Your Voice: 'Only half of our heating oil was delivered'

A woman who ordered 500 litres of heating oil for her home and only received half the order has said she will now have to pay considerably more to top up, as fuel prices continue to rise.

Diane Mannion, who contacted BBC Your Voice, lives with her husband in Walsall and relies on heating oil to warm their home and provide hot water.

After placing an order for heating oil in February, of which only half was delivered, she said she would be forced to purchase the same amount at an inflated cost of more than £700 - double the price she agreed for the initial delivery.

A Halso UK Fuels spokesperson told the BBC there was not enough space in the tank for the full 500 litres she had ordered so they had delivered 262 litres at a financial loss to themselves, but Mannion disputes that.

"The driver had sufficient fuel on board to complete the delivery at the contracted price had the tank capacity allowed," the firm added.

Mannion explained she had ordered the heating oil through third-party platform BoilerJuice on 28 February, before the strikes on Iran, at a cost of £304.

Halso UK Fuels then made the delivery on 12 March.

"I ordered 500 [litres] way back in February, they delivered in March but they only delivered half of what I'd ordered and said they couldn't get any more in the tank, which was clearly untrue," she explained.

"There was room for another 400 litres."

Mannion said her husband Jim recently had a stroke and was on blood thinning tablets, which meant he felt the cold more and had to put the heating on.

Despite being refunded for the oil that was not delivered in March, she said the reorder would cost more than what they could afford.

"Oil companies have seen an opportunity to cash in on the fact, even though they must have reserves already, but they want to charge the new price even for ones that they've already got in stock," she said.

Government funding to help people on low incomes who are struggling with heating costs came into force on Wednesday, as fuel prices continue to surge across the UK.

For now, the couple are considering using a credit card to pay for their next order.

"We do only have the state pension, we don't have a private pension or any other benefits, it will have to come out of savings to buy and we don't have a great deal of those," Mannion said.

In a statement, Halso UK Fuels said it had fulfilled the order at the original agreed price, despite "significant increases" in wholesale costs during that period.

It said despite supplying the fuel, the order and communications were managed via BoilerJuice, who were responsible for any additional charges and administrative fees.

"We understand there are concerns around pricing and profiteering... however, heating oil pricing cannot be directly compared to forecourt [petrol station] prices, as the supply models operate very differently," it added.

In response to whether it was profiteering, the company added: "In contrast, distributors like ourselves are turning over significantly larger volumes daily and are constantly replenishing supply, often purchasing at current market rates.

"In volatile conditions, this means our pricing reflects live replacement costs and can move rapidly as the market changes."

BoilerJuice, which is a marketplace that connects households with independent heating oil suppliers, said it did not supply oil, set prices, or manage deliveries.

A spokesperson for the company said it was aware some suppliers had experienced operational challenges and supply constraints in recent weeks "due to significant volatility in the global oil market".

"In a small number of cases, this has affected deliveries or resulted in partial fulfilment," they said.

The company added: "Suppliers set their own prices based on market conditions.

"BoilerJuice charges a fixed commission per order, meaning we do not benefit from rising oil prices."

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