The Devon Oil Collective

An ethical social enterprise project run by the Community Council of Devon

Want to save money on the cost of your heating oil?
so do we!

Join our new community-based countrywide oil buying syndicate and see how easy it is

One of our sister Rural Community Councils has been running the scheme for just over a year. Over the last few months their members have saved around £50 compared with the market average price for 1000 litres of heating oil (a staggering £120 against the highest prices). That is the power of bulk oil buying.

How does it work?

Householders pay an annual fee, inclusive of VAT of £24 (£36 for community organisations, £120 for business/statutory organisations) to join the scheme. We negotiate with the various oil companies that supply premises in Devon and get the best price.

Bulk oil ordering dates

Order deadlines are the first Thursday of every month. The next oil order deadlines are 12 noon on 1st March 2012 and 4th April (Wednesday due to bank holiday weekend) 2012

5 easy steps to cheaper heating oil

Step 1: Join The Devon Oil Collective TODAY
Click on the link here for a Membership Application form from Community Council of Devon, fill in and email back to oilscheme@devonrcc.org.uk or post back to us at the address below.

Step 2: We will send you a membership pack with all the information you will need about the scheme
We will let you know if a local coordinator has been recruited for your area and let them know you have joined the scheme. Each month we will email you to ask whether you want to place an order. The minimum order is 500 litres.

Step 3: Place an order
Let us or your coordinator know you want to buy oil. Your order increases our negotiating power, so once submitted we regard it as binding.

Step 4: Sit back whilst we negotiate the price
We negotiate the best price from a whole range of suppliers nationwide. Your coordinator will advise you who the supplier is, the price per litre (exclusive of VAT, currently at 5%) and the approximate date of delivery.

Step 5: Take delivery of the oil and pay the company
The oil will be delivered within two weeks and you pay the company supplying the oil direct.

What’s the snag?

There isn’t one! The scheme is being promoted by Community Council of Devon, a long established and well respected Devon charity.

By bringing communities throughout Devon together and making the most of joint buying power, we can make savings and pass them directly to people like you whose fuel costs are high simply because you off grid for gas and have to use heating oil.

The environment benefits too

Every time a tanker comes out to make a delivery, it is using a lot of diesel – a full tanker can get as little as a horrifying 8 miles per gallon. If deliveries are organised so that one tanker delivers to several customers in a village instead of making lots of individual deliveries, the fuel consumption is reduced and so is traffic in the village

Want to help your community and us to run the scheme?

We need people in the local communities to help us co-ordinate the scheme. Local Coordinators get free membership of the scheme – so you will have the advantage of savings on your oil purchases without any of the up front costs. We hope that you will also find it rewarding doing something useful in your local community and to be helping towards reducing your village’s carbon footprint. Plus, we hope you might enjoy doing it!

What kind of person would make a good co-ordinator?
No special skills are required, but you must be:
- Reliable
- Well organised
- Have access to internet/home computer and even better…
- Interested in carbon reduction
- Be part of/known in the local community

How do I volunteer?
Contact us be email oilscheme@devonrcc.org.uk or telephone 01392 248919.

Please click here for our local coordinators leaflet

What others have said about the scheme

‘Very happy to recommend this scheme - I placed my order, it was delivered speedily, and the price gave me an excellent saving.’

‘My oil order has arrived! quickly, efficiently and economically - thank you’

‘We have been pleased with the savings on our last order, and it also helps us to be able to order a minimum of 500 litres whereas previously we tried to wait till we needed 1000 to avoid paying even higher costs per litre.’

The Devon Oil Collective,
Community Council of Devon, Unit 3-4 Cranmere Court, Matford Business Park,
Exeter, EX2 8PW Tel: 01392 248919
Email: oilscheme@devonrcc.org.uk

The membership charge goes towards covering the administrative costs of running the project. Any surplus from the Devon Oil Collective will go directly towards supporting the charitable work of the Community Council of Devon, whose mission statement is to enable rural communities across Devon to be more socially, economically and environmentally sustainable.

Information Leaflet

Coordinators Leaflet

Membership Application

Form 1, Individual Oil ordering form

Form 2, Communal ordering form

Form 3, Local Coordinators ordering form