of forums that some level of haggling over price/cashback is expected.
But I realise I don't even really know what a good price is! And the LPG companies seem to keep the prices slightly under wraps.
So - what are you paying for your LPG top ups?
I'm not the most experienced when it comes to LPG - I have read in a couple of forums that some level of haggling over price/cashback is expected.
But I realise I don't even really know what a good price is! And the LPG companies seem to keep the prices slightly under wraps.
So - what are you paying for your LPG top ups?
Hi
Currently use LPG and do this rigmarole every two years, never used Calor as they've always been too expensive.
I would suggest you google "bulk domestic LPG" and go through each company and ask if they deliver to your area. Most have some form of online quote form. In the last 4 years i have noticed a couple of brokers have appeared who will do the leg work for you, but they do rely on commission from the supplier.
When you get the lowest quote take that to your current provider and, if you are happy with them, say i'm going with this quote unless you better it. It worked for me apart from second time - incidently that was Calor who had bought out my original supplier.
The rules are a two year contract and all will only quote within 30 days of renewal - you'll get a renewal notice from your current supplier about this time.
The new company will inspect your tank - making sure it hasn't rusted away etc - and then take ownership from current company. They should also include annual inspections of the tank.
When considering quotes ask and confirm in writing:
- is it fixed price and for how long?
Most will say 12 months with a maximum increase in year 2. But read any agreements, eg this time i got two year fixed but contract said they could increase in year two - i challenged and they confirmed this clause didn't apply;
- what is standing charge?
All usualy much of a muchness but again watch contract for permitted increases, these can take the p**s
- are they quoting with VAT or without?
Many will say don't use this company or that but being honest i haven't found much difference. When there was a shortage last year i just keep phoning company until they delivered but all companies were having same problem. Smaller companies seem to value your custom more but if they can't get supplies themselves they're in a worse place that the bigger companies.
And 68ppl is too much - i resigned in January and took a two year fixed price @ 51ppl. That is higher than i negotiated for a 12 month fixed price but i wanted security.
Hope that helps
edited for spelling
Currently use LPG and do this rigmarole every two years, never used Calor as they've always been too expensive.
I would suggest you google "bulk domestic LPG" and go through each company and ask if they deliver to your area. Most have some form of online quote form. In the last 4 years i have noticed a couple of brokers have appeared who will do the leg work for you, but they do rely on commission from the supplier.
When you get the lowest quote take that to your current provider and, if you are happy with them, say i'm going with this quote unless you better it. It worked for me apart from second time - incidently that was Calor who had bought out my original supplier.
The rules are a two year contract and all will only quote within 30 days of renewal - you'll get a renewal notice from your current supplier about this time.
The new company will inspect your tank - making sure it hasn't rusted away etc - and then take ownership from current company. They should also include annual inspections of the tank.
When considering quotes ask and confirm in writing:
- is it fixed price and for how long?
Most will say 12 months with a maximum increase in year 2. But read any agreements, eg this time i got two year fixed but contract said they could increase in year two - i challenged and they confirmed this clause didn't apply;
- what is standing charge?
All usualy much of a muchness but again watch contract for permitted increases, these can take the p**s
- are they quoting with VAT or without?
Many will say don't use this company or that but being honest i haven't found much difference. When there was a shortage last year i just keep phoning company until they delivered but all companies were having same problem. Smaller companies seem to value your custom more but if they can't get supplies themselves they're in a worse place that the bigger companies.
And 68ppl is too much - i resigned in January and took a two year fixed price @ 51ppl. That is higher than i negotiated for a 12 month fixed price but i wanted security.
Hope that helps
edited for spelling
Everything Trevt says and contact John at https://lpgcompare.co.uk/a month before renewal.. Right now I pay 43 p on a deal setup in November
Posted this on another LPG thread but we recently moved house into a fairly large house on a small development of 16 similar houses and there is a communal 2 year contract for LPG supply that was just renewed in November 2022 and which is organised by one of the residents.
With Calor we are paying 43p + vat per litre for the first year then 45.5p +vat per litre in year 2. The 45.5p is a maximum and apparently may be reduced if market prices fall.
