Stolen heating oil

_Whimsical_

Ficheall wrote: »

It was about two months, I reckon.
Tbf, people will be more inclined to think "I'd only just bought the damned stuff" than "well.. I got a couple of months out of it" anyway - or even might not realise their oil had been pinched if they'd had it a reasonable length of time!

Yup, very good point Ficheall. Thanks for answering. Thought as much myself but still I was curious.

DRakE

Chopper40 wrote: »

My neighbour heard a noise in her garden a couple of weeks ago and looked out and there was a scumbag robbing her oil. She rang the cops and the said they'd radio the nearest copper in the vicinity. she was peeping out the window and the scumbags walky talky went iff!!! it was actually a copper stealing her oil. then he sneaked away and then came to the door and pretended nothin happened. the lady was elderly and too afraid to tell the cop what she had seen. then the dirty cop said he needed to take the barrels that he had already filled away as evidence and for finger printing and she hasnt heard word since!!! Its crazy

LOL, pure bull****

Ficheall

I feel I should apologise to our city's scumbags - seems our oil wasn't stolen after all, Ficheall just stupidly managed to hit a ridge in the tank all three times he dipped the stick in, and didn't get anywhere near the bottom of the tank :rolleyes: I'm sure there's a beautiful coitus analogy there somewhere...

tommy21

Ficheall wrote: »

I feel I should apologise to our city's scumbags - seems our oil wasn't stolen after all, Ficheall just stupidly managed to hit a ridge in the tank all three times he dipped the stick in, and didn't get anywhere near the bottom of the tank :rolleyes: I'm sure there's a beautiful coitus analogy there somewhere...

Well you've learned a lesson Ficheall which should stand to you in future - its not the length of the dipstick that counts, but how you use it.

ttoppcat

I got 300 euros worth of oil in on the 8th of october. I probably used it 4/6 hour per day max and by the 19th of December it had ran out. I had called my landlord to see if there was a problem with the heating system as i thought theres no way I could have used that much so quickly. He came and checked and said there was no oil left in the tank. He kindly offered to stick 200 euros worth in it that weekend as I was heading off to the folks place for the weekend and that i could sort him out at a later date.
I left for my hols on the 22nd of December and was gone till the 5th of Jan. The landlord asked me to leave the oil on constant while i was gone at least while the cold spell lasted as its an old house and he had trouble with burst pipe last year. I told him i wasnt keen on doing this as it would cost so much but as the pipes in the house were frozen and as he said he would keep an eye on the place and put it on timer when the thaw came I agreed.
2 days ago he came to the door to say he'd just checked the oil and that i was almost out!!! I said I still owe ya for the last lot you put in and he said not to worry about that for now just get oil in for the house and we'd sort the other money later. I expressed my disbelief that 200 euros worth had gone in such a short space of time, whereby he told me it was 300 he'd had put in it!!!
He's a totally level guy so theres no issue there but i'm now wondering could I have been robbed? Or would leaving the heating on constant for so long use that amount of oil??
The other thing is I'm really hoping he doestnt actually charge me full price for that fill he put in as I feel its unfair as its not my fault the house is old and I was not comfortable leaving the heating on full time. And if i do have to pay it it means my total heating bill for the winter alone could be at least 800euro!!!

Phew sorry that took longer to explain than i though:o Any ideas?

Ficheall

You left the heat the entire time!? That's nuts.

ttoppcat

Ficheall wrote: »

You left the heat the entire time!? That's nuts.

I know:o I should never have agreed to it, but i'd so much on my mind and trying to get everything organised before xmas and the landlord seemed really worried as there was ice formed on the attic tank and I'd no water due to frozen pipes within the house.
I would hope he'll be decent about it and not charge me for oil that i wasnt even here for!!!

edit: I should also mention that i turned the thermostat down to half before i left..

inisboffin

ttoppcat, even on full time, it seems like ye may either 1) have a really inefficient system, 2) have a leak or 3) had it stolen!

