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Tanker Drivers' Strike


RichardAllen

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you have that one absolutely spot on.

when people are sat in a queue for fuel over the next few days - and if the stike happens and fuel stocks run low - do you think average Joe is going to blame the govt or the truckers on strike?

thats right, they'll be yelling at truckers and Unite for being **/@ers - and dont forget the govt will make sure that the press reports on average truck driver wages in the run up and over the strike (i beleive avg hgv driver earns more than the average national wage, so instantly they will alienate 50% of hte population who earn less than them).

cameron et al may not be the brightest sparks in the world - but they are still canny political operators.

Nick

Your email link: **/@ers does not seem to work ! :P

Richard

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Bl**dy typical, I was blissfully unaware of this when I brimmed the Freelander at the weekend and it's got a full 5L jerry in the boot... and then the GF has stolen it becuase her Ibiza is making funny noises, so I'm driving the hateful thing this week, it's got fumes left in it and the panicky idiots round here have drained the pumps dry! Going to end up driving the 109 around at this rate as I think it's the only thing with any fuel left in it, that won't last long!

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I filled up with LPG last night - as I did so there was a gas tanker on the other side delivering more LPG :D

Spoke to the driver and he said the gas tanker drivers are not involved in the strike action so anyone on LPG will be fine (unless the stations run out so much of "normal" fuels that they decide to close anyway).

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Typical. Off on holiday tomorrow (for a uk hol for once) and the discopottamus is empty :-( . I think I might go and panic buy all the veggie oil in the supermarket, AND another thing, why can't people quie properly nowadays? I mean why the f&£{ do people wait right in the entrance? PICK A PUMP AND WAIT BEHIND IT. Ranting temporarily over.

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58.19p per litre. Yes, the 200 and 300 engines share the same fuel system.

http://customs.hmrc....cument#P36_1845

According to this you need a to apply for a licence.

I used to do this with vegetable oil before the 2500 litre tax free allowance. It was quite straightforward.

Following TheRecklessEngineer's link above, I propose to send the following letter in the morning, to:

Mineral Oil Reliefs Centre (MORC)

Building 4, BP4002

Benton Park View

Longbenton

Newcastle upon Tyne

NE98 1ZZ

Dear Sir,

Following the Prime Minister’s advice to make contingency plans in case of a tanker drivers’ strike, I wish to apply for a licence to use domestic heating oil in my Land Rover during any period of fuel unavailability.

I therefore include the following information as requested on your website:

  • where the oil is stored (if not at the address shown on your letter)
    - above home address


  • what uses you intend making of the oil
    – commuting and social/domestic travel


  • why you cannot use fully duty paid fuel and must use rebated heavy oil
    – fuel unavailable leading up to and during periods of strike action


  • what sort of rebated heavy oil you intend to use as fuel
    – domestic central heating oil


  • roughly how much you intend to use each year and when you will start
    – up to 100 litres per week of strike action, to start in the period before any strike to allow for fuel scarcity due to panic buying etc, annual usage will therefore depend on the frequency and length of strike action


  • whether you are likely to use any rebated heavy oil for purposes other than as fuel, and without payment of rebate
    - no


  • the price you are currently paying (including Excise duty) per litre of rebated heavy oil
    – 59.6p per litre +VAT

Regards

Richard Allen

What do you guys think of it ? Any chance of success ?

Richard

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Where I live in Zambia, we are really out in the sticks. Most months we have a shortage of fuel for a week or so, it just seems normal! I was still living in the Uk during the 2000 fuel tanker driver strike and look back at that with a small smile on m y face now.

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For those of you who can run on SVO or a mix of SVO & diesel, there is a shop on Teville Road Worthing near to worthing Station that sells veggie oil £20.99 for 20 litres! Sorry only saw it in passing, but it is a Turkish shop between Railway Approach and Oxford Road.

It is times like this I wish I still had my 300TDI! My TD5 would not like SVO!!! :(

Hope this is of interest to someone!! :i-m_so_happy:

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I filled up with LPG last night - as I did so there was a gas tanker on the other side delivering more LPG :D

Spoke to the driver and he said the gas tanker drivers are not involved in the strike action so anyone on LPG will be fine (unless the stations run out so much of "normal" fuels that they decide to close anyway).

There is a certain satisfaction from having LPG at the moment. I took a jerry can in to get some fuel for the chainsaw just so that I could feel part of something today though

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you have that one absolutely spot on.

when people are sat in a queue for fuel over the next few days - and if the stike happens and fuel stocks run low - do you think average Joe is going to blame the govt or the truckers on strike?

thats right, they'll be yelling at truckers and Unite for being **/@ers - and dont forget the govt will make sure that the press reports on average truck driver wages in the run up and over the strike (i beleive avg hgv driver earns more than the average national wage, so instantly they will alienate 50% of hte population who earn less than them).

cameron et al may not be the brightest sparks in the world - but they are still canny political operators.

thats not strictly true. its like any business, if you own it you dont make hardly any money. the costs of running your own truck(s) are just too high. unless you go big time i.e. Stobart etc.

if you drive for a company. it depends on the company obviously, but generally most of my wagon driver mates dont have a lot of money to boast about.

