What's live, what's indicative, and why you should always verify with the supplier
No price shown on PriceTank is a confirmed binding quote. Before placing any order, always contact the supplier directly to get a confirmed price for your specific postcode, volume, and delivery date.
There are four types of prices you'll see on this site. Understanding which type you're looking at helps you use the information correctly.
| Price type | What it is | How current | How to use it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Live price | A price for which PriceTank holds recent pricing evidence for that specific supplier | Refreshed through the day as new evidence is collected | A close indication of what that supplier is currently charging. Not a binding quotation, not a guarantee of availability, not a checkout price. Verify directly before ordering. |
| Indicative price | A price shown from a recent national benchmark because we do not hold that supplier's own current evidence | Only shown while the benchmark is less than a day old | An orientation only. Get a direct quote from the supplier. |
| National reference price | PriceTank's UK national reference for a standard 1,000 litre delivery, per litre, excluding VAT | Calculated daily from the pricing evidence we collect | A market benchmark and the basis of the market outlook. Not a supplier quote, not your local price, not a price you can buy at. |
| Reference / estimated price | An estimate based on the national average, used where we don't have a supplier's confirmed price | Derived from the latest average. Labelled "Ref." or "~" on the site | An orientation only. Do not use as the basis for ordering. Always get a direct quote from the supplier. |
Heating oil is one of the most localised commodity markets in the UK. Even if we show you an accurate national average, the price you're quoted may differ for several legitimate reasons:
Under the CMA's Price Transparency Guidance (published November 2025 under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024), price comparison websites must clearly indicate when prices shown are not confirmed quotes available to all consumers. We label all non-confirmed prices clearly as indicative, reference, or estimated.
This isn't just legal compliance. It's genuinely the honest thing to do. A number that looks precise but isn't actually what you'll pay does you a disservice. We'd rather show you an honest range and tell you to verify than give you a false sense of certainty.
The market outlook on the homepage gives a direction and a forecast range for one, three and six months ahead, a reading of how volatile the market currently is, a daily market brief, and a buy now or wait signal. The direction, ranges, volatility and signal are calculated from official price history and fixed rules. The commentary is automated: it is written by an artificial intelligence model from public market data and headlines, checked against fixed rules, and not reviewed by a person before it appears. The model does not set the direction, the ranges or the signal. Our How we forecast page explains all of this in detail.
A forecast range is the middle half of what happened after comparable periods in the past, applied to today's reference price. It is not a guaranteed high and low, not a statistical confidence interval and not a supplier quote. The outlook is national; it is not a prediction for your postcode or for any supplier.
Not financial advice. Prices can rise or fall. Not a guarantee of future prices. Events such as conflicts, supply disruptions and currency moves can and do override any pattern without warning. Decisions about when and how much oil to buy are entirely yours. We accept no liability for losses arising from purchasing decisions made in reliance on the outlook, the commentary or the signal.
Price alerts are triggered when our scraped national average price falls to or below your target threshold. This means:
Use PriceTank's reference price to understand the current market. Then click through to two or three suppliers, enter your exact postcode and required volume on their site, and compare their confirmed quotes. The confirmed quote you receive directly from a supplier is the only reliable basis for placing an order.
PriceTank is built on the principle that buyers deserve clear, honest information. We will always:
If you ever see something on this site that you believe is misleading or inaccurate, please tell us: hello@pricetank.co.uk