Petrol retailers ‘cut drivers out’ of fuel savings

PETROL retailers “pumped up” their own profit margins rather than pass savings to motorists during the Covid-19 crisis, a Which? magazine investigation has claimed.

A crash in demand for fuel during lockdown, and the consequent oversupply, took the price of unleaded petrol to a four-year low. However, the average retail margin jumped from about 10p a litre to nearly 18p at the end of March – an increase of around 80 per cent.

This means some sellers were still making savings which could have been passed on to consumers, so drivers were being overcharged, said Which?.

Harry Rose, the magazine’s editor, said: “While there may have been fair cause for some fuel sellers to increase margins to survive lockdown, there is no excuse for larger retailers to keep savings for themselves. For customers to be charged fairly … wholesale savings must be passed on.”

There are no established rules on the profit margins that retailers can apply and there is no independent fuel watchdog.

The AA said transparency is key to ensuring customers are not left out of pocket. It suggested the creation of a central database in which price changes are recorded.

However, Brian Madderson, chairman of the Petrol Retailers Association (PRA), said raising margins was essential to avoid financial ruin during the pandemic.

The PRA represents independent retailers, which account for 70 per cent of all

UK forecourts. It has said 100 had to close during lockdown as not even higher margins provided adequate returns. “Filling stations that did not operate on wider margins at this time would have had to close – and many would have closed forever,” Mr Madderson said.

“We support our members in doing what was needed to remain viable to protect their staff and provide continuing service to customers, including many NHS and other essential workers.”