Millions of UK households that rely on heating oil are being urged to report sudden price rises amid concerns some customers could be charged far more than expected.
The intervention from consumer campaigner Martin Lewis comes after reports that some suppliers have dramatically increased prices or cancelled existing deliveries before offering the fuel again at higher rates.
It has prompted Energy Secretary Ed Miliband to write to distributors warning them that customers must be treated fairly.
Article continues belowWhat Martin Lewis has said
Martin Lewis said he had spoken directly with Ed Miliband about problems facing households that rely on heating oil, particularly those in rural areas and Northern Ireland.
Posting online, he said heating oil was “the most immediate concern” for many households currently refilling their tanks.
He warned that prices had “rocketed”, with some reports suggesting they had “nearly doubled in a week”.
Martin Lewis said his biggest concerns were:
- People who cannot afford the new price
- The lack of regulation, because heating oil is not overseen by Ofgem
- Reports that existing booked deliveries were cancelled and customers asked to rebook at higher prices
He said that if reports of cancelled orders being repriced were confirmed, it would be “out of order”.
He asked households experiencing price spikes or delivery issues to send him evidence so it can be passed directly to ministers.
Around 1.5 million homes in the UK rely on heating oil, many of them in rural areas with off-grid heating, and these households are not protected by the energy price cap.
Two depressing graphs to contrast where we are now with the conflict in the Middle East to the peak of the Russia Ukraine energy crisis.The first is the price of oil, which drives petrol costs, heating oil costs, and risks knock on inflationary costs including to food as the… pic.twitter.com/fxCBTFt9s9March 9, 2026
Miliband tells suppliers pricing must be fair
In response, Ed Miliband and Energy Minister Michael Shanks wrote to the UK and Ireland Fuel Distributors Association, which represents heating-oil suppliers.
In the letter, the ministers said they were aware the situation in the Middle East was putting pressure on fuel markets but stressed customers must be treated fairly.
They wrote that the government’s expectation is that pricing should be, “fair, transparent and fully justifiable”.
The ministers also warned distributors they remain bound by consumer-protection and competition law, adding: “Suppliers should ensure that any changes in pricing are clearly explained to customers and reflect genuine changes in supply costs.”
Ed Miliband said he realised it was a "particularly worrying time" for those on oil heating, but that he was working with the competition watchdog to "stamp out unfair practices like price gouging".
I've written to the heating oil industry @UKIFDA regarding price increases for households and businesses.It is vital that customers are treated fairly. Price gouging will not be tolerated.The @CMAgovUK will take any action necessary to protect families. pic.twitter.com/VqXW7D0mlFMarch 9, 2026
Oil prices fall today – but households may not see it for a while
The row comes even as global oil markets have begun to fall after a sharp spike earlier in the week.
Brent crude – the global benchmark – briefly surged to $119.50 per barrel (about £94) during the height of market fears about supply disruption. By Tuesday it had dropped to around $91.70 per barrel (about £72) as markets reacted to signs tensions might ease.
However, households that rely on heating oil may not see those lower prices immediately.
Heating-oil costs depend not only on crude oil but also on refining costs, wholesale kerosene markets, transport and distribution, meaning global price changes can take time to filter through to domestic deliveries.
For households needing to refill tanks now – often with minimum orders of about 500 litres – the immediate impact could still be significantly higher bills even as global oil prices begin to fall.
