Fuel prices remain a rip-off, competition watchdog declares

In an update on its monitoring of the fuel market, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said the cost to all motorists from the previously identified increase in retail fuel margins since 2019 was over £1.6bn in 2023 alone.

The CMA also announced that it would give separate updates in the autumn on its work covering the cost of baby infant formula and supermarket loyalty schemes.

It added there was little evidence supermarkets' loyalty prices were misleading shoppers, as consumer groups have widely suggested.

Efforts to improve competition yet to have an impact

The regulator's fuel price study has resulted in action aimed at bolstering competition but it is yet to get up to speed.

The CMA said it was supportive of continuing efforts to secure a compulsory fuel price monitoring system to help consumers make informed choices at the pumps.

As the new government presses ahead on plans for Pumpwatch, the CMA said its temporary price data-sharing scheme was still only covering 40% of service stations.

It admitted it was not comprehensive enough to be utilised by map apps or sat-navs to bring accurate, live information to people.

The regulator's third monitoring report follows long-standing claims by motoring groups of fuel profiteering.

While supermarket chains used to use petrol and diesel as a means of attracting shoppers, that changed after the COVID pandemic when the retailers invested in the cost of household essentials instead as the cost of living crisis gathered pace.

Independent fuel retailers have long denied suggestions that prices are too high, insisting critics are taking no account of their own additional costs for things such as wages and electricity.

Sarah Cardell, the CMA's chief executive, said: "Last year we found that competition in the road fuel market was failing consumers, and published proposals that would revitalise competition amongst fuel retailers.

"One year on and drivers are still paying too much.

"We want to work with government to put in place our recommendation of a real-time fuel finder scheme to kick-start competition among retailers.

"This will put the power in the hands of drivers who can compare fuel prices wherever they are, sparking greater competition."

RAC head of policy Simon Williams said: "The report is, once again, confirmation of what we have known and been campaigning against for many years.

"Our analysis has long shown that even accounting for retailers' increased operating costs, margins on fuel are at extremely questionable levels."

-SKY NEWS