This information applies to England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland

This page contains help and advice on what to do if you want to set up an oil club. Oil clubs are groups of people, who mainly live in rural areas, who combine their orders for domestic heating oil. They vary in size, from just a few members to several hundred.

By clubbing together to buy in bulk, oil clubs can get better deals from oil distribution companies. Members report savings of 10 per cent and over. Combining orders is better for the environment too, as it means fewer delivery journeys, reducing congestion on roads.

Setting up an oil club

If you want to set up an oil club, follow these steps:

• Step one: find out if a club already exists in your area. If it does, think about joining that. The club should have a basic set of rules, called terms of reference, which will explain what you can expect from them. Ask to see the terms of reference and think about whether you’re happy with them before you decide.
• Step two: if there isn't a club in your area, call a meeting to find out if anyone would be interested in setting one up. You can advertise  the date through the parish magazine, shop windows, village noticeboard and word of mouth.
• Step three: at the meeting, agree your own terms of reference explaining what people can expect from the club. You'll need to put them in writing and make sure that everyone has a copy.

Be realistic about how much time you can devote to the club. Larger clubs can sometimes get better savings but they take more co-ordination. It might be easiest to keep it small at first and find some other volunteers to help you.

To find out if there is a heating oil club near you in England and Wales, visit the Citizens Advice website and enter your postcode. You can also register your oil club on this site wherever you live in the UK.

Running an oil club

Once you’ve set up an oil club, keep it running smoothly. You'll need to think about:

Timing

• agree order dates for the year in advance, so that people can plan ahead
• try to place orders for Winter early in the Autumn, when suppliers are less busy and can sometimes offer better discounts.

Choosing your supplier and placing orders

• keep up to date with oil prices by checking the national newspapers to be sure you are getting a good deal
• when you choose a supplier, bear in mind factors such as the quality of service and how reliable it is, as well as the price you're paying
• set up a list of oil suppliers, their prices and service record, which you can update and regularly review
• make sure you keep written copies of all orders and agreements, ensuring any computerised information is also backed up on paper
• consider putting together a spreadsheet which contains all the order details and access information for every house including where the tank is located.

Communication

• get in touch with members in plenty of time before an order is due to give them time to reply
• if you are planning to charge members for the service, make sure this is made clear
• make sure the club’s rules make it clear that it is the responsibility of members to pay the supplier, not the organiser
• think about using email or text to speed things up, but remember that not everyone will be online or have a mobile phone
• promote the club at village events and invite new people moving into the area to join the club.

Looking out for others

• remember to look out for the more vulnerable members of the community and think about how you can help them place their orders
• keep members up to date on other schemes that can help save their fuel costs, such as home insulation grants.

For more information about best practice for oil buying clubs, see Best practice for oil buying groups guide.

Next steps

For more information about oil clubs and other ways of saving money on heating oil, see Saving money on heating oil bills.

For help with problems with your heating oil supplier, see Problems with your heating oil supplier.

More information about oil deliveries

For a list of the information oil suppliers will need from you so that they can make a delivery, see the Federation of Petroleum Suppliers website.