Comments for LPG Gas Suppliers

Comment on E-Petition Scheme for an LPG debate in the House of Commons by dickie

dickie — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 15:19:17 +0000

Jean,
Happy to act on your behalf and contact Countywide should you require it?
Please let me know and I will contact you separately.

Regards
Dickie

Comment on E-Petition Scheme for an LPG debate in the House of Commons by Jean Young

Jean Young — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 19:04:07 +0000

I get lpg gas from Countrywide.
It has recently increased the price by 3.5p per litre? Why?
Until this year, when an order went in you could expect delivery within a few days. Last week I was told that my order would not be delivered until 28th February- i.e. a wait of 24 days.
Why? The cold weather- but it was much worse last year.
Also our area was not due for a delivery until then.
This seems to me a very poor service.
I am left having to rely on an electric fire for fear of completely running out of gas. I am 82 and have now developed a bad cold.
Their phone representative was far from helpful or sympathetic.

Comment on LPG Comparison Site for Heating the Home by dickie

dickie — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 12:57:33 +0000

Hi Juliet,
You don’t say if this is bottled LPG or a tank, if it’s a tank how much are you paying per litre?
Are you under contract and if so how long has it got to run?

Regards – Dickie

Comment on Surfing the Internet for LPG Information by dickie

dickie — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 12:54:23 +0000

Hi Norman, you are absolutely right, sadly we are stuck in this position until a regulator or regulations are introduced.
Re countrywide you need to write/telephone and tell them that you are not happy with the price rise. Providing you speak with your area manager you may be able to get the rise put back or removed, when speaking with one of the managers last week he said that they were always happy to negotiate so do communicate with them. (The problem is if you don’t contact them they will just carry on regardless).
Prices will vary on how much you use LPG, a heavy user will get more discount than a light user and they use this as one of their reasons as to why prices differ from each individual, so be prepared for this when you contact them. Other reasons given are that suppliers bought a lot of LPG in anticipation of another cold winter (so they’ve blown a load of money!) however the other side of the coin is that they have a lot of surplus gas to get rid of.
Hope this helps – regards – Dickie

Comment on Surfing the Internet for LPG Information by dickie

dickie — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 12:40:37 +0000

Ian, Thanks for writing in.
Personally I would say this is a classic proposal of a price drop to get you back in to renew and then within 6 months the price will no dobt go up.
Even at 49ppl I would seriously start searching and negiotating with other suppliers, I know of users (some from this site) who are paying 41/45ppl.
At the moment you are in the driving seat with your contract ending in May, this is the time to shop around and see just how low you can get the price and just as importantly to see how long you can get that price fixed.
Best regards – Dickie

Comment on LPG Comparison Site for Heating the Home by JULIET

JULIET — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 11:22:49 +0000

My Flogas bill is ridiculous £100 a month I am a single parent with special needs child and have been offered no help at all in paying.
I am reallyn unhappy with Flogas

Comment on Surfing the Internet for LPG Information by Norman McLeod

Norman McLeod — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 10:22:04 +0000

I have received the letter from George Webb of Countrywide Farmers detailing the price rise of 3.5ppl. Note that this follows hard on the heels of a greater rise in October last year – I paid 45.75ppl. 26/11/11. There is even more reason now to insist on greater transparency from the suppliers. Why can’t there be a price comparison site? Why does every customer have to make their own negotiated arrangement?
If we as end users consume approximately 4000 litres per household, the suppliers turnover could be estimated at £30,000,000 annually – that’s £30 million – where else (apart from the banks) can you find an industry with that kind of income that is virtually unregulated?

Comment on Surfing the Internet for LPG Information by Ian

Ian — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 07:24:34 +0000

Interesting reading, I have been researching the internet of late to try and establish what the going rate is for LPG. Our current supplier is Flowgas and we have taken some serious increases since moving into this property in May 2010. Price now stands at 59ppl.As a result I rang the supplier and they put me onto a Regional Manager who was very helpful but indicated the recent price reduction in mains gas didn’t apply to the Flowgas product as it was petroleum based and linked more to petrol prices. Not happy at this I indicated I had already received alternate quotes which made their price look very uncompetitive to which he indicated we were still under contract. Only until May 2012 said I and if you hide behind a contract then you will definately loose it in May. As we are on a small estate with a bulk storage tank and households have been signed up to contracts with differing start dates, changing supplier is not going to be easy. However the threat was now in place. He went back to his company and came up with the following proposal. A price reduction to 49.5ppl for 6 months and no greater increase than 3ppl in any quarter period. However to get this we must sign another 2 year contract.

Good deal or bad?

I’m about to sign the Commons petition and will ensure all my neighbours do likewise…

Comment on Have some LPG Suppliers Lost the Plot? by Janet Chamberlain

Janet Chamberlain — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 13:25:59 +0000

Last January 2011 I was left with no gas for nearly three weeks by Countrywide (adverse weather prevented delivery) I was furious and threatened to leave them. The result was a negotiated lower price of 47 ppl. The price has crept back up to 56ppl thanks to the latest letter received. I’ve been loyal to Countrywide for more than 15 years but now start to wonder who is financing 42 ppl being offered to new customers. Very glad that users are finally posting prices. We must somehow expose the multi level tariffs that these suppliers are using. Knowledge is power – allowing us all to make informed choices.

Comment on Have some LPG Suppliers Lost the Plot? by dickie

dickie — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 18:23:45 +0000

Marilyn, 42ppl is a good price at the moment;
Two things, make sure the 3.5ppl price rise from last week isn’t going to suddenly appear and make sure you get get this 42ppl for as long as you can.

regards – Dickie