Drivers miss out on cheaper fuel as many stations fail to report live prices
Car changing is a big deal
Many drivers could be missing out on cheaper fuel as hundreds of petrol stations fail to report live prices to a new comparison system, a new investigation has found.
You could be missing out on cheaper fuel after an investigation found hundreds of petrol stations are failing to report live price changes to a new fuel finder designed to help motorists save money.
Around 570 sites have not shared any fuel prices to the government-backed scheme Fuel Finder, despite this being mandatory for more than five months, according to an analysis by news agency Press Association (PA).
The PA investigation found that of the sites that have provided data, 1,751 last submitted a petrol price change more than a week ago, while 96 have not supplied an update for at least a month.
Simon Williams of the RAC said it’s “not plausible that so many haven’t changed prices in a week, let alone a month”, adding that “most retailers receive new fuel supply at least once a week”.
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Prime Minister Keir Starmer previously hailed the scheme for “forcing petrol stations to publish their live prices”, making it easier to “choose the lowest prices”.
Williams added: “Fuel Finder was introduced to help stop drivers paying over the odds when they fill up, so these findings are very concerning. It’s vital that all retailers follow the rules by recording price changes within half an hour.”
Of the 7,765 open forecourts for which data is available, 2,229 are supermarket filling stations, 410 of which had not uploaded a price change in at least a week.
The analysis also found that some 226 forecourts registered on Fuel Finder have either not submitted data or are listed as being temporarily closed.
When the Fuel Finder scheme launched on 2 February, ministers expected it to save households who own a car an average of £40 a year by increasing competition between retailers. They hoped this would lead to lower prices.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has the power to take enforcement action against retailers not meeting the requirements of Fuel Finder.
A CMA spokesperson said the regulator will “take action” when petrol stations fail to comply with the law.
Fuel Finder was created on the back of advice from the CMA in July 2023 after it found competition among retailers had weakened since 2019. Drivers also paid nearly £1bn more for fuel at supermarkets during the previous year due to increased margins.
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