According to a recent study, fuel retailers have taken advantage of motorists and swindled them out of over £1 billion this year. Between January and April, diesel drivers paid an average of £57 more than they should have if the forecourts were being fair, as reported by research from the House of Commons Library. This means that collectively, motorists have been forced to pay an estimated £1.1 billion extra at the pumps due to the tactics of profit-driven retailers.
A damning report by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) watchdog, released this month, revealed that Asda, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, and Morrisons made approximately £900 million by neglecting to pass on the reduced wholesale costs of petrol and diesel to consumers. However, this figure only pertained to the forecourts of these major supermarkets and was calculated for 2022.
The new research conducted by the Commons Library covers all fuel retailers and includes the first four months of 2023, further highlighting the continued exploitation by forecourts. Since it focuses solely on diesel and not petrol, the actual figure could even surpass £1.1 billion. The analysis is based on retailers increasing their profit margins by an average of an additional 13p per liter of diesel – a figure that aligns with the CMA’s findings. When multiplied by the volume of diesel sold nationally between January and April, the total amount reaches a staggering £1.1 billion.
The Liberal Democrats commissioned this research, and Wera Hobhouse, the party’s transport spokesman, expressed his outrage over profiteering during a cost-of-living crisis. He emphasized that people should not be taken advantage of at the fuel pump and called for government intervention to ensure fair and transparent fuel pricing. Howard Cox, the founder of the FairFuelUK campaign, added his voice to the chorus, stating that these figures likely just scratch the surface of the opportunistic profiteering that forecourts have been engaging in for years, with the government allowing it to continue.
Luke Bosdet, the fuel expert at the AA, commented that forecourts have been engaging in unethical practices with diesel for many years. To combat this, ministers are considering implementing a new law that would require fuel retailers to make real-time pricing information available to third parties. This proposal, called “pump watch,” aims to foster more competition and ultimately lower pump prices.
Furthermore, the government plans to grant new powers to a public organization to closely monitor pump prices and alert ministers if further intervention becomes necessary. Currently, the most well-known source for petrol price comparisons is the website PetrolPrices.com, which allows users to search within a 20-mile radius. However, it limits users to 20 searches per day and only displays the cheapest options, preventing motorists from accurately assessing potential savings. Additionally, prices are not always shown in real-time.
Although the average cost of filling up with petrol in the UK has decreased since last year’s peak, there are concerns that motorists are still not receiving the best deal from retailers. RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams noted that despite wholesale diesel prices being lower than petrol prices for three months starting in late March, retailers kept pump prices artificially high. He emphasized that diesel drivers have been mistreated at the nation’s forecourts this year, with average retailer margins reaching 25p per liter at certain points between January and April.
In conclusion, it is clear that fuel retailers have taken advantage of motorists, resulting in significant financial losses for consumers. The government’s proposed initiatives, such as “pump watch” and granting new powers to monitor pump prices, hope to create more transparency and competition in the market, ultimately benefiting consumers.
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