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We just get it so wrong in this country - (rant building up)

Had to get some fuel tonight so I could head off up the motorway to pick up some ebay tat I'd won - queue in to the petrol station was massive and getting bigger. Not only were people brimming their tanks rather than putting the normal 20 quid in, but extra plastic fuel cans were coming out of the boots of peoples cars, then the lady in front of me in a big pick up truck brimmed her tank, then pulled back a tarp to reveal an extra five large fuel barrels, which she then slowly filled. She must have taken about 300 litres.

Now all this is supposed to be in case of a drivers strike, when what we all SHOULD be doing is doing a full on self imposed travel ban or day of NOT buying fuel in protest at the ridiculous levels of duty on fuel, instead of giving the government a mahooosive tax windfall! Who says the minister got it wrong by saying we should stock up - he's probably just earned a bonus.

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OK, maybe I kid of missed the boat a little here but why are the pumps queued up and even when you get there all the diesel has gone? Is the world ending at the weekend?

Am I right in saying that there has been no strike yet? Am I also right in saying there will be no strike action (if at all) until they have had a meeting on Monday? So, if that is the case then there should be nothing happening right now, but instead these silly shortages are being caused by nothing more than some idiot member of parliament who told people to stock up.

I am a little angry because although I have a little left in the Disco tank, it is not enough to get to Newbury and back on Sunday, and I wanted to go to Newbury in it. But unless I can actually find somewhere with diesel and I don't have to wait 45 mins in a queue to get it then I won't bother.

Am I just unlucky to live in an area which has a high proportion of panicing masses, or will I find that my local station has loads tomorrow and its all been a bad dream?

And besides, even if there is a strike, isn't the army being trained to do this job so there shouldn't be a shortage? Don't get me wrong, I like a bit of anarchy on occasion and I kind of enjoyed the mayhem and the fallout when the 'proper' fuel shortage happend in 2000. It was a real 'stick it to the man' sort of thing and as I remember the cost of fuel came down straight after. I was stuck in the service station (ironically in Newbury) in a queue just trying to get some fuel to get home and people were getting angry, upset and it was a genuine reason for it as there was a strike.

This time, there isn't a strike (yet).

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They are all just being good citizens, their government requested that they should start panic buying and they are doing as instructed without question.

It is madness basically, if a strike is announced then 7 days notice needs to be given so any strike (if at all) is at least a week away.

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Lots of people have mentioned a windfall to the government because people are stocking up on fuel. How is it a windfall to the government? If they buy the fuel today then they won't buy it tomorrow so the most that happens is the government gets the tax early, people aren't going to drive more than they usually would, in fact people are more likely to try and conserve fuel so will drive less if they can which will mean the government get less tax overall.

Just my 2p worth (which by the way would only get me 13ml of diesel)

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The treasury must be over the moon with the extra revenue !!!!!

Paul

Coincidence-i don't think so they've got to find some way of giving that £1/2 million to the opposition in syria haven't they, And no people here where I live in Somerset were doing exactly the same too,Stop flapping people you'll get 7 days warning before it does happen-an unusual lack of common sense even for these fair isles

John

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Sales of unleaded up 172% and diesel 77%, which will even out over the next few weeks when people don't buy while they've got stocks, so sales will be 172% down again! They're doing it here aswell, exercisers, couldn't get fuel for the bike last night, not that I need it yet, but I'm off to Derbyshire and Lincoln soon, and as Kettle is still off the road i'll have to take the bike. I can't run that on veg oil, which I would with Kettle, and there's a maximum of 200 miles if I drive carefully in the tank, so I'll need to fill up several times!

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I've heard a few folk saying pumps are shut up here too... it is pretty annoying. Its funny as Mr Evens on Radio 2 this morning wa ssaying its not "our" fault becasue that idiot in government told us too... but come on, i remeber last time this ahappend, no body told "us" to stock up and there was the same panic buying just in the 7 days as apposed to the 14 days before like now... human nature I guess... well if my car runs out of fuel and I have to stay at home instead of going to work I will find that very hard indeed.... not.

Mav

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yep - overall duty wont change, its just the petrol stations will be really quiet next week :-)

personally i dont mind this 'panic buying' too much. In a kinda strange way its better than the alternative. Panic buying now when there is fuel still being delivered from the depots means everyone will be running about with full tanks and the petrol stations will be restocked and full also. Thats better than panic buying when the strike starts and no fuel is being delivered from the depots!

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I drove around this morning looking for Diesel to fill the van (which is empty, I was in the 110) for the trip to Newbury - and everywhere had sold out! I'll try again in the wee small hours tonight! I kind of wish I'd 'panic' filled it earlier in the week!

Si

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One of the (very) few advantages of being old enough to be retired! Mine you my other half still works full-time & needs her car so I filled it up (yes, it needed more than half a tank) without any problems this morning at a major site. If you buy outside the peak periods it does'nt seem any busier than normal around here except that some sites have run out of diesel, but both the RRC & car are petrol ...... As for panic buying - this is what the brits do best, every time the supermarket is going to be shut for just one day (ie Christmas/easter) you see people stocking up their trollies like there's no tomorrow, sad b......s - how would they cope with rationing?

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Mananged to get some from my local fuel station first thing this morning, so I am a little happier. Although I had to pay more than I ususally do (it is a local petrol station after all, not that that is an excuse for hiking up the price but that is a different rant) I am all set for Sunday.

But I just wish that people would maybe just sit back and look at what is happening and just realise how dumb we all look.

Never underestimate the stupidity of the masses.

Apparently a service station a colleague went to had a sign up saying 'We welcome lemmings!'

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