Back in 2015, I brough a private members’ bill to try to secure fairer road fuel pricing. The problem I was trying to address was that of variable petrol and diesel prices not just across Wyre Forest, but between towns and rural areas, and on motorways.
I was not successful in getting my bill into law. But patience pays. This week, the Competition and Markets Authority – there to ensure fair practice – has ruled that petrol retailers are charging 5p more profit per litre than they were a year or two ago. They have exploited the volatility in energy prices to make more money out of hard-pressed households.
The government has responded positively, condemning the retailers and supporting the recommendations of the CMA. These boil down to a couple of interventions.
The first is a statutory open data scheme, whereby all road users will be able to see where the cheapest local fuel is. This, presumably, via a smart phone app. All retailers will be mandated to upload their prices.
The second is for a yet to be decided public body to continue to monitor the road fuel market, ensuring no further misdemeanours take place. After all, road fuel retailers wouldn’t be the first ones to figure out how to game a system.
Locally, the cheapest place to fill up your car is at the Chaddesley services. They’ve always been my benchmark of best pricing and most other local service stations are around 5p more expensive (but not all). There is no excuse other than profiteering. What was once a way for supermarkets to get customers into their shops, using fuel as a loss-leader, now they cynically over charge for fuel, often offering discounts for loyalty card holders.
The worse place, of course, to fill up is on a motorway. There is no excuse for this profiteering. Remote locations can at least claim the cost of delivery as a contributory factor, but that is not the case on the M5. With premiums as high 20p, this is a cynical attempt by retailers to assume you won’t try to find anything cheaper locally. If I really need to fill up, I put in £10 worth and push off for somewhere cheaper.
Now, the soon to be delivered app will be able to show exactly how much these retailers are really ripping you off – around £10 for a 50 litre fuel tank. Not any more.