It's all new to me as our previous property was oil heating. As far as I can tell the previous 2 year contract, also with Calor, was a good bit lower but folk seem happy enough with this one for now so I assume it's a fairly decent price
With Calor we are paying 43p + vat per litre for the first year then 45.5p +vat per litre in year 2. The 45.5p is a maximum and apparently may be reduced if market prices fall.
It's all new to me as our previous property was oil heating. As far as I can tell the previous 2 year contract, also with Calor, was a good bit lower but folk seem happy enough with this one for now so I assume it's a fairly decent price
We’re paying 72p/l with Calor, unfortunately unless we move the tank we’re stuck with them…I don’t want to think too much about it, the last fill in Jan was £1300 and we’re already at 60%….
Need to find the time to call about getting the tank relocated so we can get another supplier involved!
Need to find the time to call about getting the tank relocated so we can get another supplier involved!
BatForcePC said:
We’re paying 72p/l with Calor, unfortunately unless we move the tank we’re stuck with them…I don’t want to think too much about it, the last fill in Jan was £1300 and we’re already at 60%….
Need to find the time to call about getting the tank relocated so we can get another supplier involved!
We are in the same problem - In 2011 the LPG cartel companies were forced by the OFT into an agreement that the tanks had to be sold to another company if the customer wanted to change suppliers. until this ruling the customer had no means of getting a competitive price. Come 2012 the cartel then introduced 'rules' (under the guise of safety) whereby the tanks couldn't be closer than 1.5m from a boundary etc, thus tying the customers to the tank owners yet again. A retrospective 'rule', which appears to not even be a legal requirement, but an industry standard to serve the profits of the industry.Need to find the time to call about getting the tank relocated so we can get another supplier involved!
Similar 'rules' are also being put upon users of oil tanks - I know several with tanks in the middle of their gardens. If the electricians get the
BatForcePC said:
We’re paying 72p/l with Calor, unfortunately unless we move the tank we’re stuck with them…I don’t want to think too much about it, the last fill in Jan was £1300 and we’re already at 60%….
Need to find the time to call about getting the tank relocated so we can get another supplier involved!
If that was happening to me I would be changing to oil at the next available opportunity, and then charging calor for storage of their tank. You could easily get an oil setup for 3 fills at that price.Need to find the time to call about getting the tank relocated so we can get another supplier involved!
Also if Calor own the tank and it does not meet their regs, should you not be making it a legal requirement for them to move their tank so it is safe?
Many years ago I got 2 letters from Calor, one offering me a renewal at 52p and the other a renewal at 37p after I had discussed it with them, still went with someone else as Calor have never been able to match the prices offered by others, and they spend half the phone call telling me how unreliable all the other suppliers are.
I also think the bigger issue should be how come the LPG suppliers can supply gas on a truck to the middle of nowhere for less than the piped gas suppliers can feed gas up a pipe to your house.
Well, I feel grateful that we managed to get the last fill at 39p. Hopefully, by the time we need another we will be in the changeover period. Last time the fill up (around 1000l) did us for about a year at £400(ish).
Hoping I can do better than 68p a litre. I hate the phone calls and haggling that has to be done.
Hoping I can do better than 68p a litre. I hate the phone calls and haggling that has to be done.
We're with Calor and I think we're around 39p/ltr currently, but our contract will expire towards the end of the year.
When I last renewed they had 3 different tariff's, a) completely variable, but if the rate increased over 3 quarters you could exit b) 1 year fixed and 1 year variable c) fixed for 2 years. The rates between the 3 was negligible and when I worked out our usage over 12 months there was around £60 difference, fixed being the most expensive. However, we opted for the fixed 2 year contract and I am glad we did in the current climate.
However, Calor in my experience are terrible, on two occasions we've been down to 1% and trying to escalate with their customer services doesn't exist, and I know many people who have run out over winter due to their lack of planning and drivers.
Flowgas have been recommended, but I have no experience so cannot comment.
When I last renewed they had 3 different tariff's, a) completely variable, but if the rate increased over 3 quarters you could exit b) 1 year fixed and 1 year variable c) fixed for 2 years. The rates between the 3 was negligible and when I worked out our usage over 12 months there was around £60 difference, fixed being the most expensive. However, we opted for the fixed 2 year contract and I am glad we did in the current climate.
