'No consistency' - Fuel prices vary by 9 pence per litre as oil prices hit £50 per barrel
FUEL prices have "no consistency" and do not follow any logic, with rates completely changing when oil rates hit £50 per barrel.
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New data from FairFuelUK shows retail petrol and diesel rates can vary by around nine pence per litre even if oil was at the same cost. He said road users have “absolutely no idea” what they could pay when topping up and warned customers were becoming victims of “greedy fuel supply chains”.
Just days ago oil prices hit £50 per barrel with retail petrol prices at 133.8 pence per litre.
Diesel costs were also high at 136.6 pence per litre despite wholesale costs being much lower.
However, the last time oil hit £50 per barrel was in March when retail costs a lot lower.
In early March, retail petrol prices stood at 124.3 pence per litre with diesel down at 127.2p.
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Oil prices also hit £50 per barrel before the pandemic in January 2020 with retail costs also at completely different rates.
Retail petrol prices were calculated at an average of 127.2 pence per litre with diesel prices around 132.7p.
Howard Cox, Founder of FairFuelUK said how fuel prices were calculated remains a “closely guarded secret”.
He has called for a new independent watchdog to assess prices across petrol stations and ensure “fairness”.
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He said: “When oil prices rise and fall, millions of drivers have absolutely no idea what subsequently, they will pay at the pumps each time they fill up their vehicles.
“It is never ever the same price!
“There is no consistency, logic or clarity to the way pump prices are calculated.
“It remains a closely guarded secret in the fuel supply chain.
“If gas, electricity, water and telecoms get price protection bodies, why shouldn’t motorists have one too?
“We need ‘PumpWatch’ now, to ensure pricing fairness for both consumers and hardworking fuel retailers too.
“Most of the profiteering is at wholesale level not by small independent retailers, who are also victims of the greedy fuel supply chain.”
FairFuelUK said prices were being kept “artificially high” at a time when customers needed all the help they could get.
They warned the fuel industry had a “moral duty” to pass over any possible savings to customers.
Robert Halfon, Vice-Chair of the Fair Fuel All-Party Parliamentary Group said a new body was the “only way” to ensure the system was fair.
He said: “PumpWatch is the only way to ensure that Motorists are not taken for a ride by greedy oil companies.
“It will bring the rocketing fuel rocketing prices back to earth. Drivers need a fair deal.”