My parents had their heating on the whole time, for a couple of months and didn't use that (they had some broken rads, it was kind of silly of them to do anyway).
Also check your house thermostat if you have that. It that is broken the heating will stay 'on' ALL the time, as opposed to reaching a certain temperature, and then shutting off when that is reached (although permanently 'switched on', it should fire on and off with a thermostat in the house)

get_d_hand_in

All depends on how big the house/boiler. All the oil could be used if it was on 24hrs for 2 weeks.

ttoppcat

Thanks for that guys. Will ask the landlord about the thermostat inisboffin. Yeah i thought it seemed a bit excessive even with leaving it on constant for a week.
Get d hand in...Its a old style 3 bed, two storey farm house, not massive but big enough. I dont think it was on for the full 2 weeks as when i came back it was on timed not constant but i'll check wiht the landlord.
Either way I think I need to get a padlock just to be on the safe side!

inisboffin

ttoppcat wrote: »

Thanks for that guys. Will ask the landlord about the thermostat inisboffin. Yeah i thought it seemed a bit excessive even with leaving it on constant for a week.
Get d hand in...Its a old style 3 bed, two storey farm house, not massive but big enough. I dont think it was on for the full 2 weeks as when i came back it was on timed not constant but i'll check wiht the landlord.
Either way I think I need to get a padlock just to be on the safe side!

Do get a lock, was just thinking that myself. If it was on timed, you definitely shouldn't have used that much. There's a ton of variables, but a figure tossed around was in winter, a house would use 9l or 2 gallons ISH a day. But again, tons of variables..

Discodog

I know of an old lady who discovered that the oil company, that she had been using for years, had been charging her for oil that was never delivered. The delivery driver was faking the deliveries & stealing the money.

Padkir

Discodog wrote: »

I know of an old lady who discovered that the oil company, that she had been using for years, had been charging her for oil that was never delivered. The delivery driver was faking the deliveries & stealing the money.

That happened with an Oil company in Galway county, who since went out of business, and has set up again as his 5 year ban on being a director of a company is over. What I can't understand is why people would even contemplate buying off him again, but he seems to be getting on well!

And also, I work part-time in the oil business, and I don't think people realise how little you're getting for €200 worth, with any sort of freezing weather, for a lot of the examples given here, I would think that most of you have used it!

Example - Ttoppcat, not picking on you but using your example to explain!:o
you are saying that €300 lasted from 8th October to the 19th of December. From when you bought it I'd say that would have been circa 400lts, it's very very probable you used that in 2 and a half months, considering it was the coldest December on record!:o

tommy21

Padkir wrote: »

That happened with an Oil company in Galway county, who since went out of business, and has set up again as his 5 year ban on being a director of a company is over. What I can't understand is why people would even contemplate buying off him again, but he seems to be getting on well!

And also, I work part-time in the oil business, and I don't think people realise how little you're getting for €200 worth, with any sort of freezing weather, for a lot of the examples given here, I would think that most of you have used it!

Example - Ttoppcat, not picking on you but using your example to explain!:o
you are saying that €300 lasted from 8th October to the 19th of December. From when you bought it I'd say that would have been circa 400lts, it's very very probable you used that in 2 and a half months, considering it was the coldest December on record!:o

Probably because people are unaware of his past!

Padkir

tommy21 wrote: »

Probably because people are unaware of his past!

Fair enough some people may be unaware, but I mean this was in the courts and papers, etc. Usually it's amazing how quick any bit of bad publicity spreads, but this seems to be the exception...!

ttoppcat

Padkir wrote: »

And also, I work part-time in the oil business, and I don't think people realise how little you're getting for €200 worth, with any sort of freezing weather, for a lot of the examples given here, I would think that most of you have used it!

Example - Ttoppcat, not picking on you but using your example to explain!:o
you are saying that €300 lasted from 8th October to the 19th of December. From when you bought it I'd say that would have been circa 400lts, it's very very probable you used that in 2 and a half months, considering it was the coldest December on record!:o

Cheers for that Padkir. I'm glad (in a way) to think it hasnt been stolen!! Just got another 250 euros worth delivered today so I'm gonna have to seriously ration it if its to last me till spring. It really is unbelievable how much the prices have risen:(

RMD

ttoppcat wrote: »

Cheers for that Padkir. I'm glad (in a way) to think it hasnt been stolen!! Just got another 250 euros worth delivered today so I'm gonna have to seriously ration it if its to last me till spring. It really is unbelievable how much the prices have risen:(

As mentioned €300 from October to December does sound normal enough. But in regards to the Landlord topping it up and running it while you're away, considering it's his property it's technically his responsibility to keep it running smoothly and in good nick. If that means keeping the heating on while you're away, that should be coming out of his own pocket.

