Oil Heat Plan Free Of Interest

<a href=www.newsday.com>NewsDay.com Henry Gilgoff April 13, 2003

The major automakers don't have a lock on zero-percent financing. Petro, the nation's biggest home heating oil dealer, has sent an interest-free payment plan offer to many customers.

Petro says it seeks to accommodate any customers who found it difficult to cope with this winter's surge in oil prices. For customers not on a "budget" plan, to spread out payments through a heating season based on estimates of purchases, Petro offered "an interest-free payment plan." It could cover the current balance plus future deliveries this heating season.

Under the plan, explained in a letter last month, there were to be up to five equal monthly payments, from March through July. A modified version is still available, according to John Ryan, Petro's regional manager. Ryan said Petro has about 100,000 customers in New York City and Long Island. Of approximately 70,000 not on a budget plan, nearly 2,000 have signed up for the extended plan. The offer was included in a letter offering Petro's explanation of the heights prices reached during the heating season, citing "the coldest winter since 1994," an oil workers strike in Venezuela and uncertainty surrounding energy prices as war approached.

Kevin Rooney, chief executive of the Oil Heat Institute of Long Island, said dealers try to work with customers who report a hardship. "We're aware of the fact that people incurred greater expense than they might have normally," Rooney said.