Millions of drivers were overcharged fuel by up to £10-a-tank in lockdown
- Millions of drivers were overcharged by as much as £10 per tank of fuel
- Petrol prices fell off a cliff in April after US crude oil crashed into negative values
- But a probe found that larger filling station groups had saved millions
Millions of drivers were overcharged by as much as £10 per tank of fuel at the height of lockdown.
Although supermarket pump prices sank to a four-year low of 99p a litre in May, fuel giants still made a fortune.
Consumer champions Which? said they doubled profit margins by not passing on the full savings from plunging wholesale prices and charging 18p a litre more than they should have done.
The difference amounted to £10 for each top-up in an average car with a 55-litre fuel tank.
Millions of drivers were overcharged by as much as £10 per tank of fuel at the height of lockdown (Stock image)
Petrol prices fell off a cliff in April after US crude oil crashed into negative values for the first time ever thanks to the worldwide coronavirus lockdown.
But the AA warned that the drop was just 60 per cent of the saving that could be passed on. Smaller independent forecourts insist they had to increase their margins to survive with traffic reduced to levels last seen in the mid-1950s.
But the Which? probe found that larger filling station groups, with vast shares of the market, had saved millions in lockdown.
Motorway services also charged large premiums, blaming high operating costs.
In the first week of lockdown, petrol in Northern Ireland was up to 8p a litre cheaper than in south-east England and diesel up to 6p a litre cheaper. It comes two years after ex-transport secretary Chris Grayling vowed to get tough, admitting that millions of motorists were being ‘exploited’ by the lack of regulation.
Motoring groups said the findings exposed fuel pricing as a ‘wild west’ world and renewed calls for an independent monitor.
Harry Rose, editor of Which?, said: ‘While there may have been fair cause for some fuel sellers to increase retail margins in order to survive lockdown, there really is no excuse for some larger retailers to be keeping savings for themselves during the pandemic.
‘For customers to be charged fairly at the pumps wholesale savings must be passed on.’
Petrol prices fell off a cliff in April after US crude oil crashed into negative values for the first time ever thanks to the worldwide coronavirus lockdown (Stock image)
RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams said: ‘We badly need greater transparency in fuel retailing so that drivers pay a fair price for their petrol and diesel wherever they choose to fill up. When wholesale prices fall, savings should be passed on to drivers straight away.’
And Howard Cox, of pressure group FairFuelUK, added: ‘Lycra-clad Boris is happy to hand out a £2billion present to cyclists, yet steers away from monitoring the chronic fleecing of hard-pressed demonised motorists every time they fill up.’
Ministers have long promised action on fuel with little to show for it. Last year the Department for Transport advised motorists to get an app allowing them to compare local fuel prices. Nothing more has been announced since then.
The Petrol Retailers Association said yesterday: ‘The Covid-19 lockdown from late March saw fuel volumes across the UK drop instantly and dramatically. Reports of reductions up to 85 to 90 per cent against ‘normal’ levels were noted from smaller independents.
‘Filling stations that did not operate on wider margins at this time would have had to close – and many would have closed forever.
‘We support our members in doing what was needed to remain viable.’