Put a lock on lads, get a good one while you're at it. 10-15 euro could save you hundreds of euro in the end, better off not buying the cheapest thing you can find down in the hardware, more than likely can be snipped with a bolt cutters. Get something good and don't run the risk.

inisboffin

RMD wrote: »

As mentioned €300 from October to December does sound normal enough. But in regards to the Landlord topping it up and running it while you're away, considering it's his property it's technically his responsibility to keep it running smoothly and in good nick. If that means keeping the heating on while you're away, that should be coming out of his own pocket.

Put a lock on lads, get a good one while you're at it. 10-15 euro could save you hundreds of euro in the end, better off not buying the cheapest thing you can find down in the hardware, more than likely can be snipped with a bolt cutters. Get something good and don't run the risk.

Unfortunately it is the OP's choice whether or not they stayed for Christmas, and technically fair maintenance is renters responsibility - but it could be argued on means, as oil is an expense, but usually occupying a place would mean it is warmer.

Agree about a good lock, worth the money.

Padkir

RMD wrote: »

Put a lock on lads, get a good one while you're at it. 10-15 euro could save you hundreds of euro in the end, better off not buying the cheapest thing you can find down in the hardware, more than likely can be snipped with a bolt cutters. Get something good and don't run the risk.

A lock might deter anyone going in trying to steal your oil, but if the tank is in a spot they can get away with it and they've decided they want your oil, I've seen countless tanks pierced or the pipes at the bottom cut, meaning you lose both your oil and the tank, which could be another €300!

It's awful what people think they can do!:mad: I'd love to come on someone in my back garden trying to take it!!

SinewaveSurfer

Guys,
of those of you seemingly experiencing OIL theft... are you sure it hasn't happened at the point of delivery ?

We use the same company, and relatively recently started dipping immediately after each delivery. and the last guy shafted us by a few inches. Roughly 100 euros worth. Different chap, same company. We haven't decided whether to report him to the company or try and catch them out on the spot next time around. The main reason we don't report it immediately is because it didn't become apparent until we got a refill from the usual chap, and noticed the extra inches. We severely doubt we were lucky enough to receive an extra 100 euros worth of oil...so...

This is the oldest trick in the book by the way, and unless you see obvious signs of theft and are certain you were delivered the full amount in the first place - it would be my first assumption as to where the missing oil went.



@ttopcat,
you, or your landlord, or both of ye - are insane. Simply turn the water supply off when not in use (especially if you're not going to be in the house during a frozen period). Blasting the heat out indefinitely is a pure red-neck, sledgehammer-to-kill-a-fly type of solution.

I definitely wouldn't be paying those bills, even if I was certain the alleged amount of oil was in fact delivered and used for that purpose.

SinewaveSurfer

Padkir wrote: »

A lock might deter anyone going in trying to steal your oil, but if the tank is in a spot they can get away with it and they've decided they want your oil, I've seen countless tanks pierced or the pipes at the bottom cut, meaning you lose both your oil and the tank, which could be another €300!

It's awful what people think they can do!:mad: I'd love to come on someone in my back garden trying to take it!!

if it's your own house I'd build a brick enclosure around the tank...
would cost the same, maybe even less, than getting stung once...

Padkir

SinewaveSurfer wrote: »

Guys,
of those of you seemingly experiencing OIL theft... are you sure it hasn't happened at the point of delivery ?

We use the same company, and relatively recently started dipping immediately after each delivery. and the last guy shafted us by a few inches. Roughly 100 euros worth. Different chap, same company. We haven't decided whether to report him to the company or try and catch them out on the spot next time around. The main reason we don't report it immediately is because it didn't become apparent until we got a refill from the usual chap, and noticed the extra inches. We severely doubt we were lucky enough to receive an extra 100 euros worth of oil...so...

I wouldn't imagine dipping like that would be accurate enough to make those types of accusations.

get_d_hand_in

Neither would I. It doesn't account for shape/geometry of tank and price per litre at time of purchase. Also level changes before each fill due to varies usage would lead to further inaccuracies due to geometry.

SinewaveSurfer

the tank is a constant in the equation. so shape/geometry makes no odds.
we order by the litre - not the euro.
we only order when the tank is empty and when it's empty we have dipped to gauge anything that's left pooling on the bottom.

It's not rocket science or a dark art.

So while we may be using inches to gauge litres, it's scientific enough to know when you're being swindled by the delivery guy.

