Oil delivered to wrong house - what are our rights?

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So if someone 'accidentally' poured a shot of what they told you was gin into your half-empty G&T glass in a crowded pub, that's what you would do?
 
What the issue boils down to is the credibility of the company claiming they accidentally filled the wrong tank.

If a local reputable company contacts me and says they accidentally filled my tank and I ask some reasonable questions which they deal with to my satisfaction, I would be inclined to take them at their word and allow them to take back the oil.

It’s all about trust.

In the OPs case, the company is unknown to him/her, not local, unduly hostile to reasonable queries and has sent a registered letter with a false claim that they’re entitled to enter into the OP’s premises to take back the oil.

If the company was genuine, one would think that they would adopt a more sanguine approach and offer as much detail as to how things went wrong in support of their claim to having made a mistake.

For me, the trust went out the window with the attitude, hostility and bogus legal letter.
 
Gordon Gekko said:
The toilet roll comparison is ridiculous.
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It's only ridiculous if you don't use toilet paper
Gordon Gekko said:
If I used oil and a half a tank was delivered by mistake I’d negotiate a discount and get on with my life.
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The OP has no idea if the volume delivered was what has claimed. And no idea as to the quality.

I have a bottle of half-full Jameson at home. If someone walked in off the street and refilled the bottle to full I wouldn't touch it, never mind pay them for the privilege
 
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This actually happened to me a few years ago..It was in our tank for 3 days before we knew, we were informed by the oil company who basically asked if they could remove the 500lts or if we were interested in buying it at a discounted rate which we did plus a 20 euro voucher off another fill and everyone was happy with this scenario...it was very cordial outcome from all sides..at the end of the day it was a genuine mistake.and who hasn't made one of them..
 
Thank you for the interesting replies

We have never expected something for nothing only good manners! The attached imagine is the opening line of a registered letter sent to us... not I am writing to apologise etc. This company could have had the courtesy to call to our house on the evening/week it happened. They never tried to contact us. Only this letter. We rang them the day after it happened and they were rude to us so my husband hung up in them.

The letter doesn't even mention paying in full only installments or take back 500ltrs, which we honestly can't say how much they put in. If they handled the situation a little more professional we might not be second guessing any of this.
 

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It seems to me that the oil company has approached this very heavy handed. If it's not too late maybe let them know that you are willing to pay for it at a discounted price which might actually save them money rather than having to arrange and verify the removal..which is what the company involved in our situation had told us.....
 
was
So the first you hear from them is a letter which makes false representations concerning the Sale of Goods Act and how is applies to their mistake.

Sorry, this has scam written all over it!
 
Johnno75 said:
was

So the first you hear from them is a letter which makes false representations concerning the Sale of Goods Act and how is applies to their mistake.

Sorry, this has scam written all over it!
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That wasn’t the first the OP heard from them.

There was a phone call.

It reads to me like the OP went on the offensive during that call.

Mistakes happen; how would you know what was put in or how much they’ve taken out? By being there!

There are three reasonable options:

1) Pay for it less discount
2) Pay for it less discount on the drip
3) Let them remove it

In terms of the company, does it have any profile at all? i.e. is it me and my dog and a front for IRA smuggling or is a proper company with an office etc?
 
Gordon Gekko said:
There are three reasonable options:
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Reasonable to you maybe.
Still don't understand why you haven't measured what's in your tank now. Going on what you said, you had half a tank, this company (supposedly) then puts in 500ltrs. Dip with a broom handle and the tank should be up near the top. Then you'll know "something" was put in.
 
 
I’m not the OP…I don’t have an oil tank!
 
Gordon Gekko said:
That wasn’t the first the OP heard from them.


It reads to me like the OP went on the offensive during that call.
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The company made no contact with us until we received this letter. You would expect them to call to our house if they did not have our pone number. We phoned them. And yes, we challenged them how they made such a mistake with a detached house when using ericodes because we were doubtful at the time whether it was a mistake. We also pointed out that we did not know anything about them and then they were rude to us.

We do not dispute that some oil was put in our tank but we can't say for sure whether it was 300/400/500. We do dispute the quality of the oil and how they are handling the situation. That is why we are now looking for advice on how to solve this.
 
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Gordon Gekko said:
Another ridiculous comparison.
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From which I surmise that you wouldn't dream of either consuming the unwanted product or paying for it. The only remaining option being to ask the donor to remove it from your glass without contaminating the G&T that was originally there.

I'm glad you're not my advisor!
 
Firstly, the comparisons are ridiculous; toilet paper can just be removed and a drink is worth less than a tenner, plus there’s the whole “date rape” aspect to that silly example.

Again, there are three options, pay, pay on the drip, or have it removed. Some people seem to want to invite drama. Mistakes happen, just get on with it.
 
But you called them? So there was contact.

It sounds to me like you escalated the situation by turning it into the Spanish Inquisition and being aggressive. “How could this happen?” It was an accident!

People who think it’s a scam really need to get a life; what an ingenious scam. Drive an oil tanker to someone’s house. Pretend to deliver oil by mistake. Then go back and forth debating the matter. Then agree to remove it, accept €38 a week, or discount the oil heavily. The scam of the decade alright!

Is it a real company with an office and an obvious presence and customer-base?
 
Imagination working overtime here. Lorry of 1000L of oil. Go to 10 random houses in the countryside. Give them all a top up of 100L. Demand payment for 500L delivered accidentally. Wait for the money to roll in.

It still does not make sense to me. It just sounds like a genuine error. Maybe the driver is dyslexic?

It they had not been rude to you what would you do? Pay half end of Jan & half end of Feb and expect €100 discount? Is so offer that.
 
Look at it another way. You own an oil delivery company. One of your drivers makes a mistake. The person rings you up and demands to know how it happened, implies that it could be a scam, and suggests that you could have put anything into the tank. There’s a way to handle things from the off.
 
Gordon Gekko said:
The scam of the decade alright!
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I mean who ever heard of fuel businesses with operations in Armagh and Monaghan being involved in anything shady, right?

Maybe this was all an innocent mistake. If it was the firm should pay to have the fuel mix tested as a starting point.

@TillyD - invest in a cap with a lock on it. If someone can put fuel in without your knowledge they can take it out too!
 
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