A community scheme to help home-owners in the Alyth area buy their heating oil collectively is producing savings of up to 10% or more for many participants.
The Alyth Heating-oil Buying Club was set up up by Alyth Development Trust late last year in partnership with Johnston Oils, a reputable supplier of heating oil and commercial and agricultural fuel across Scotland and northern England.
The Club enables individual consumers to join together and buy their heating oil in bulk, reducing their fuel costs and also helping the environment by allowing Johnston Oils to plan more efficient delivery routes.
More than 40 consumers have now joined the Club and after six months of operation figures show that most members are saving between 5% and 10% on their fuel-oil bills, with some who usually buy in smaller quantities saving even more.
Club members get a monthly email prompting to check whether they need to order a top-up. Ordering is done online during the nominated “buying-week” each month (although members can order by telephone if preferred).
The advantage of collective buying in this way means that customers requiring smaller quantities can buy at bulk prices normally only available on large orders. It also means they can top-up their tanks and not have to let them run down to get a larger-delivery discount, so there’s less risk of running out during cold weather.
Customers also feed back information on prices so that all members can be confident they are getting a good price without having to spend lots of time shopping around.
Johnston Oils already manages around 180 similar community heating oil clubs across their area, helping thousands of households save money.
For further information and to join in the scheme, please contact oilbuying@alyth.online.