I don’t know what the RAC is on, frankly.
The RAC has blasted the ‘big four’ supermarkets for failing to slash the price of fuel last month, which has helped keep pump prices higher than they should be.
It said the average price of petrol and diesel fell by 6p-a-litre in November – but reductions at the country’s forecourts should have been at least twice that.
With the wholesale price of both fuel falling, petrol and diesel should have been 14p and 15p-a-litre lower than what they currently cost.
It may well vary across the country, but down here supermarket fuel is up to 10p a litre lower than the average forecourt. When collecting and returning students from Radstock, I used to fill up on the way back, just around from the unit. These days, I fill up in Bristol. All the supermarkets are less than £1.60 a litre. I filled up the Scram today at Sainsburys for £1.55. In Radstock the independents are in the region of £1.69. Even in Bristol, the supermarkets are around 5p cheaper than the independents.
Of course, if we weren’t being ripped off by fuel taxes, it would be not only a damned sight cheaper, but where it should be.
Consequently, it believes retailers are now collectively enjoying margins of more than 20p on each litre pumped into vehicles – a figure the RAC says drivers will ‘find truly shocking as they struggle to put fuel in their cars to go about their daily lives’.
Ah, now, that doesn’t surprise me. Prices always climb sharply but fail to fall back as quickly. However, this isn’t confined to the supermarkets. The whole industry is at it.
‘We strongly urge every driver not to automatically assume their local supermarket is the cheapest place to fill up and shop around for the best priced fuel.
Actually, I have and they are, by a significant margin.
Get a Costco membership if you can.
Filled up the other week, compared to the Asda
£0.20 /l cheaper for diesel
£0.15 /l cheaper for petrol
Saves a lot. Queues for fuel are pretty long though if you time it wrong.
Unfortunately, the nearest one is miles out of the way. It would add an hour or so to my day just getting there and back. Also, given the increased mileage, I’m not sure it would be a benefit.
Where I am the local Tesco station is more expensive than the oil companies’ branded outlets by more than 2p, so the RAC has a point.
As I said, it may well vary across the country. The difference between bulk and retail is a valid one, but singling out the supermarkets is absurd as it is an industry wide issue.
I reported a breakdown to the RAC in March and had to do it online, as their phone service was still shut down due to COVID.
It’s a bloody good job I had internet access
The RAC are in no position to be judging other businesses
In Swindon the independents are are a penny a litre cheaper than the supermarkets. However there is one independent in Wantage selling at 1.49 a litre. If he can do it why not all
I drive a diseasal… so its only a penny a litre difference between supermarkets and Shell/Esso etc for me.
It does get up my nose that East Swindon is more expensive than West Swindon for fuel. I cannot quite get my head around that one.
Here in East Yorkshire we have a filling station attached to a Spar convenience store that has even been on the national news for being the cheapest fuel in the country. The prices fluctuate and so some of the time Asda is cheaper, you just need to keep an eye on the prices. They should be made to have a big sign up with the current price on so that people can check. The RAC would be better pointing out how much of the price is VAT and fuel duty and the fact that most of what you pay is sucked into the insatiable gaping maw of the government’s coffers.
£1.46.99 at a Jet in Peterborough – getting back to normal prices.
Until Jeremy *unt’s new tax hits next spring.
My local Morrisons is selling petrol for 147.7. It’s about the cheapest I’ve seen from all the petrol stations where I live.
My local Morrisons is usually 2 p/litre cheaper than the nearby Shell, but Shell is inconvenient to the A303, Morrisons is close. Of course, there are no other filling statins for several miles. It’s better to head to Yeovil with ASDA, Morrisons, Tesco and the majors.
One of the problems in the UK seems to be “Let’s charge what we can get away with”….