It's no accusation padkir. It's a verifiable fact. Although I can understand why you're being defensive, you being an oil delivery guy yourself.

get_d_hand_in

SinewaveSurfer wrote: »

the tank is a constant in the equation. so shape/geometry makes no odds.
we order by the litre - not the euro.
we only order when the tank is empty and when it's empty we have dipped to gauge anything that's left pooling on the bottom.

It's not rocket science or a dark art.

So while we may be using inches to gauge litres, it's scientific enough to know when you're being swindled by the delivery guy.

It's no accusation padkir. It's a verifiable fact. Although I can understand why you're being defensive, you being an oil delivery guy yourself.

Well how was i supposed too know all that I'm not a mind reader just pointing out the inadequacies of the method from your initial information. Would be fair to assume that most people don't wait till the tank empty to order more oil. And i'm sorry but i'd like to believe oil delivery men don't do this.

SinewaveSurfer

Don't be so defensive.

For a start - I didn't detail the method in my initial post. I simply stated we'd been keeping an eye on it via dipping. You presumed the rest yourself. And that the tank is a constant should be obvious mind reader or not, as well as the fact - or at least the ginormous possibility - that we would be ordering in litres. As for assuming people don't wait until the tank is empty before re-ordering. Well, that's an assumption of yours and at least you recognise that now. It's a little odd you don't recognise the possibility that folks might wait until they run out before re-ordering...at least before shooting someone down without even so much as asking for clarification first.

You can believe what you like, I'd like to believe in Santa. But as I said initially - the usual delivery guy has been on the ball.

ttoppcat

SinewaveSurfer wrote: »

@ttopcat,
you, or your landlord, or both of ye - are insane. Simply turn the water supply off when not in use (especially if you're not going to be in the house during a frozen period). Blasting the heat out indefinitely is a pure red-neck, sledgehammer-to-kill-a-fly type of solution.

I definitely wouldn't be paying those bills, even if I was certain the alleged amount of oil was in fact delivered and used for that purpose.

Insane..possibly...Stupid...no;) I had already said to the landlord about turning off the water supply while I was gone, but as I share water supply with an old man who lives in a converted garage on the property it wasn't an option:(.

I take your point inisboffin about the tenant being responsible for hte property but while it was my choice to leave for 2 weeks it was NOT my choice to leave the heating on constant. Left to my own devices it would have only been left on timed. I'm probably going to ask my landlord to go halfs on that 300euros worth that was used over the 2/3 week period. Even with only paying half my total oil bill this year is 700 euro...unheard of for me..if I think about it I'll bloody cry!!!:(

BornToBe?

SinewaveSurfer wrote: »

Don't be so defensive.

For a start - I didn't detail the method in my initial post. I simply stated we'd been keeping an eye on it via dipping. You presumed the rest yourself. And that the tank is a constant should be obvious mind reader or not, as well as the fact - or at least the ginormous possibility - that we would be ordering in litres. As for assuming people don't wait until the tank is empty before re-ordering. Well, that's an assumption of yours and at least you recognise that now. It's a little odd you don't recognise the possibility that folks might wait until they run out before re-ordering...at least before shooting someone down without even so much as asking for clarification first.

You can believe what you like, I'd like to believe in Santa. But as I said initially - the usual delivery guy has been on the ball.

Your right about dipping being an accurate way of measuring, same tank etc. but as far as I can recall, the truck prints out a receipt of how many litres have been dispensed, just ask the delivery guy for it, they usually hand it to you when they're done.

Padkir

BornToBe? wrote: »

Your right about dipping being an accurate way of measuring, same tank etc. but as far as I can recall, the truck prints out a receipt of how many litres have been dispensed, just ask the delivery guy for it, they usually hand it to you when they're done.

Well I know in our business we print it in the meter which is then on the delivery docket. To put your mind at ease, simply look at the meter before he starts filling and again after. If this is in order it would need to be very very advanced for them to be doing anything wrong!

SinewaveSurfer

:eek:

yes of course, we ask for & keep receipts. I guess dishonesty is a concept that some of you people have trouble grasping ? lol

Anyway the moral of my experience and the message I'm trying to convey here is to simply measure your oil immediately before & after delivery, keep track of the results. You might be surprised.

*signing out*

one last edit: and please give me some credit for not naming the company, or giving a strong description of the driver.