Its official you are not being ripped off

[Dusty]

When it all kicked off ten years or so ago , I remember people going to the super market and buying cookiing oil and putting it in their vehicles as it was cheaper to mix it 50/50 . I was shopping last week ( shock horror ) and took a look at the price of the various cooking oils , and boy , it is now more expensive per litre than fuel .

I have to admit , as an example my heating oil bill has rocketed too , back in 2002 I was paying 17p a litre , now eleven years on the best I can get is 59p . that is nearly 400% increase !! how much will it be in ten more years . They say that if you are spending more than 10% of your household income ( I think ) on fuel costs then you are in "fuel" poverty , and if it is true , count me in , our house costs nearly £1200 a year .

They will never drop the fuel tax , they will never listen and quite frankly dont care as they all drive around on "expenses" and live it cushty .

Ta ta

 

[henton49er]

They will never drop the fuel tax , they will never listen and quite frankly dont care as they all drive around on "expenses" and live it cushty .

Ta ta

Agreed, Dusty. If you are on an MP's salary and perks (particularly the perks) you couldn't give a stuff about inflation, fuel tax or anything else that affects the majority of the working force in this country. "I'm alright Jack" is the order of the day.

 

[graduate_owner]

I have to agree - if politicians cared they would do something about it instead of making excuses about loss of revenue. I live in an area where the nearest train station is 6 miles away, and a bus passes by twice a week, so I simply can not manage without a car (unless I move house - um, estate agent fees, plus VAT, solicitor's fees, plus VAT, stamp duty - I think I'll stay put).

Anyhow I must go now, I'm off to get a coffee from dear old Starbucks - yeah right, that would be a first.

K

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Aw, come on! You can't blame the government for relieving you of your money, after all they need £200,000,000,000 a year to pay social security alone, then there's nuclear subs, foreign wars, and £50,000,000 a DAY for the E.U. amongst other things.

 

[Mark A]

I remember people going to the super market and buying cooking oil and putting it in their vehicles as it was cheaper to mix it 50/50 . I was shopping last week ( shock horror ) and took a look at the price of the various cooking oils , and boy , it is now more expensive per litre than fuel .

A few years ago I heard of a bloke who used to buy 25 litre drums of veg oil from a fast food supplier to fuel his car.

 

[graduate_owner]

I don't think there will be such a thing as cheap fuel, because as soon as people catch on, prices rise. It happened with cooking oil, it will probably happen with LPG next. The current tax on LPG used as a road fuel is 37.34p per kg (Jan 1012) but I think the differentials are being reduced. These new power stations burning wood and wood chips will ensure that the price of wood creeps up, so a woodburner will not be (probably isn't now) a cheap option. We used to be able to buy a licence to enter the forestry and collect waste logs. There are big artics going past my front door from the forestry several times a day at the moment - have been for months, and they don't just carry fencing stakes now. These days it's just as likely to be bundled brash and trash - the sort of stuff that was left to rot last year or so. Now it gets burned, which is fair enough considering it would otherwise be wasted, but if they transport that stuff then there won't be much that's left behind any more.

I also was told (no guarantee it's true - gossip gossip) that we now import wood fuel to run some of our power stations, so that eco fuel is now transported by ship (oil) then by lorry (diesel) to be environmentally burned.

My solar panels are not doing too bad though - cost about £12500 (they are cheaper now), been in 18 months, and have generated just over £2000 for me, plus a reduced energy bill. I know they don't look attractive, although a lot less intrusive than bl***y windmills, but I think renewables has got to be the way to go. If the last 2 summers had been half decent, and the winter sun had made an appearance on more than about 3 days since November!! we could have generated another few hundred pounds easily, and as it is the return is about 11%.

I'm no builder but I think all new homes should now be capable of being run as carbon neutral homes - good insulation, compulsory solar panels wherever possible built into the design, possibly use of heat pumps. It will cost more initially, but if the Government is serious about tackling energy usage then they could surely set up a scheme to keep the initial purchase price the same, and claw back the excess in low interest repayments from the house buyer (paid for by having zero-ish fuel bills). Rocket science? Easier to increase tax on existing fuels.

K

 

[MARK.B.]

I also was told (no guarantee it's true - gossip gossip) that we now import wood fuel to run some of our power stations, so that eco fuel is now transported by ship (oil) then by lorry (diesel) to be environmentally burned.


Perfectly true,most comes from eastern europe,DRAX power station burns half coal and half Bio fuel like willow,most is shipped over to the port of HULL and from there by train (track already in place for transporting imported coal).Even with the imports there are still several hundred deliveries weekly from all over the UK

 

[graduate_owner]

So it's not just woodworkers that are causing destruction of forests then.

K