Drivers are being fleeced – ministers must bring in a regulator, campaigners say as retailers fail to pass on price cuts
MINISTERS must urgently bring in a regulator to stop drivers being “fleeced” at the pumps, campaigners say — as retailers continue to fail to pass on price cuts.
The average cost of a litre of petrol fell by just a penny in the last ten weeks — despite an 8p dive in wholesale costs.
But when wholesale prices jumped 3p in two days in July, retailers increased prices just a week later.
That led to a late summer surge which saw retailers increase the price from a low of 143.22p a litre on July 19 to a peak of 157.12p at the start of October.
That increased the cost of a tank of petrol by £7.65.
The proposed Pumpwatch system would help drivers find the cheapest petrol prices near them.
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Howard Cox, of FairFuelUk, said: “In July the Competition and Markets Authority endorsed FairFuelUK and The Sun’s Pumpwatch plan to stop the fleecing at the pumps.
But there’s still no sign of this vitally-needed pricing watchdog being in place, so oil companies, supermarkets and greedy wholesalers go unchecked.”
Meanwhile, the competition watchdog found that the big four supermarkets overcharged drivers by £900million in 2022.
The AA’s road fuel prices spokesman Luke Bosdet said: “The trade has been slower in passing on lower costs than it was hiking prices.”
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Independent retailers have seized the chance to undercut rivals by passing on pump savings faster.
Mr Bosdet added: “Drivers need to keep their eyes peeled for forecourts with the lower prices.”
Rising fury on potholes
DRIVERS’ anger over potholes is at an eight-year high, an RAC poll found.
Pitted roads are the biggest gripe for almost half of Britain’s motorists, it said — the highest level since research began in 2015.
Over a third of the 2,583 people polled said they had violently swerved to avoid a pothole in the past year.
The RAC said: “It’s wrong drivers who pay billions in tax have to put up with roads far from fit for purpose.”