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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Am I liable to pay for heating oil delivered to me by mistake?

74 replies

MacarenaMacarena · 22/08/2023 20:53

I had a call from my usual heating oil delivery company. They said they've accidentally put heating oil in my outside oil tank that they'd meant to deliver to a neighbour.
They are asking me to pay for it.
I hadn't budgeted for a couple of hundred pounds again for oil this year.
If the driver is going to be held accountable for this of course I will cover it, but do I have to pay for it, or allow them to drain out the extra at their leisure, or should they just let me have the oil?
IABU pay for the oil!
IANBU try not to pay and tell them they're lucky I don't sue!

OP posts:
Groutyonehereagain · 22/08/2023 22:36

lanthanum · 22/08/2023 21:08

I would have thought that the best solution is that you keep it, but are not expected to pay for it until the point at which you would have refilled. Probably at the lower of the price now and the price at that point - it was their mistake, so if the cost is different, they should be the ones that lose out.

This seems a sensible response.

cakeorwine · 22/08/2023 22:36

Do a contract with them - either take it at the price now or the cheaper price when you need it, but agree to pay it at whichever price is cheaper when you actually would be getting some.

You are going to need oil at some point anyway. You don't want to be out of pocket - and of course, oil prices could go up when you actually need it. Or they could go down.

KarmaStar · 22/08/2023 22:43

Sue them for what ???

penelopelady · 22/08/2023 22:43

MacarenaMacarena · 22/08/2023 22:25

If the company would otherwise take it out of the wages of the driver who accidentally delivered it, I'd want to pay for it. I would have the benefit of it in the long run, he would be being punished if he had to pay. I'm not a monster!

If this is Uk they are bullshitting you, as this is not legal, in which case you should go in hard arse because they have tried to play you.

Floatlikeafeather2 · 22/08/2023 22:43

Do you know that this delivery was actually made to you? If they've mistaken an address once, they can do it again. Do you know whether your neighbour was expecting a delivery and hasn't had it? Do you know the phonecall actually came from your supplier? They have absolutely no right (legally) to ask for payment for an order you didn't make, when they acknowledge it was their error, and I sort of find it incredible that a reputable company would approach the situation in this way. Your starting point should be to ascertain that the delivery is actually in your tank.

penelopelady · 22/08/2023 22:44

Ps equally Sue them for what?

CherryMaDeara · 22/08/2023 22:47

MacarenaMacarena · 22/08/2023 22:25

If the company would otherwise take it out of the wages of the driver who accidentally delivered it, I'd want to pay for it. I would have the benefit of it in the long run, he would be being punished if he had to pay. I'm not a monster!

YABU to make this your problem. He needs to learn from his mistakes. They will just tell you his wages will be docked to get you to pay.

Ahhbeecee · 22/08/2023 22:57

Floatlikeafeather2 · 22/08/2023 22:43

Do you know that this delivery was actually made to you? If they've mistaken an address once, they can do it again. Do you know whether your neighbour was expecting a delivery and hasn't had it? Do you know the phonecall actually came from your supplier? They have absolutely no right (legally) to ask for payment for an order you didn't make, when they acknowledge it was their error, and I sort of find it incredible that a reputable company would approach the situation in this way. Your starting point should be to ascertain that the delivery is actually in your tank.

We have a monitor inside the house to tell how much oil is in the tank so assume op has the same

Bethanbee · 22/08/2023 22:59

How do you know they delivered it?

ElthamLemur · 22/08/2023 23:02

penelopelady · 22/08/2023 22:43

If this is Uk they are bullshitting you, as this is not legal, in which case you should go in hard arse because they have tried to play you.

Show quote history

Whoa there, calm down. It’s not unreasonable for them to say “we made a mistake, don’t suppose you want the oil anyway?” They don’t sound like they are coming down heavy and telling OP she HAS to pay.

FirstFallopians · 22/08/2023 23:13

Shen would you next be expecting to put an order in?

I’d try and come to a payment arrangement with them- offer to buy it at cost and pay it off over a few months.

Our local oil firm has great customer service and have bent over backwards to help me in the past, so I’d try to work something out if it was me.

Murdoch1949 · 23/08/2023 05:29

It's not your problem or mistake, it's theirs to sort out. You can't be expected to pay for unsolicited goods!