However, Calor in my experience are terrible, on two occasions we've been down to 1% and trying to escalate with their customer services doesn't exist, and I know many people who have run out over winter due to their lack of planning and drivers.
Flowgas have been recommended, but I have no experience so cannot comment.
Dedshott said:
Well, I feel grateful that we managed to get the last fill at 39p. Hopefully, by the time we need another we will be in the changeover period. Last time the fill up (around 1000l) did us for about a year at £400(ish).
Hoping I can do better than 68p a litre. I hate the phone calls and haggling that has to be done.
I might be sounding like an advertising campaign for this guy but over the last few contracts he has done all the phoning etc and I just sign some papers.Hoping I can do better than 68p a litre. I hate the phone calls and haggling that has to be done.
John https://lpgcompare.co.uk/
Yes he takes a commission but you still get the best price with no hassle. First year I used him I checked by phoning direct and they offered the same price after haggling.
ARHarh said:
J210 said:
Calors are such jokers. Havent sent me my renewal and when I phoned the guy said 69ppl is there best price
But its still amazing how many tanks you see still wearing the Calor branding. Just makes you wonder what these people are paying.Calor are the biggest bully boys going - they will charge you through the nose until you discover that all the other suppliers in your area are about half the price. They'll then price match or undercut the other supplies until those others give up and move out, then once they have a monopoly they'll jack the prices right back up.
They tried threatening switching customers that changing from Calor meant your tank had to be removed/dug up because it belonged to them. Extra Gas took them to court, Calor lost.
Then they tried saying they'll block the tank up up to prevent other suppliers using it - EG took them to court again, Calor lost again.
They decided to "streamline" the business by reducing the size of their delivery fleet during the summer when loads of the trucks were sitting idle, then come winter they couldn't keep up with demand and people went days with no gas redelivery.
Every other gas supplier hates them.
In short, Calor are a shower of
s and are very best avoided. We currently have AvantiGas at my parent's house, its usually between them and Extra Gas as to who is cheapest but obviously your area may have different supplier coverage (I know Avanti are more nationwide, EG seem to be mostly North West)
At least try to change supplier you wont know till the new supplier tells you they can't take on your tank. This will happen before they tell Calor you are changing, they always inspect before taking you on.
Then I would be challenging Calor as they have installed an unsafe tank on your land. I can't see how it can be safe for one supplier and not another. Surely they can't get away with changing the rules so customers are stuck.
Then I would be challenging Calor as they have installed an unsafe tank on your land. I can't see how it can be safe for one supplier and not another. Surely they can't get away with changing the rules so customers are stuck.
ARHarh said:
At least try to change supplier you wont know till the new supplier tells you they can't take on your tank. This will happen before they tell Calor you are changing, they always inspect before taking you on.
Then I would be challenging Calor as they have installed an unsafe tank on your land. I can't see how it can be safe for one supplier and not another. Surely they can't get away with changing the rules so customers are stuck.
This, in a nutshell. Then I would be challenging Calor as they have installed an unsafe tank on your land. I can't see how it can be safe for one supplier and not another. Surely they can't get away with changing the rules so customers are stuck.
If another supplier refuses to take it on, tell Calor you've measured it and it's incorrect. It's their problem to fix and you can tell them things will get legal if they don't, they will not have a leg to stand on because THEIR tank is outside the law and they risk repercussions.
Once fixed, then change suppliers.
ChemicalChaos said:
This, in a nutshell.
If another supplier refuses to take it on, tell Calor you've measured it and it's incorrect. It's their problem to fix and you can tell them things will get legal if they don't, they will not have a leg to stand on because THEIR tank is outside the law and they risk repercussions.
Once fixed, then change suppliers.
And if you do challenge Calor then don't sign a contract as you will be stuck for 2 years, They will still supply if you don't have a contract, but it will probably cost a lot.If another supplier refuses to take it on, tell Calor you've measured it and it's incorrect. It's their problem to fix and you can tell them things will get legal if they don't, they will not have a leg to stand on because THEIR tank is outside the law and they risk repercussions.
Once fixed, then change suppliers.
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