Pure greed – Shameless retailers sting drivers with price rise at pump

Greedy fuel suppliers sparked fresh outrage last night as millions of motorists continue to be penalised by rising pump prices while wholesale fuel costs plummet.

Analysis by UK motoring organisation RAC shows the price of petrol rose in June for the first time in eight months as drivers were denied discounts pocketed by traders.

Campaigners said fleecing on forecourts is now so common drivers are simply “serially exploited cash cows”.

Unleaded increased by nearly 1p in June while diesel came down by 1.2p. The RAC says shameless retailers are making a margin of around 12p a litre on petrol and 13p on diesel.

The data, which promoted universal condemnation, comes ahead of the imminent launch of a new nationwide scheme to monitor pump prices.

Howard Cox, founder of grassroots campaign group FairFuelUK, said: “Here is a perfect example of why this pricing regulatory watchdog is so needed and overdue.

“Drivers have been treated as pariahs and easy cash cows without recognising they contribute to a successful economy and so excessively to oil company profits.” The RAC, founded in 1897, has also launched an app to monitor prices in a further attempt to help hard-pressed motorists taxed at every turn.

The average price of petrol is now £143.9p per litre and diesel £145.4p per litre, meaning it costs around £80 to fill up an average-sized family car.

RAC spokesman Simon Williams said: “June marked the end of the price of petrol falling at the pumps, purely because retailers are taking more margin per litre than they used to. Looking at the wholesale price of both petrol and diesel which is almost identical, average forecourt prices should be 5p lower for petrol and 6p for diesel.”

This means diesel drivers who fill up once a week could save up to £172 a year, while those with petrol cars could benefit by £143.

Nationwide research into the pump price lottery comes after the Competition and Markets Authority revealed supermarkets upped their margins while flogging fuel – hitting household budgets already slashed to the bone during the ongoing cost of living crisis.

The CMA said drivers were £900 out of pocket last year as a result of supermarkets inflating margins by around 6p a litre. It said weak competition let big retailers charge more.

While prices have fallen dramatically since the record highs of summer 2022, data reveals the big four supermarkets,which together dominate UK fuel retailing, were slow to pass on reductions in wholesale costs, particularly for diesel.

The RAC warned drivers not to automatically assume the biggest retailers are the cheapest place to fill up as forecourt prices vary significantly between supermarket and location.

In March – when the Mini-Budget was held – the wholesale price of petrol increased by four percent, yet pump prices went up nine percent.

Meanwhile, wholesale profit in pence per litre climbed 69 per cent. PumpWatch – an idea first proposed by FairFuelUK, whose lobbying has seen fuel duty frozen since 2011 – will allow drivers to compare up-to-date pump prices in real time so they can hunt for the cheapest nearby.

Its introduction is backed by the Government. Mr Cox, also Reform UK’s London Mayoral candidate, said: “I am delighted my PumpWatch plan is at last to be adopted by the Government. Once in place the serial exploitation of drivers should come to an end.

“Any party willing to cut fuel duty, and stop the industrial levels of fleecing of drivers, will pick up millions of votes. But first let PumpWatch do its job and scrutinise the fuel supply chain’s real honesty at the pumps.”

Richard Smith, managing director of the Road Haulage Association, said: “A proposed new fuel finder scheme could offer more transparency and increase competition if drivers have access to live, station-by-station fuel prices on their devices or sat navs.”

FairFuelUK also said drivers were being clobbered by congestion charges, Ultra Low Emission Zone charges, rising parking costs, a lack of roads investment, and the unfair treatment of those who own fossil-fuelled vehicles.

It warned huge profits were being made by wholesalers and oil companies, not small independent garage owners who are “seemingly being held to ransom by the faceless fuel supply chain businesses”.