HappiDaze · 23/08/2023 05:59

I would say I've not budgeted for it right now but am happy to pay in a few months when you would have needed it

HappiDaze · 23/08/2023 06:00

They are a business

They've made a human error

You will want more oil at some point

Offer to pay for it at a later date but at a slightly reduced rate as you're doing them a favour really

Marchitectmummy · 23/08/2023 06:35

Will you need to use them again in the future when this oil is depleted, or will you use a different supplier? I would bare that in mind.

Personally I would be decent about it and pay them, but as others I would ask for a discount.

Custardslices · 23/08/2023 06:39

I'd not suggest payment at all.

Any court will not make you pay as this is not your error.

They will probably write it off as a loss. Don't pay for something you did not want.

No point saying you need oil at a later date, yeah you do but that could be in 6 months time not today is it.

cinnamonfrenchtoast · 23/08/2023 06:40

MacarenaMacarena · 22/08/2023 22:25

If the company would otherwise take it out of the wages of the driver who accidentally delivered it, I'd want to pay for it. I would have the benefit of it in the long run, he would be being punished if he had to pay. I'm not a monster!

They can't do this (assuming you're in the UK). He may well get a disciplinary or a warning but they can't dock his wages - it's illegal.

Niftyswiftie · 23/08/2023 06:40

Do you not leave your oil tank locked? Ours is always locked so this wouldn't have been able to happen. The first thing we got told when we installed oil was to keep it locked so oil doesn't get stolen.

Augend23 · 23/08/2023 06:44

cinnamonfrenchtoast · 23/08/2023 06:40

They can't do this (assuming you're in the UK). He may well get a disciplinary or a warning but they can't dock his wages - it's illegal.

Show quote history

I thought they could - if it was in your contract, didn't take you below minimum wage and wasn't over 10% in a single period?

That was the impression I had from here: https://www.gov.uk/understanding-your-pay/deductions-from-your-pay

Understanding your pay

Your pay - your payslip, performance-related pay, deductions and how to work out your weekly pay

https://www.gov.uk/understanding-your-pay/deductions-from-your-pay

Longtimelurkerfinallyposts · 23/08/2023 06:48

Do you have a way of ascertaining for sure that they really have delivered it to your tank (rather than to a different neighbour)? And of knowing for sure exactly how much?
They can't force you to pay for it - this is their error - you didn't contract them to make this delivery - and it's unlikely they'll really want to drain it from your tank into their tanker (plus, if you do what another poster's suggested and put a lock on your tank, they wouldn't be able to do this without committing criminal damage).
However, if you want to continue buying oil from them in future, you could offer to make a small token payment for this unwanted delivery, and explain that you hadn't budgeted to buy more oil for the next x months, so can't afford to pay immediately.

Againstmachine · 23/08/2023 06:48

ThreeLittleDots · 22/08/2023 21:13

They won't want to drain it out - there's no guarantee your tank is clean.

I'd ask for a massive discount or to defer payment until you would have paid for it.

Absolutely this, there is no guarantee of the cleaning of the tank or the state of the oil already on the tank.

If you intend to use heating oil again, I'd sort a discounted price and a long payment plan.

Hiddenvoice · 23/08/2023 06:50

No you shouldn’t be paying for it. The company should come and collect it and give it to the right person. It’s lovely that you want to help out if the driver had to pay but do not offer this. A lot of companies budget for deliveries going wrong.

catsnore · 23/08/2023 07:01

How can they have delivered it to you if your tank is locked? Surely you keep it locked? Do you have an indicator for oil level that has definitely gone up? If not I'd deny all knowledge of this - what if the driver was misremembering? Seems fishy!

THisbackwithavengeance · 23/08/2023 07:01

I've never heard anything so cheeky!

They are really chancing their arm and they know it.

If you were feeling generous you might offer to pay a percentage of the oil cost but full price? No way!

Why on earth should you pay out for their mistake?

GRex · 23/08/2023 07:34

You need to verify the amount of oil actually delivered using your monitors. Then if they have actually delivered it, tell them you don't legally need to pay for something you didn't order, that you will not pay full price on something you didn't order, but as a goodwill gesture will pay them 25%. Let them negotiate to 50%. It's worth a compromise to maintain nice relationships with your supplier, but you may as well benefit too.