Motorists being 'ripped off' at pumps, data suggests
Motorists are being 'ripped off at the pumps' as retailers cash in, figures suggest.
Fuel profit margins at supermarket forecourts ranged from 8 per cent to 9.1 per cent in the quarter to the end of June, and from 9.9 per cent to 10.6 per cent at other retailers.
That compares with 4 per cent back in 2017, the analysis by the Competition and Markets Authority showed.
Its senior director of markets, Dan Turnbull, said: 'What's deeply concerning is that fuel margins – a key indicator of retailer profit – remain far above historic levels.'
And the AA's Luke Bosdet said: 'UK consumers will be incensed by confirmation of what they suspected – that they continue to be ripped off.'
The price of a litre of petrol rose 1.9p to 133.9p in the three months to August 31.
Paying a premium: Motorists are being 'ripped off at the pumps' as retailers cash in
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The RAC's head of policy Simon Williams said 'it’s very concerning' that the watchdog has again concluded that fuel margins remain historically high.
'Unfortunately, the CMA’s ongoing scrutiny appears so far to have had little effect on changing retailer behaviour,' he said.
'Hope of seeing more competitive prices on the nation’s forecourts now rests on the Government’s Fuel Finder scheme delivering when it comes into operation at the end of the year.
'If retailers being mandated to report their prices daily doesn’t lead to greater competition in the market, then further questions will need to be asked.'
Gordon Balmer, executive director of the Petrol Retailers Association (PRA) representing independent and supermarket forecourts, blasted the CMA's report as 'incomplete', saying it continues to benchmark current fuel margins against eight-year-old data.
'PRA continues to reinforce that operating costs for fuel retailers have increased substantially during this period,' he said.
'Rising costs of borrowing, increased labour costs due to successive national minimum wage hikes, higher business rates, increased employer National Insurance contributions, soaring energy bills and escalating crime levels all contribute to the financial pressures facing forecourt operators.
'These are crucial factors when assessing fuel pricing.'
The RAC's Williams says the CMA’s first annual road fuel monitoring report - due to be published at the end of the year - will look into retailer operating costs to measure the impact on margins and see if businesses are pocketing more profit from the nation's hard-up motorists.
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