Oil Company Service Contract Question

Think of it as "insurance" just like Triple A for your car or traditional health insurance - odds are that if you maintain your vehicle properly, and have at least a bit of mechanical competence, you will pay more for Triple A than you would for the occasional tow, etc... The oil company wouldn't offer plans like this if they didn't come out ahead on the deal when averaged over their entire customer base, but if you hit the "bad jackpot" the plan might save you some money...

Might be worth shopping around a bit to see what other companies charge either for "plans" or just for a straight service call... Considering that it can cost a bunch just to get the service guy to walk in the door, the plan might not be a bad deal overall...

Gooserider

The Premium Plan, does it include a fall furnace cleaning? It should. They should come out and clean you furnace, replace the fuel filter and check combustion/air mix etc.

Ask them for a copy of the Premium plan.

tom

If you depend on a furnace to keep your house from freezing and dont do your own furnace maintenance and stock parts, it usualy worth having some sort of service contract. If your furnace stops running in the middle of the night, getting an independent repair person is real difficult during the heating season. If you can wait a day or so not a problem, but if you need someone right a way, the contract covers this. Any oil company that does have servicemen is going to be more expensive than someone who just supplies oil, as they have to cover the overhead for maintaining the technicians year round.

Find out what's covered in the service plan. You may find yourself paying for parts but not labor, or a certain amount of labor every year or whatever. That contract is only worth what the companies integrity is worth.

You need a cleaning, nozzle, filter, tuning ect. every year. That should cost about $150. Factor that while you pay the pemium for your service company's oil. Many things can happen to an older appliance, but the same can be said for new ones as well.

A very funny thing happened to me in 05, the first year I started burning pellets. My oil company then, Peterson Oil of Worcester MA, RETURNED MY CHECK FOR THE SERVICE PLAN, with a post-it on it saying that I did not buy enough oil for them to want my business. I had used them for over 5 years, paying their crazy prices, just for the piece of mind. I was so pissed, and still am, that I tell this story every chance I get. I have a very old rusty cast iron boiler that has been upgraded with a new burner, and runs 5 out of six zones- the first being an 80 gal indirect DWH. Now, I pay cash for my oil, very little of it, and have secured a couple of indipedant service guys, if necessary. Peterson was sued by MANY people back when prices started going crazy, for not honoring the price lock contracts.