A HOUSEHOLDER is threatening legal action against a heating oil company which he says overcharged him by up to £2,000.

David Stanier claims Harrogate-based Northern Energy billed him around 20p a litre more than the UK average price on the day the company delivered kerosene to his home in Woodland, near Barnard Castle, County Durham.

The company denies any wrongdoing and insists it has never overcharged the customer - however, Mr Stanier, an oil and gas industry manager, says he feels cheated.

The 46-year-old, who works abroad, signed up to an automatic tank filling service offered by Northern Energy in 2011.

He said the service was billed as 'free' and included a five per cent discount, with staff explaining the company would top up the tank when it was convenient to them.

However, while the first delivery was comparable with national average prices, he claimed charges during 2014 were considerably higher.

Mr Stanier said he spotted the anomaly after checking his account on-line, adding that the company's receipts failed to include the unit price paid for oil, while statements did not indicate the amount delivered, meaning it was difficult to pinpoint exactly how much the family was paying per litre.

He said: "I've estimated that in 2014 I was overcharged by around £500. I presume there was a similar policy in 2011 to 2013, meaning it could be close to £2,000."

"I'm very angry and frustrated. I feel as if I have been cheated.

"I've asked for a refund but they're not prepared to admit that their prices are not fair and reasonable so I'm planning to take legal action."

Mr Stanier has taken his complaint to the Federation of Petroleum Suppliers, which agreed the company had not supplied adequate information on its documents and suggested he contacted trading standards.

In response, Northern Energy said Mr Stanier's bills had been accurately calculated and he had never been overcharged.

The company added: “There are many factors that affect the price of heating oil on a daily basis. Global supply, currency markets, events in oil-producing countries, seasonal demand, refinery production/pricing and the weather all have an impact.

“At Northern Energy we work hard to manage these changing conditions and are committed to providing competitive prices which give our customers excellent service, reliability, convenient delivery and added benefits."

The company said Mr Stanier received a pre-notification service which enabled customers to check the price per litre of oil with the company and cancel the delivery if required.

Northern Energy said it was already taking action to ensure the unit price of oil was on customer statements.