Petrol ‘rip off’ adds £6 a tank: Drivers should be saving 11p a litre

Petrol retailers were accused yesterday of ripping drivers off as much as £6 for a tank of petrol and nearly £8 for diesel.

RAC analysis found that average pump prices at petrol stations should be 11 pence cheaper for petrol and 14 pence for diesel if retailers played fair with drivers.

The automotive group said that the sharp fall in wholesale fuel prices since mid-October had still not been fully passed on to the pump.

Taking into account a retail margin of 10 pence per liter – 3 pence more than the long-term average – the RAC calculated that average petrol prices should be about 140 pence per liter and diesel about 160 pence.

But despite the drop in forecourt prices, they were still much higher at the end of December averaging 151.06p and 173.97p respectively.

It means filling the typical 55-litre tank in a family car with petrol is about £6.05 more expensive than it should be, according to the automotive group’s analysis. For diesel it was £7.70.

RAC fuel expert Simon Williams said: ‘On the face of it, December looks like a good month for drivers, with 9p on top of the 6p in November.

“But there’s no question that the drop should have been much bigger, given how far wholesale prices have fallen.” Howard Cox, founder of the FairFuelUK campaign, said: ‘For years and years, a foul stench of sickening exploitation has hung around thousands of garage sites, despite falling wholesale and oil costs.

“We should see fuel prices across the country 10 pence to 20 pence a liter lower for diesel and petrol.” Company Secretary Grant Shapps wrote a letter to fuel retailers on Dec. 22, urging them to “ensure savings are passed on to consumers.”

It came amid fears that retailers were cashing in on the stellar Christmas outing by failing to pass on more of the savings resulting from the fall in wholesale fuel prices, which have been volatile throughout the year, largely due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Average pump prices hit a record average of 191.5 pence for unleaded petrol and 199.09 pence for diesel earlier this year in what was a tough year for motorists’ pockets.

But they were still higher at Christmas 2022 than they were in 2021, despite the big fall in the wholesale price of fuel, the RAC found.

A report last month from the competition watchdog found that retailers may be ripping off drivers with “rocket and feather” prices.

This is where they quickly pass on rising wholesale fuel costs and slowly pass on the savings as they fall.

According to the Competition and Markets Authority report, further investigation was needed to find out whether this increase was to blame for excessive pricing.

CMA analysts found that average retailer margins have increased by up to 4 pence per liter over the past five years.

The Mail has repeatedly highlighted how falling wholesale costs have led to striking price differentials at petrol stations across the country.

Gordon Balmer, head of the Petrol Retailers Association, which represents smaller independent filling stations, has denied that retailers were defrauding people.

He said they were forced to increase margins because of higher operating costs, such as skyrocketing electricity and staff bills.