A pump price lottery means some drivers pay 30p-a-litre more than others as “unchecked greed” sees widespread fleecing at the forecourts. And as families prepare to hit the roads for summer, experts warned of a scandal that will see some pay 172.9p per litre and others 147.9p.
Today the Daily Express demands an End to Fuel Pump Rip-Offs and asks you to name and shame those who use the UK’s 37 million drivers as a limitless cash machine.
Howard Cox, Founder of the FairFuelUK Campaign, said: “The average retail profit per litre for petrol is about 13p, and for diesel it is 15p. Worse still, most prominent, branded outlets are wallowing in twice these margins. This level of unchecked greed has been entrenched for the last four years.
“FairFuelUK and I wholeheartedly back the Daily Express’s latest campaign highlighting the continuing opportunistic profiteering at the pumps.” Campaigners argue there is no reason why hard-pressed drivers should be stung by what is among the highest pump prices in Europe. The cost of fuel has been rising with petrol now averaging 145.3p per litre and diesel 150.5p.
At the end of June prices stood at 144.5p and 149.6p respectively. Motorists have been walloped by forecourts imposing hikes due to higher wholesale charges. At motorway services a litre of petrol routinely costs between 168.9p-169.9p with those filling up on A-roads instead saving 14.5p-a-litre on average.
Analysis of key UK routes ahead of schools breaking up next week shows motorway prices regularly exceed the average UK forecourt charge by 20p or more. Only a handful are within 10p of the UK average.
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Research by The AA reveals at services along the M25 petrol is an eye-watering 170.4p per litre and diesel 176.4p, while on the M2, M20, M23, M4 and M40 it is 168.6 and 175.0.
On the North-South M1 it is 167.2 and 173.1, while on the M6 prices stand at 169.5 and 176.0 respectively. Mr Cox came up with the idea of a statutory scheme to force forecourts to divulge costs in real-time, calling it PumpWatch.
It should have been introduced at the Budget in November 2023, but eight months later all motorists have to rely on is a voluntary price transparency scheme operated by the Competition and Markets Authority.
But it fails to give motorists the full picture as only 14 retailers have signed up to allow access to fuel price data and the CMA does not validate the data. The CMA, Britain’s competition regulator set up to tackle unfair marketplace behaviour, was forced to act after it found drivers were being overcharged by supermarkets, often incorrectly believed to be where the cheapest fuel is sold.
On a percentage basis, supermarkets recorded margins of 4% in 2017, which increased to 7.6% in 2022 (the year the CMA carried out a market study) and 7.8% in 2023. For other retailers, margins were 6.4% in 2017, increasing to 7.3% in 2022 and 9.1% in 2023.
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Campaigners now want ministers to introduce a watchdog with real teeth and insist wholesale fuel costs do not justify fuel prices being charged. Luke Bosdet, fuel price expert for The AA, said: “The Daily Express campaign is not only spot on for the start of the summer holidays but zeros in on one of the road travellers’ biggest frustrations – what they call rip-off motorway fuel prices. “AA analysis of motorway pump prices shows just how massively more expensive they are, not only when compared to UK average petrol and diesel prices but also those on A-roads.
"This consistent price tag of 168.9p-169.9p per litre for petrol is incomprehensible, particularly when the UK average pump price is around 145p. “We implore the new Government to introduce the full PumpWatch scheme as soon as possible so that price transparency will not only direct drivers to the bargain fuel stations but pressure the expensive motorway forecourts to be more reasonable as drivers go elsewhere.”
Latest data shows the average price of petrol stands around 145.34p at forecourts and 167.06p at motorway service stations. Diesel is 150.60p and 173.43p respectively. Prices are governed by wholesale fuel prices - the price retailers pay - which is affected by the global price of crude oil.
That in turn is governed by supply and demand and oil refinery production and capacity. Other factors include the pound to dollar exchange rate, as refined fuel is sold in US dollars per metric tonne, distribution costs, and the margin (profit) fuel retailers decide to take.
But the hammer blow to motorists is fuel duty, charged at 52.95p a litre, while VAT on every forecourt transaction adds another 20%. PumpWatch was first proposed by grassroots campaign FairFuelUK whose aggressive lobbying has seen fuel duty frozen since 2011.
It would allow drivers to compare up-to-date pump prices in real time so they can hunt for the cheapest nearby. The idea was enthusiastically backed by the Tories but remains unimplemented and marked a victory for bikers, motorists, van drivers, cabbies, and truckers, after research showed they were routinely paying an extra 6p per litre because weak competition let big retailers bump up prices.
The scandal has seen drivers, already hammered by rising inflation and a cost of living crisis still looming over families, stung to the tune of almost ￡5 every time they fill up. Mr Cox said: “The serial exploitation of drivers should come to an end. PumpWatch will scrutinise the fuel supply chain’s real honesty at the pumps.” Former Roads Minister Sir Mike Penning said: “Motorists are seen as a cash cow and, frankly, it’s a disgrace.”
Rip off fuel charges come as drivers complain at being clobbered at every turn with hated congestion, ULEZ, and parking charges, the catastrophic state of the roads, next to no investment in new infrastructure, and the unfair treatment of those who own fossil fuelled vehicles adding to mounting costs.
The CMA said: “The temporary scheme provides recent pricing data, in a way that is open to third party developers. This is not the complete solution that we recommended in our market study.
“We recognise the interim scheme is limited and there will sometimes be a delay between the setting of prices, the publication of price data, and the prices being available in third-party apps. Customers should always check the price displayed at the forecourt before purchasing road fuel.”
？ Are you being fleeced at the forecourt? Send us pictures of how pricey petrol and diesel is where you live to giles.sheldrick@reachplc.com