Theale Oil Group - Latest news

This summer run has certainly been popular - mostly as top ups of approx 500 litres.

For info the average price (top 8 suppliers) for 500 litres was 43.60p and for 1000 litres was 40.70p and the average price for the group order was 38.57p.

Our negotiated group price was 37.85p per litre with Tincknells of Wells....for those who ordered if you need to find out when your delivery is going to be please call the depot on (01749) 672977  thanks to everyone who used the on-line ordering facility - it certainly helped!

Due to demand it has been decided to offer 3 buying times a year.  As usual they will be during the first week of the month.

In the past you have been able to purchase your oil through the group twice a year.
After having recently studied the figures and looked at our buying patterns, it would appear that many of us order oil 3 times a year. If a 3rd buying month was to be slotted it somewhere during the year the savings to be made would be increased substantially and also the service would  be available to more people.

So the buying months have now been changed to the following:

July, November and February

Please make a note in your diary of these changes.
  
Biggest is not always best!

I have had many calls over the months from people living outside the group who expressed an interest in joining us and also from other nearby communities wanting to join forces, however, after talking to other syndicate organisers I am told huge groups may well squeeze out the most competitive price and save slightly more, but at what price?  They become harder to manage and you may well end up waiting up to a month for your oil. This is not good a good situation and I don’t believe this is a sensible way forward for us.

Little and often…..

One aim of this change is so that most of you can have (if you wish) 3 ‘top-ups’ or fill-ups a year.   This would spread the cost of buying your oil (well, for those of you who only really require 2 orders a year) and for those requiring more orders - you may avoid having to buy your oil outside of the group altogether.  It would also help those people with smaller tanks with more frequent fill-ups who tend to pay a premium rate for a smaller delivery.

I am also aware many of you who are approaching a buying month can run quite low in oil.  This is not a good situation for you or our boiler, so I hope this extra buying month in July will help to avoid this, also the winter ordering months being closer together should help too.  All orders will take place as always during the first week of the month.

Thanks to those of you who ordered your oil ‘on-line’ via www.theale.ws I sincerely hope more of you can do so this way in the future as it makes the whole process of collecting your order very time efficient.

Speak to you all in November!

Vanessa
712286

How does the oil group work?

Now 3 times a year, and during the first week in July, November and February, contact is made to everyone on my list (either by 'phone or by email) to gather any oil orders.  We now have our new online ordering facility it's quicker and easier! 

This form will only be available during the ordering time and receipts will always be sent to confirm your order.

When I have gathered the orders I then call a number of oil delivery companies to gain the best price per litre for the bulk purchase.

Deliveries are often made within the week of the order being placed, however it can be longer - it is suggested that after the orders have been taken you check this site and I will announce which company is doing the group delivery together with their phone number and if you wish to know when your delivery is going to turn up (say for example you have to have a garage door open or unlocked or you wish to be in when they deliver) or you are really low in oil....... you can call them and get a delivery date direct from them.

Sometimes when the orders are taken people are unsure exactly how much oil they require, perhaps the oil tank is covered in brambles or your electronic dipstick is not very accurate. In these cases please estimate how much you require - you will only be billed for what you have delivered, but I do need a figure from you to enable me to calculate the estimated grand total. You can of course order a 'top up' so you can take advantage of the cheaper price and have your tank filled to the top - again with this I will require an estimated amount.

The oil group handles no payments whatsoever, all invoices are sent direct to the householder and the terms are usually 7 days.

Any donations given from savings made (however small) go towards Theale Village Hall general up keep, please make your cheques payable to Theale Village Hall and send to me at Wood Farm, Theale BS28 4SL

Finally.....do you have a plastic bunded oil tank? If so, it may be worth bearing in mind that plastic has a tendency to degrade when exposed to sunlight, so any measures you can take to shield it, may extend its life. You will now find some manufacturers are reducing the guarantee time offered on these bunded tanks as there has been problems with sun damage on these tanks - you have been warned! Shielding the tank may also have the other benefit of hiding the tank from view and thereby reducing the chances of anyone else helping themselves to your oil.

Check out the thealeoilgroup.com official website

Do you live in a rural area and use oil to heat your home yet not covered by the above group?

Drop me a line and I'll show you how to set up your own community group.

Vanessa

01934 712286