By Conor Sharkey
DERRY based fuel companies are offering home heating oil for up to £10 cheaper than some local firms, it has emerged.
WIth both St Vincent de Paul and the Citizens Advice Bureau reporting record numbers of people turning up for help and advice on how to beat the winter chill, the Strabane Chronicle decided to do a bit of shopping around.
On Monday we spoke to four oil companies in Derry and three in Strabane. All the city based companies came in cheaper than local companies.
Five hundred litres of oil from Nicholl Fuels in Derry was priced at £259 with free delivery to Strabane customers. Campsie Fuels came in slightly more expensive, charging £264 for 500l, while Kelly Fuels and Shell Direct, both in the city, priced the same amount of fuel at £260. Both Shell and Campsie promised free delivery to Strabane, however Kellys said it was not normal practice to deliver so far outside city limits.
In Strabane, both McHughs Oil and McElroy Fuels were charging £269 for 500l of home heating oil on Monday. Millar Bros came in slightly cheaper at £265.
So why are homeowners here being charged up to a tenner more than those living in Derry?
According to local fuel merchant Declan Millar, distributors in Derry are constantly having to under cut each other just to stay in business. But Mr Millar remains confident customers in Strabane will stay loyal to the local firms.
"I have been aware that it is cheaper in Derry for some time now and it was almost always the same with the coal. But I think it's due to the size of the city and the amount of firms competing for custom.
"It has always been fairly cut throat in Derry but in Strabane we all more or less trade at the same price.
"If I tried to compete with the prices in Derry I would go out of business in no time but what I do is try and work with my customers.
"If they tell me they can get oil for £5 cheaper elsewhere, then I would try and accommodate them.
"Many of our clients have have been loyal to us for years and if they ring me on a Friday evening or a Saturday afternoon looking for fuel, then I would help them out.
"I just don't think you would get that level of service from a firm based 14 miles away in Derry.
"I am concerned about the amount of companies from outside the town coming in but all I can do is try and work with the clients I have built up.
"They know me and I know them and while someone will always throw a spanner in the works, I hope my customers will stick with Millars Fuels," Mr Millar said.
Meanwhile, St Vincent de Paul's Raymond McDaid said that while all the local oil firms deserved the support of the people of Strabane, it was still important to shop around in the current financial climate.
"We shop around for food, for petrol, so why not oil? Money is tight out there and unemployment is high, so it makes sense to shop around.
"I didn't realise it was cheaper to buy oil in Derry but we know what the cost of living is going to be this winter, so my advice would be to ask around before you buy," he said.
'If they tell me they can get oil for £5 cheaper elsewhere, then I would try and accommodate them.' - Millar Oils, Strabane
