Oil FAQs

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Every month we will email you to ask you whether you wish to order oil. Those not on email are sent a handy year planner scheduling all our negotiating dates for the year ahead. You simply let us know if you wish to place an order. If you prefer, you may place several orders in one go, spread throughout the year (500L in March, 500L in June, September and so on). We then negotiate the best price from all the suppliers we contact. Because we are buying for a large number of customers and because we don’t charge commission, we can negotiate hard on our members’ behalf.

You can download a membership form or call us on 01275 333701 and ask for a copy to be sent by post. Please complete it and either email or post it back to us, along with your membership payment. The address to which you should send your completed form is at the bottom of this page (see Contact details) and also on the form itself. Payment may be made by cheque, or if you prefer, by BACs. Please email Karen@wern.org.uk for our account details.

There is an annual membership fee (£20 for householders/£30 for community buildings including churches, schools and village halls/£100 for businesses) but we are confident that you will recover the cost of membership with your very first order through the scheme.  What’s more, thanks to a renewed grant from Quartet Community Foundation, you may be entitled to free annual membership. We have a limited number of FREE memberships for anyone over 70 (see below). 

We are currently able to offer FREE memberships to any household in the West of England (Bath and North East Somerset, Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire) which includes one or more person over 70. This is thanks to a renewed award from Quartet Community Foundation from their Express Grant fund.

If you would like to apply simply tick the appropriate box on our membership form.

South Gloucestershire, Bath & North East Somerset, North Somerset and Bristol.

The minimum order is just 500 litres, and the price per litre is the same regardless of whether you order 500 or 2500 litres of oil.

No, the price quoted is exclusive of VAT which is currently 5%.

Our negotiations take account of the international price of a barrel of oil as well as other factors such as bad weather, Christmas and the gross volume being ordered, so ensuring the price you pay is the best possible price at the time. Additionally, because we don’t charge any commission, we’re that slightly more attractive a sale to suppliers! They’ll often offer us a slightly better price than they might other syndicates who may charge a commission, and we pass that saving directly on to you.

The best oil price obtained partially depends on the size of the order, so the more households ordering that month, the better the price.  The truth is, we don’t know what the price will be until we have collated all the orders and negotiated the absolute best price for that month. 

When you complete and submit your order form it becomes a firm order and not just an expression of interest. The price obtained is based on everyone’s orders, so unless there are exceptional circumstances the order is definite as soon as it’s placed.

We place an order at the beginning of every month. The deadline for members placing orders is normally the first Monday of every month.  We send a reminder to all our members by email before every deadline. If you are not on email, we write to you every year with a list of each month’s deadline.

Ordering deadlines throughout Autumn/Winter ‘24 are:

• Mon 2nd September

• Mon 30th September

• Mon 4th November

• Mon 2nd December

All orders should be received by midday on the deadline day.

Your oil will normally be delivered within three weeks of the member order deadline.

West of England Rural Network can only give an approximate delivery date to your village because the oil supplier will be attempting to meet the needs of all their customers.  If you need to be on the premises for your delivery the supplier will contact you directly to give you a firm date.

All payments for oil go directly from the customer to the supplier in the normal way as per the supplier’s terms or otherwise agreed by the customer.

Baby tankers can’t make as many deliveries as a standard tanker, and not all suppliers can provide them. We usually have to place a special order for members who need a baby tanker. We will get the best price available for members who need baby tankers, but we can’t guarantee you will pay the same price as those whose delivery can be made by a standard or small tanker.

Some suppliers will expect your tank to meet certain standards before they will deliver oil. This is to reduce their risk of litigation should the tank fail and cause a leak. Leaking tanks can lead to costly remedial works. South Gloucestershire Council has published a leaflet on domestic oil storage and preventing oil spills.

You can call our office on 01275 333701 or Kaz Adams directly on 07825 202043, or email her.

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