General,Finance

Many homes were left without their heating oil supplies due to the cold weather that left many parts of the United Kingdom at a standstill over the Christmas period. Oil suppliers were caught out with the unexpected force of the cold weather and hazardous roads meant that oil could not be delivered to thousands of customers.

Many pensioners find winter times really tough because of the rising costs of fuel. But for many to be without oil at this time could be deadly. The cold weather left hundreds of homes without oil for over a month even though they had placed their orders for oil before the cold weather had hit.

One such pensioner was Clare Stott, 87, from Woodstock. Mrs. Stott ordered her oil before the snow fell but was left waiting as the delivery trucks could not reach her. She could have found herself in serious bother if not for kind neighbour Chris Pomfrett. Mr. Pomfrett provided Mrs. Stott with 25 litres of oil which would tide her over until her oil could be delivered. But unfortunately Mrs. Stott is not an exception but is one of many customers affected by the freezing weather. The weather has made it nearly impossible for deliveries to get to customers.

Mr. Pomfrett, an energy consultant runs his oil buying business from which he then sells on the oil to customers at discounted prices. He runs this business to help customers get cheaper oil and not to make a profit. He has blamed oil companies for the lack of support provided to their most helpless customers. It was his opinion that these companies could have gotten small supplies to their most needy customers with the use of 4x4 trucks.

It is not only pensioners who have been suffering due to delays in oil deliveries. Many homes with newborns and those will sick people really should not be without oil during these harsh conditions. However getting oil to those most in need was their top priority according to oil companies.

Some people spend a lot of money heating their homes in the winter. Fuel such as electricity and gas show no signs of coming down in price. Clever people are switching to heating oil as a fuel though. And when this happens they have to ensure the tanks re always full of Boilerjuice to ensure they never run out.