Heating oil suppliers: using fair terms and conditions

This open letter from the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) reminds domestic heating oil suppliers of the requirement that the terms and conditions in their contracts with consumers must be fair and transparent.

This is particularly important where terms and conditions seek to remove or reduce a supplier’s liability to consumers, including where the supplier fails to perform its contractual obligations or there is a delay.

The CMA has published this open letter after intervening over concerns that some domestic heating suppliers cancelled orders when heating oil prices, and demand, surged following the conflict in the Middle East. We secured voluntary compensation from suppliers after finding that hundreds of customers who ordered through an intermediary site were affected.