Air products september price hike!

[zardoz]

did anyone else get a price hike for September ? I believe i already pay too much as it is at nearly £9 a month for argon. This month i am presented with a bill for over £14! Are AP penalizing me for not using t quick enough or what ?

Er forgot what size it is, W or Y? its the one thats about 4 foot tall anyway

 

[Archie]

If you're paying daily rather than up front, the rent increases after something like 3 months. I found out the hard way.

 

[zardoz]

What! they kept that quiet. How much is payment up front ?

 

[Archie]

I know. I had a major go at them because I was definitely not told! Upfront is the equivalent of 'tier 1' rental for 365 days (28p or whatever it is). The daily rental goes up twice! I think it's 30% and then 50%. If you were to do a year on the daily rate it's about £150 whereas upfront is about £75. Little swines!

 

[rusty69bus]

hmm i think boc was tcx 47 inc refill / 50 rental year

 

[Chrissi]

The cost of the rental are Argon up front in full is £80.76 +VAT. If you are only using 1 or 2 cylinders per year then i would advise you to take this as the cheaper option.

if you have any questions please PM me and i'll try to get this resolved for you.

 

[zardoz]

Thats good of you i will let you know if i need anything. You work for Air Products ?

 

[Chrissi]

Thats good of you i will let you know if i need anything. You work for Air Products ?

Yes i do and willing to help

 

[Archie]

Excellent! I don't suppose you could explain how your employers justify charging me £12 for the pleasure of driving to my local depot to collect my bottle of gas?! I'd be much obliged!

 

[Chrissi]

This is a charge that cover the transportation cost of AP delivering the gas to the agent, the cost of the space used at the agent to store the cylinders and also pays the agent for doing the transaction

 

[Archie]

While I understand that those are all costs associated with AP's business I just wish the whole system was clearer. Maybe it's just me but I think the whole thing's like the British tax system; stealth charges all over the place and horribly complex. My bill is always scattered with things like 'pre-paid days', 'tier 1 charges', 'tier 2 charges', 'optima' payments etc, etc. While some of it makes perfect sense I cant see why it can't all be rolled into one thing just to make it simple.

And on another note my local distributor is a distributor no more because he says AP gives him so little it's not worth it. Of the £30 or so AP charge for delivery, he gets £6! My new distributor tells me he's considering giving up too. Apparently he could make more money filling the yard space taken up by bottles with something else. At this rate I'll be going to Solihull for gas!

Sorry, Chrissi. This is not some sort of personal attack. I appreciate you answering. It's just that your employers are not my best pals!!!

 

[Chrissi]

Archie, the person whom supplied your original rental agreement should have explained those charges in full to you at the time of signing. However for the purpose of clarity I'll try to explain them for you here.

Tier 1 rental applies for the first 90 days of rental of a cylinder, thereafter that cylinder, if still on site, attracts Tier 2 rental which is the Tier 1 rental charge plus 30% and this continues for the next 90 days at which time, again if the cylinder remains on site, then moves to Tier 3 rental which is Tier 2 rental plus 50%.

The primary reasoning behind this is to ensure the circulation of cylinders thought the network.

If the charges were made 'common' as you suggest we would then charge a flat fee throughout the year which would benefit some customers but disadvantage most others, a large proportion of our customers never reach tier 2 pricing and thus keep their rentals lower. It is for this reason that for low usage customers I always recommend the Optima Contract which is an annual rental contract that allows you to keep a cylinder on site for 1 year with a 15% saving.

In respect to the delivery charges Archie, by applying the charges in this way it allows us to be transparent in the pricing, you see the price of the gas and then simply add your chosen delivery/collection charge to that.

For obvious reasons I cannot be drawn on the payments made to agents in respect of their business with AP however suffice to say that you've not been given the whole picture and there is significantly more in it for the dealers than that.

As for my employers not being your best buddies at the moment then please do feel free to PM me (or email from my profile) with details of your concerns and I will do my best to help you.

 

[rusty69bus]

a very well written reply

 

[Archie]

Thank you, Chrissi. You've cleared everything up. In fact, I'm sure this info will be pretty useful to a lot of other members who, like me, suffer some confusion at the hands of bottle rental agreements! I'm sure, as you say, that there are two sides to every story. And as far as your employers are concerned, I'm not overly annoyed. It's just that nobody rang to tell me my local distributor was no longer so I wasted an hour in the car! A small annoyance! Thanks again.

 

[rusty69bus]

hey up archie, boc have a collection charge too if you dont all ready know. i got a letter from boc when their agent shut last time.

 

[rusty69bus]

chrissi hi, are you at work now? or being a very good employee ?

 

[Archie]

Yeah , rusty. I know. AP did apologise for not sending a letter. Apparently they normally do. Only reason I haven't moved to BOC (which is now closer) is because whenever I've rung up, AP have been really, really helpful. They've definitely got the customer service taped!

 

[Chrissi]

Still working trying to chatch up on quotes for customers

 

[busastars]

I just had a word with the wife as mine is on direct debit throught her account and mine has gone up to £14 without me knowing, not sure how long I have had the bottle, I went for a large 5 foot'ish bottle so I wouldent have to keep paying or refilling.

Will it stay at £14 now or will it go up again, if it does go up I may aswell tell them to stick it.