DCC Group is selling off its Boilerjuice website after criticism from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT).
The
Telegraph has reported that UK's biggest heating oil distributor, DCC Group, is likely to sell its
Boilerjuice.com information and price comparison site following the recent review by the OFT which found that DCC failed to be clear about its ownership of the website, and a different company, WCF Fuels, had also included customers' testimonials that 'could not be substantiated' on its
Fuelfighter.co.uk website.
Paul Ward, founder of Boilerjuice, who is buying back the website, confirmed the sale, speaking to the
Telegraph, he said: 'I'm confident the acquisition will cement our market-leading position and enable the brand to go from strength to strength as a truly independent and impartial website as it has always been.'
A spokesman for DCC said: 'Boilerjuice was, and remains, an independent price comparison website, comparing our prices and those of hundreds of independent suppliers to offer buyers the best prices in their area. Unfortunately, this independence was questioned by some quarters of the media, albeit incorrectly, because of our ownership of the site. We have therefore sold Boilerjuice to its managing director, Paul Ward, and wish him continued success at giving consumers a truly independent means of finding the best prices.'
The OFT is still conducting the review of the heating oil industry, which was sparked by a sudden rise in prices last winter, the consumer and competition authority is expected to give its verdict this month.
DCC Group has bought up a number of heating oil suppliers and it will control almost a third of the UK home heating oil market, if its latest acquisition of some assets from Total is approved by regulators.
