"I have been contacted by constituents who have experienced behaviour from suppliers that can only be described as blatant profiteering. Families have had existing delivery bookings cancelled, only to be called back the same day and offered delivery of the same oil, to the same address, on the same day, at twice the original price."
"These households are disproportionately rural, often elderly and vulnerable, and I believe there is evidence of long-standing consumer harm which warrants a CMA investigation under section 131 of the Enterprise Act 2002."
"Home heating oil, used by approximately 1.5 million households in the UK, has seen prices rise sharply due to disruptions in the Middle East. Heating oil customers are not protected by Ofgem's energy price cap, which currently safeguards households using mains gas and electricity until the end of June."
Harriet Cross, MP for Gordon and Buchan, has written to the Competition and Markets Authority and Energy Secretary Ed Miliband regarding alleged price gouging by heating oil suppliers. Approximately 1.5 million UK households rely on heating oil, which lacks Ofgem price cap protection. In Aberdeenshire, 45% of homes depend on off-grid heating oil or LPG, with prices rising from £500 to over £1,000 for 700 litres since Middle East conflicts began. Cross reports suppliers cancelling bookings then reoffering identical deliveries at double prices, disproportionately affecting rural, elderly, and vulnerable residents. She urges mandatory price transparency and a CMA investigation under the Enterprise Act 2002. Simultaneously, petrol prices increased 5p to 137.5p per litre, while diesel surged 9p to 151p per litre.
#heating-oil-price-crisis #consumer-protection #energy-market-regulation #rural-vulnerability #price-transparency
Read at London Business News | Londonlovesbusiness.com
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