Government calls for fuel forecourt price register
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By Hayley Pink
THE DEPARTMENT for Transport is urging fuel forecourts to pass on price cuts to customers when wholesale oil rates drop, insisting fuel retailers adopt a voluntary code of conduct or risk future government enforcement.
Transport secretary Justine Greening wants to set up a national price register, which would enable customers to find the cheapest forecourts before purchasing fuel.
She says: “[Fuel] prices go up instantly when wholesale prices rise, but when there is a reduction it can take weeks for cuts to be transferred to the pumps. “It is unacceptable to be penalised in this way and I want fuel retailers and supermarkets to make a commitment to play fair and pass on reductions in full.” The Road Haulage Association (RHA) has welcomed the move, and says it is particularly encouraged by Greening’s insistence that retailers take action as matter of “extreme urgency”; in days and weeks as opposed to months.
RHA chief executive Geoff Dunning says: “We have all seen pump prices shoot up when the wholesale price of oil is high, but the corresponding drop in price when the wholesale price reduces can be painfully slow and pump prices often fail to reach the preprice hike level.” He adds that the RHA will continue the fight to scrap the planned 3ppl increase in fuel duty on 1 August, but says this latest initiative will go a long way to “bringing some relief” to all road users.
Fuel retailing body RMI Petrol says Greening’s comments are “opportunistic” and deflect from the 3ppl rise in duty.
Jakes de Kock, marketing directing at The Fuelcard Company, says that while he welcomes greater transparency of fuel prices, hauliers should use fixed-price fuel cards that benefit from savings as soon as the oil price drops.