PUMP WAR
How Morrisons, Sainsbury’s and Tesco are ‘cheating’ drivers out of cheaper fuel prices
Motorists are paying 3p a litre more than they should for petrol as Morrisons, Sainsbury's and Tesco fail to pass on savings, the RAC has said
MOTORISTS are paying 3p a litre more than they should for petrol as Morrisons, Sainsbury's and Tesco fail to pass on savings, the RAC has said.
The motoring group has accused the three supermarkets of failing to compete as closely on the price of unleaded as they usually do.
3
It says this lack of competition has pushed average prices up by 3p a litre as a "ripple effect" means smaller independent retailers are also overcharging drivers.
But the price difference compared to rival supermarket Asda is even larger. Here, the RAC says Morrisons, Sainsbury's and Tesco are charging drivers by 4p a litre.
A litre of unleaded costs an average of 117.23p at the four biggest supermarkets, while diesel costs 126.76p.
But the average price at an Asda forecourt is 114.7p a litre for petrol and 125.53p for diesel.
3
Ways to cut down on your fuel costs
HERE are some tips on how you can slash the cost of fuel
- Make your car more fuel-efficient. You can do this by keeping your tyres inflated, taking the roof rack off, emptying your car of clutter and turning off your air con when driving at lower speeds.
- Find the cheapest fuel prices. PetrolPrices.com and Confused.com allows you to search prices of UK petrol stations. All you need to do is enter in your postcode and tell it how far you want to travel (up to 20 miles).
- Drive more efficiently. Some ways to do this, include:
- Accelerate gradually without over-revving
- Always drive on the highest possible gear
- If you can, allow your car to slow down naturally as your brake is a money burner
- Re-starting your car is expensive, if you can keep moving
The RAC says part of the problem is that supermarkets have failed to pass on lower wholesale costs - the price of oil crashed by 14.5 per cent from $60.31 at the start of December to $51.52 at the end of the month.
Simon Williams, RAC fuel spokesperson, said: "Normally, the other three supermarkets are 1p to 1.5p more expensive on unleaded.
"But our data shows that since October they have abandoned this strategy in favour of pricing 2.5p to 4p higher for a litre of petrol.
"The decision by all supermarkets to take more profit on a litre has led to every driver having to pay more to fill up than they should have to.
"This is because the UK average is negatively affected as other retailers are not being forced through competition to lower their prices.
"Drivers could be paying around 3p a litre more for their fuel simply because of a retail pricing decision at three supermarkets which together sell a high volume of fuel."
3
The RAC warns that higher prices could continue into the new year.
Mr Williams said: "This is a highly unusual situation, the likes of which we haven’t seen before.
"If this new pricing behaviour continues into 2019 this could spell a bleaker year for drivers at the pumps no matter what happens to the price of wholesale fuel."
The Sun has contacted Morrisons, Sainsbury's and Tesco and we'll update this story if we get a response.
At the end of December it cost on average £66.51 to fill up a 55-litre family car with unleaded and £71.51 for the equivalent diesel vehicle.
Average unleaded prices currently stand at 120.7p a litre, according to petrol comparison website PetrolPrices.com, while diesel stands at 130p.
RAC Fuel Watch data shows that the price of unleaded should come down in the next fortnight by more than 8p a litre to 113p a litre and diesel by 10p a litre to 120p if retailers pass on savings.
More on money
Today's news comes as furious MPs have this week called for a fuel price watchdog to stop oil giants ripping off Brits.
Asda, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, and Tesco engaged in a price war at the end of last year, with the supermarkets all lowering prices on more than one occasion.
But in better news for drivers, The Sun has helped motorists save £24BILLION over nine years by championing a fuel duty price freeze.
Taxi driver leaps from cab as it’s consumed by fireball after drunk passengers douse it with petrol and torch it
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online Money team? Email us at [email protected] or call 0207 78 24516. Don't forget to join the for the latest bargains and money-saving advice.
Topics