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.

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.”

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.”