Motorists paying the price at the pumps

ILC ARTICLE

7th January 2022

UK drivers were overcharged by £5m a day in December and petrol retailers failed to pass on wholesale price cuts according to a BBC report.

Prices for unleaded petrol fell 2p a litre, but the RAC believes a 12p decrease would have been a fair reflection of the fall of wholesale prices. It has calculated that, as a result, retailers made 16p a litre instead of the normal 6p.

RAC spokesperson Simon Williams said, “December was a rotten month for drivers as they were taken advantage of by retailers.”

However, Gordon Balmer, executive director of the Petrol Retailers Association, said, “December’s pump price data is less reliable because it is taken from fuel card transactions, and there have been far fewer of these transactions because of the reduction in business activity between Christmas and New Year.

“The costs of running petrol stations rose all year, with electricity up 19%, vastly reduced margins from fuel cards, increased national insurance and wage inflation.”