He had two suggestions for how you could bring down your bills
Martin Lewis has addressed a significant cost of living surge as the conflict in Iran continues. Concerns have been raised that the ongoing strikes in the region will result in a sustained rise in oil prices, with a knock-on impact on energy bills and living costs.
The cost of oil has already soared since the conflict erupted, which has triggered an immediate bills hike for some households. A listener to Martin Lewis’ BBC podcast from Lincolnshire raised the issue of how the price of heating oil had rocketed.
They explained that they had recently placed an order for 1,000 litres of heating oil, costing £645. However, they had checked with the same supplier more recently, and the price had more than doubled, climbing to £1,480, with an additional £835 to pay.
The person said: “We did OK but feel for others who only have oil heaters.” Martin Lewis said he had heard of heating oil prices rising but this specific case was “extremely excessive”.
How to get a better price
He encouraged people to shop around, stating: “Remember you’ve got to go and do a comparison on heating oil.” He also suggested it may be worthwhile having a chat with your neighbours to reduce your costs.
The expert said: “It’s worth if you’re in a rural area – I know it’s common in Northern Ireland, it’s common in rural parts of Great Britain – then it’s worth talking to neighbours and other people in your area. Often collective buying can cut the costs, so you all negotiate a cheaper price by going with the same oil firm.”
However, Mr Lewis admitted that regrettably there was limited additional practical guidance he could offer. He explained: “Home heating oil because it’s directly linked to the price of oil and gas has gone up and it goes up immediately.
“If you’re unlucky enough to be coming to the end of your tank right now and having to refill it, it is going to be extremely costly. Sadly, barring doing the comparison and collective buying, I don’t have many solutions on that.”
Mr Lewis said he has been pushing to strengthen industry regulations surrounding this issue. He told listeners: “We have under-regulated home heating oil in this country for far too long and left people in rural communities in the lurch on it.
“I’ve given evidence at energy committees in the House of Commons trying to say, we should bring this into proper and better regulation, like we’ve now brought heat networks into proper and better regulation, and as far as I know nothing has changed.”
