Our friends at FFUK have said the Petrol Retailers Association have confirmed they deliberately avoid lowering pump costs to reflect falling oil prices; a stark contrast to the rapid hikes in pump prices motorists see when oil prices increase.
This, said campaign co-founder Howard Cox, is a deliberate move on behalf of the association in order to protect their profits – they “do not have a choice” explained a statement from FFUK.
Petrol retailers face pressure, he explains, from the four largest supermarket chains significant hold on the fuel sales market, with the brands going straight to the oil companies and buying in bulk rather than buying at wholesale price, hence enabling them to flog fuel for less.
According to FFUK, around 150 independent filling stations close every year because of this “unfair playing field.”
But how does this affect the commercial side of things, you ask? Well, according to Cox, we’re all in the same boat.
“While some hauliers do buy in bulk, [and are therefore generally unaffected by fluctuating pump prices] these are the big hauliers,” he explained.
“There are still the smaller haulage companies who are using fuel cards and some who don’t use anything at all.”
“I’ve been told by the petrol retailers association that they deliberately do hold back from any falls on wholesale prices at the pumps to maximise their profit.
“There’s anger out there. There’s a crescendo of anger, and we’re leading it.”
And that impacts anyone, people using a fuel card – everyone.
Because the margins are moved around to actually compensate where they make money. People are so angry, because they just don’t know what’s happening.
Cox added that even fuel cards threaten fuel retailers’ profits: “They say they’re being ripped off. In every transaction they lose 2%, so they tell me.
"The whole point is that it brings more business to them, but they say it doesn’t happen that way.
“They think that the fuel card monopoly is causing them grief.”
He added: “So the whole thing’s a mess. And we’ve got to get to the bottom of this.
“There’s anger out there. There’s a crescendo of anger, and we’re leading it.”
Meanwhile, supermarkets have dropped petrol prices further, which the RAC welcomed as a positive development for motorists despite the PRA's struggle to keep up with the chains' monopoly on low-priced fuel.
RAC spokesman Rod Dennis said: “It is welcome news that all motorists and businesses are now benefiting from the plummeting price of oil. Brent Crude is now nearly 25% cheaper than it was two months ago, and is just half a dollar from being at its lowest price all year. This, combined with a relatively strong pound against the dollar, is a recipe for lower prices at the pumps – and that is something that is now benefiting drivers of petrol as well as diesel vehicles.
“The reason we’ve been slower to see unleaded price cuts is because the wholesale price of petrol – the price retailers buy the fuel for – has not fallen at the same rate diesel has. Diesel has been on a steady downward path since the start of May, driven by increased capacity from Asia, but the same cannot be said for petrol.