I have been a member of the Great Broughton and Kirkby Club for a couple of years and have made considerable savings against the standard mid quotation oil delivery prices.
I have spoken to Gordon Read, the co-ordinator of the Gt. Broughton Oil Club and Derek Noble, of Oil NRG as to the standard method of running the oil clubs.
There are more and more of these clubs springing up around the country as the cost of heating oil continues to soar.
One of the ways these clubs work is that four or five times a year a cut off date for oil delivery is raised then within the next 2 to 4 weeks the spot price of oil, as advertised on the international market, is monitored and when it looks like the best price on a particular day is reached, either the club has an agreement with one oil supplier, or several are asked to give their best price, then the oil is delivered to all the members of the group.
Oil NRG have said that the price they charge is 1.5 pence per litre over the base international price, (standard mark up for delivering the oil). If anyone would like to approach NRG to check the prices for particular days, they would be welcome to do so. This method has an advantage of being auditable and transparent.
There were cases reported just before Christmas last year where people were being charged up to £1.00 per litre for an emergency delivery – Gordon has told me he has always paid less than than 60p! Gordon, who has time to check other oil suppliers, and has quite close relationships with some of the suppliers, rings round, monitors the oil price fluctuations on the internet and finds their best price before arranging when and by whom the oil will be delivered.
The oil club rules are kept simple, but to ensure smooth running, they must be adhered to.
1. Oil quantities required must be notified by the last order date. Please do not leave this until the last minute.
2. If I am not notified by the last order date then it will not be possible to include you in the order.
3. Ensure there is enough room in your tank for the delivery you have requested. The suppliers have complained regarding customers who have ordered oil without having room for it. Problems like this jeopardise our negotiating power
4. The minimum delivery quantity is 500 litres
5. When you have received your oil, please email to confirm you have received your order – and the quantity you have received.
6. You are not committed to have oil delivered at each delivery date – it is up to you and your personal oil usage to decide if you need a delivery.
Although it is not intended that the club would be responsible to ensure you have sufficient oil to last between deliveries, where people find they have not planned ahead and are on the verge of running out, an oil delivery could normally be arranged within a couple of days or so.
I have not as yet organised dates for delivery, but in line with Gordon’s dates I will be looking at the first last order date as the 8th November with an anticipated delivery date mid to late November.
The following cut off date would be 10th January with a delivery mid to end January.
Dates are then anticipated to be March, May, September and November.
Gordon has, in addition to the oil club, arranged links with the following service providers:-
- DP Tank Services (oil tank installations)
- JR Wood and Son (logs)
- M Sweeting Roofing Ltd (roof work)
- D Barker Services (boiler servicing and repairs)
I hope these points answer most of your questions, but if you have any other questions, or would like clarification on anything, please do not hesitate to contact me -