{"id":2044203,"date":"2026-07-14T23:00:41","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T20:00:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2044203"},"modified":"2026-07-14T23:00:41","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T20:00:41","slug":"heating-oil-customers-to-get-compensation-after-cancelled-orders-and-price-hikes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2044203","title":{"rendered":"Heating oil customers to get compensation after cancelled orders and price hikes"},"content":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/1024\/branded_news\/6cb5\/live\/a97b22b0-7f95-11f1-ac71-510b51a60620.jpg”]<\/p>\n

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\"GettyGetty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Heating oil customers who had their orders cancelled and prices raised when the US-Israel war with Iran broke out will get compensation, the competition watchdog has said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Some 1,700 households were forced to “re-order at significantly higher prices or go without fuel” costing them up to \u00a3350, the Competition Markets Authority (CMA) said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Some suppliers have agreed to compensate customers and the regulator is planning legal action against those who have so far refused to do so, it added.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The UK and Ireland Fuel Distribution Association (UKIFDA), which represents heating oil suppliers, said “there were a small number of cases found which require redress”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Wholesale oil prices jumped from around $70 a barrel at the start of Iran war in February to almost $120 a barrel by the end of March as the conflict disrupted the transportation and production of energy in the region.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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UK heating oil prices also jumped around this time. The CMA said on Wednesday that “average retail prices were, at their peak, 92% higher”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The CMA’s investigation into the heating oil market found the price increases after the Iran war largely reflected rising wholesale costs and suppliers have not profited materially from the crisis.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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However, it concluded heating oil customers are not as well protected as those connected to the energy grid.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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It has recommended new regulations over how prices are quoted and cancellations are handled as well as “better support for vulnerable consumers”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Chancellor Rachel Reeves said: “It is reassuring to know it is a competitive market but the lack of protection for these households does concern me so we will look very seriously at what can be done.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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UKIFDA chief executive Ken Cronin said: “We will work with all government bodies on the recommendations set out in this report.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Meanwhile, the CMA has not said how many suppliers have agreed to compensate customers for cancelled orders, how many customers will receive a pay out, or how much they will get.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“Those who paid more to replace their cancelled order will receive a payment covering the difference, while those who did not buy replacement oil will have their original orders honoured at the agreed price,” it said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“[We are] preparing to take court-based enforcement action against firms that fail to compensate customers voluntarily,” it added.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The BBC understands more details will be provided once the scheme is up and running.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The CMA’s report on the heating oil sector follows a four-month investigation launched in March.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Those who use heating oil often store it in a tank outside their property and are among the first to feel the impact of rising prices.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Some 1.5 million households depend on heating oil, but do not have the same consumer protections as electricity and gas customers, according to the CMA. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Most of those are in Northern Ireland, where the watchdog says 60% of households rely on it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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‘Punished for doing the sensible thing’<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Anthony Maines, 31, from Seaton Delaval in Northumberland, said he had paid \u00a3463.83 for 700 litres of heating oil on 28 February.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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He placed the through a broker when he saw the US and Israel first attacked Iran, but says the order was cancelled a few days later. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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He says he was then forced to reorder 500 litres of oil for around \u00a3700 through a different broker.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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He says he decided to lock in the cheaper price at the start of the conflict because he predicted the war would cause prices to rise.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Anthony agrees with the CMA’s approach, especially after his experience.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“It felt like I was being punished for doing the sensible thing,” he says.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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He received a partial resolution through his broker who agreed in May to honour the original price he paid at the end of February, but by then he had already paid elsewhere at a higher price for his oil.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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[analyse_source url=”https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/articles\/cy494yypnv3o”]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/1024\/branded_news\/6cb5\/live\/a97b22b0-7f95-11f1-ac71-510b51a60620.jpg”] Getty Images Heating oil customers who had their orders cancelled and prices raised when the US-Israel war with Iran broke out will get compensation, the competition watchdog has said. Some 1,700 households were forced to “re-order at significantly higher prices or go without fuel” costing them up to \u00a3350, the Competition Markets […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[35,226],"class_list":["post-2044203","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-bbc-com","tag-crawlmanager"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2044203","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2044203"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2044203\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2044203"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2044203"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2044203"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}