Wexford customer paid for 500 litres of kerosine on February 28, on the day the Iran conflict began
Anne Banville from Enniscorthy ordered and paid €490 up front for 500 litres of home heating oil by phone from Wexford-based Mr Oil on Saturday February 28.
However, on the same day, the United States and Israel launched ‘Operation Epic Fury’ against Iran, leading to immediate retaliatory strikes across the Gulf.
The escalating conflict in the Middle East has triggered a global energy supply shock, primarily due to the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint for 20pc of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG).
But given that Ms Banville had ordered and paid for her oil, she believed she would not have to pay more.
When Ms Banville paid for her oil, she requested the company’s smaller lorry, due to the layout of her driveway. “They said that was fine – the reason I changed over to Mr Oil from my previous supplier is that they could no longer supply a smaller lorry.
“But then I got a phone call later in the week where they said there was a delivery delay and I had to pay another €490 if I wanted the full order,” she said.
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Anne said that though the company cited the war as the reason for the price change, she does not understand how the price could change at all.
“The point is that I believed that I entered a contract by paying up front. But instead it was 100pc increased. They just said that circumstances have changed with war and that if I wanted to I could have a full refund. It’s not the principle of the money – they told me that those were my options. I either have to pay extra for my order or go without the full order,” she explained.
“If I bought oil today, yes it would be that price, but this was not what I paid up front. And if it had gone in the other direction; if the price had gone down instead, would they have refunded me the difference?”
She added that she is currently unsure what to do still and was not happy with the company’s attitude to her complaint.
In response, a representative from Mr Oil explained that war has had a devastating effect on the industry and that though the price was paid up front, they claim they would have explained to Ms Banville that the price will be market price on day of delivery.
“The lady in question has placed an order with us once before previously and was then informed that her delivery requires a small lorry as our normal lorries will not fit in her gateway. As informed to Anne, she was requested to give us extra notice for her delivery as this small lorry is only available when in her area. As explained again, there would be a time delay,” they said.
Mr Oil explained that war has had a devastating effect on the industry. Photo: Getty
“In normal circumstances, we do not hold the price for deliveries requiring the small lorry, nor do we hold the price if a customer wants to pre-order by more than a week.”
In addition to this response, they included a statement from Cheapest Oil (cheapestoil.ie), an independent price comparison website for home heating oil serving Ireland, Northern Ireland, and the UK, who laid out how the industry is under immense pressure at the moment.
“When the Iran war started at the weekend of Saturday, February 28, savvy consumers knew that the price of oil was going to go up. Cheapest Oil received at least five times the number of visitors it normally does that weekend, a time that is usually quiet. Heating oil prices tend not to fluctuate at weekends because heating oil companies are closed. When those businesses opened on Monday morning, they found not only did they have enough heating oil orders to keep them busy for the rest of the week, they had orders for stock they had yet to purchase. Monday is the busiest day. Orders keep coming in and every time they phone the wholesaler that same day, the price has gone up.”
They explained that some distributors had to cancel all the orders they took over the weekend for stock they did not have and cannot afford to take a huge hit on, with some taking the hit out of pocket by thousands of pounds.
“Hundreds of oil distributors in Great Britain, Northern Ireland and Ireland did not conspire together on that Monday morning to profiteer and rip people off. They will often have spent the week filling up tanks that aren’t close to empty whilst simultaneously being accused of greed. They are facing backlash for a situation that is not of their making. If you don’t need heating oil now, please don’t order. It is not a good time to buy. If you do need heating oil, on this occasion, consider ordering a smaller quantity,” they added.
Mr Oil also highlighted the pressure its staff are currently under, noting that they are facing a “lot of abusive phone calls and emails” from customers as fuel prices remain a highly sensitive issue.