Profiteering fuel retailers have fleeced motorists by more than £1 billion this year, study finds
Greedy fuel retailers have robbed motorists of more than £1 billion this year, according to a new study.
Between January and April, diesel drivers spent an average of £57 more than they should have if petrol stations played fair, research from the House of Commons Library found.
It means motorists collectively paid £1.1bn more at the pump due to retailers’ profit motive, the analysis estimates.
This month, a damning report from the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) watchdog said that Asda, Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons collectively earned around £900 million by not passing on to consumers the falling wholesale costs of petrol and diesel.
But this figure, based on the four major supermarkets overcharging 6 pence per liter for fuel, was for 2022 and included only their filling stations.
Between January and April, diesel drivers spent an average of £57 more than they should have if petrol stations played fair, research from the House of Commons Library found
The new Commons Library survey covers all fuel retailers and is for the first four months of 2023, highlighting how fuel stations continue to make money.
As it only refers to diesel and not petrol, the real figure could be over £1.1 billion.
It is based on retailers increasing their margins by an average of 13 pence per liter on diesel, a figure confirmed by the CMA.
When this is multiplied by the number of liters of fuel sold nationally between January and April, for which the most recent period data is available, this equates to a windfall of £1.1bn.
The research was commissioned by the Liberal Democrats. The party’s transport spokesman, Wera Hobhouse, said: ‘Taking advantage during a cost-of-living crisis is totally unacceptable. People should not be abused at the fuel pump.
“The government should oblige shopkeepers to continue [wholesale] save as soon as possible and lower prices immediately. It is high time that there were fair and transparent fuel prices.’
Howard Cox, founder of the FairFuelUK campaign, added: ‘These figures probably barely scratch the surface of the opportunistic profit-seeking scheme of pump rip-offs that have been rife by the government for years.’
The AA’s fuel expert, Luke Bosdet, said: ‘The filling stations have been playing dirty with diesel for years.’
Ministers plan to introduce a new law that will force fuel retailers to make up-to-date pricing information available to third parties.
It is hoped that the ‘pump watch’ proposals will create more competition and lower pump prices overall.
Asda, Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons made around £900 million this month by not passing on to consumers falling wholesale costs of petrol and diesel, according to a damning report from the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) watchdog
New price comparison apps and websites for consumers are likely to be launched.
The government has also pledged to give new powers to a public organization to “monitor closely” pump prices and to “warn” ministers if further action is needed.
As it stands, the most well-known resource for gasoline price comparisons is the website PetrolPrices.com, which allows users to search within 20 miles.
However, it limits users to 20 searches per day and only shows the cheapest options, preventing motorists from calculating how much they could save. The prices are also not always shown in real time.
According to the RAC, the average cost of filling up with petrol in the UK was yesterday (THURSDAY) 143.42 pa liters and 144.51 pence for diesel.
This is less than a peak of 191.43p for petrol and 199.07p for diesel in July last year when the war in Ukraine and other factors caused a record rise in prices.
Although lower now, there is concern that motorists are still not getting the best deal from retailers.
RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams said: ‘The price of wholesale diesel was lower than petrol for three months from the end of March, but drivers at the pumps would have been none the wiser as retailers kept pump prices artificially high.
“There is no question that diesel drivers have been treated very badly at the country’s gas stations so far this year.”
He said the auto body believes that between January and April average retailer margins hit 25 pence a liter at some points as they were slow to pass wholesale savings to the pumps.