Joining forces for a better deal

By Rob Pittam
Working Lunch

Yobco members can get better oil prices by clubbing together

The sleepy Northamptonshire village of Yelvertoft seems an unlikely place to find an oil baron wheeling and dealing in the black stuff.

But then again villager David Nicholas is an unlikely oil baron. A former lightbulb salesman, he moved to the village 30 years ago.

Like many rural communities, Yelvertoft has no natural gas and most villagers rely on oil systems for their heating needs.

It means oil tanker deliveries are a constant sight in the streets.

Co-ordinated

Shortly after moving into the village David was waiting for a delivery when he noticed other tankers visiting his neighbours.

He realised if they all joined together they could form a buying consortium. The deliveries could also be co-ordinated to make it more efficient for the oil companies and cut costs further.

With the help of his wife Sue, he set up the Yelvertoft Oil Buying Consortium, or Yobco for short. It began 25 years ago with just thirty members scattered around the village.

Since then it's spread, first through neighbouring villages and now across the country, with members in Northumberland, Sussex, Norfok and Somerset.

David Nicholas started the Yobco buying consortium 25 years ago

Haggling

Membership is free and buyers get the benefits of the scheme's discounted oil prices.

Five thousand people have now signed up and every day David is on the phone from his office in a converted bedroom in house on the main street.

He deals with four different oil companies, checking prices and haggling for a bigger discount.

The consortium is always looking for new people to join, the more members they have, the greater the discount they can negotiate.

Prices rising

The discount varies according to market demands. David reckons people save anywhere between £15 and £70 on a delivery.

Members phone through their orders or use the consortium's website and David and Sue then place the order on their behalf.

With such a long history behind them David is a veteran watcher of fuel prices and he has never experienced anything like current trading conditions.

The lowest price the consortium has achieved came nine years ago, back in 1999 it was buying fuel at 8.7 pence a litre. Now it's 56 pence a litre and rising every day.

The discount Yobco can get varies according to market demands

17.5p a litre

In fact to celebrate the group's 25th birthday David persuaded their suppliers to let them have a delivery of oil at 1982 prices.

Thirteen members of the scheme won the chance to buy their oil at 17.5 pence a litre. A bargain that seems more and more distant every day.

David estimates that prices have risen by 85 per cent in the last year, with no sign of them slowing down.

And although he's enjoying a quiet time for orders as summer rolls in, he fears that thousands of people up and down the country are dreading the onset of winter and the arrival of record bills for keeping their homes warm.

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