Petrol stations have been branded “outrageous” after overcharging motorists by £1.6bn last year.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) found that petrol stations’ fuel margins – the difference between what a retailer pays for its fuel and what price it sells it at – remain significantly above pre-pandemic levels.
The regulator said the price mark-up was particularly stark at supermarkets, whose fuel margins are roughly double what they were in 2019.
The CMA said the total cost to all drivers from the increase in fuel margins was £1.6bn in 2023 alone.
Simon Williams, of RAC, said: “To see that drivers have paid £1.6bn more than they should have in the last year is nothing short of outrageous, especially when so many are dependent on their vehicles.
“Drivers have every right to feel ripped off, especially knowing there is virtually no market competition between retailers.”
The CMA carried out a review of the road fuel market last year, which found that competition among petrol stations was failing to reduce costs for drivers.
It accused Asda, Morrisons, Tesco and Sainsbury’s of using motorists as “cash cows” after it found drivers were overcharged by £900m in 2022 alone.
The regulator has recommended the launch of a so-called “pumpwatch” scheme that would allow drivers to access real-time price data on mobile devices and through services such as Google Maps.
It said the scheme could save drivers up to £4.50 every time they fill up by making it easier to find cheaper fuel in their area.
The CMA is monitoring prices through a voluntary data-sharing scheme. However, only 40pc of forecourts have agreed to hand over price information – meaning the data are not comprehensive enough to be used by map apps or satellite navigation.
The Government has set out plans for the Digital Information and Smart Data Bill, which could provide the legislative basis to set up a comprehensive, compulsory scheme.
Legislation is likely to take time to come into force and the CMA urged ministers to introduce an enhanced interim voluntary scheme to crack down on overcharging.
The RAC also said it had written to Ed Miliband, the Energy Secretary, urging him to implement the CMA’s recommendations as quickly as possible.
2024-07-26T09:22:53Z dg43tfdfdgfd