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Does your home use heating oil?

ended 15. July 2026

Does your home use heating oil? If so, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has recomended UK and devolved governments strengthen protections for the 1.5 million households reliant on it given events in the Middle East. This includes for the UK government and Northern Ireland Executive to introduce a new, proportionate regulatory regime for heating oil suppliers. This should:

  • require suppliers to register and meet minimum standards – which include how prices are quoted, cancellations are managed and giving households access to independent dispute resolution
  • require suppliers to clearly signpost available payment plans and minimum purchase volumes
  • create a register for vulnerable households to make it easier to protect them

Any thoughts, ASAP please. Clearly your business will be mentioned in the piece.

1 responses from the Newspage community

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Steph Briggs
Retail Expert, Freelance Marketing Consultant at Steph Briggs Marketing
I live in a Victorian house in rural Scotland, and heating oil is not really a choice for us. Retrofitting an older property like ours for a heat pump would require significant investment, and although I would love to install solar, that is not currently within our household budget either.

Last year, the cost of filling our oil tank almost doubled within a matter of weeks. When that happens, you cannot simply decide not to buy it. You still need to heat your home, and in rural areas there is often no realistic alternative.

What is particularly difficult is that many households like ours fall into the middle. We are not eligible for most grants because we are not on benefits, but that does not mean we have endless disposable income or can absorb sudden increases of thousands of pounds.
Clear pricing, fair cancellation terms, accessible payment plans would all help.