Normally fill up at our local ASDA and was aware that the price of unleaded was slowly creeping up to over £1.24 per litre with the local ESSO garage now charging £1.27.
However just coming back down the A1 when the low fuel light came on so decided to play safe and put some fuel in at Ferrybridge services. They are charging an eye watering £1.46 per litre, highest I have ever seen, no wonder the forecourt was deserted!
22p a litre difference between ASDA and services is a £1 a gallon! That’s a scandal? I guess, ASDA and other supermarkets selling petrol, get folk spending on goods too, which “possibly” offsets the price difference? Hope you didn’t fill it up to top?
Barrie
One of the excuses used is that it is more expensive to deliver to a motorway services…now who are they (service station companies) trying to kid. It is just extortion because they know most people travelling on the motorway are loath to make a detour on what is probably a long journey with the added problems associated with running out of petrol in the middle of nowhere. Apparently there was going to be some sort of government/quango investigation into this but as usual…
I’ve also noticed prices creeping (or maybe a bit faster than creeping) up and some huge price disparities too. I didn’t see anything quite as extreme as in the first post but, on a trip from Wales to Aberdeen, I saw differences there were close to it between fuelling places just a few mile apart.
However, I believe that the UK has one of the lowest petrol prices.
Before tax!
We have one of the highest (if not the highest) rates of fuel duty, and there’s 20% VAT too.
Let’s not forget that a huge chunk of what we pay at the pumps is tax. There is always pressure on fuel companies and retailers to lower prices but I rarely see people getting up in arms about the tax side of it. Personally, I don’t have a huge problem paying the people who explore for, extract and purify and prepare fuel, transport it and provide places to buy it. But when there is a massive tax on it just because “hurr duurr it’s fuel so we’ll treat it all special-like”, that’s when I start getting grumpy.
[Actually, my default is grumpy.
I’m just extra grumpy about some things.]
Running a Jag V8, I seem to be immune to it.
Yes, tax explains the overall high price but not the disparity between petrol stations in town and those at motorway services. It is a shame that Asda and Tesco don’t operate motorway services!
You’re absolutely right. Despite their “justifications”, we all know the high motorway price is because they can. They know people on a motorway run will pull off to a service station and fill up almost regardless of price. It’s convenient and most people won’t want to wander too far off the motorway to look for fuel at “normal” prices. I guess it’s an almost captive audience thing and I know I’ve paid for the convenience. I did, however, choose not to fill up at a place charging £1.37.something in N. Wales even though I was running pretty low at that point. The next place, while more expensive than Asda (etc) was quite a bit cheaper.
Of course, petrol prices in the North and West Coast areas of Scotland can be just as high as the motorway prices being quoted here. I also bet that the remoteness justification probably doesn’t really explain the full extent of the difference; but supply and demand, and a smaller population to make a noise about it, maybe does.
Just put enough in to get me safely back home.
What surprised me was that the next services down the A1 the Shell garage was only charging £1.38.
Could be that with Ferrybridge serving both the A1 and M62 they feel that they have a captive market and can charge these prices. Not having used motorway services since I retired didn’t realise that there was such a big difference in the prices. Next time I’ll fill up at ASDA or local ESSO before setting off.
Didn’t dare look at what they were charging for super unleaded.
In Lincolnshire, Norfolk & Cambridgeshire the price difference between local supermarkets and branded petrol seems to be increasing
Shell and BP have taken over some Gulf & Jet garages, then the price goes up
Shell and Esso used to be a little more expensive than the supermarkets but not anymore
For fuel or food on the motorway check out justoffjunction.co.uk
As the name suggests petrol stations and eating establishments within a short drive of motorway junctions. Looking through the site there are quite a few supermarket filling stations within a mile of junctions. Lists which ones are 24 hours and have toilets.
I know you can still buy proper petrol cans for carrying extra petrol, with you from your cheap petrol station, so fill up your tank and can and forget about filling up on route.
We have had years of cheap fuel but finally the worm is turning and with a vengeance.
Fuel prices have risen rapidly over the last 12 months or so and it is likely they will continue to do so.
My advice is to offset this by purchasing BP shares or similar. I bought these at the wrong time when fuel was on the way down but now well in profit. Offsets the increased petrol and LPG prices. LPG has risen from a low of 28p to 41.6p a litre, so a little more dramatic that overtaxed petrol and diesel.
Www.petrolprices.com get their app tells you the cheapest fuel in your area. Or the website tells you by the town/post-code.
Very useful indeed. Thank you.
I feel a price war looming…
that’s what usually happens then the price drops, hopefully.
I once asked the manager of an Asda filling station (it was just the filling station with a small shop attached, no massive supermarket) why their petrol is 3p cheaper than my superstore petrol station 11 miles away? It’s in the same county but I would say it’s more off the beaten track from say a motorway or main route. His reply was you live closer to a city so they tend to charge more for it at those sites.
I didn’t believe that reply to my question, it doesn’t go along with it costs more to deliver to some locations theory, I believe it could be, we have a captive audience going to the larger stores so we can stick a few pence on, they’ll pay it for convenience.
One way to offset rising fuel costs…if applicable, you have the time, and you are healthy enough…is to walk.
I think the UK has been sliding towards lazieness in unrequired short journeys for years.
Mind you, not long back from Oz, and they are unbelievably lazy. Neighbours of the folks I was staying with thought I was lunatic walking ( and I’m 66 next month) the mile & half odd every morning for tha day’s newspaper & light shopping. I said nowt…but it crosses my mind that they were the ones some of whom were morbidly obese.
Our cars ( since retired) stay in the lock ups unless there is a specific need.
We think nothing of using the 5’s for going somewhere specific & nice for the run’s sake though.
Tomorrow, the pair of us are walking around 4/5 miles round trip to a kitchen outlet.
I think the last time we filled our 5 was around 2 weeks back…maybe 3.
It’s the short trips that cost we 5 users the most in mpg.
SWMBOs 2002 Sport averaged circa 16mpg for 9 years on school commute as trip was exactly 2.7 miles there…in which case the ecu did not let enrichment go for around a mile & quarter.
Not easy to forget.
Best way to cut fuel costs is get your trainers on!
I walk quite a bit (I take my dog out for a 4-5 mile walk most evenings) but my nearest shop is about 4+ miles away and my work is 28 miles away. so, walking instead of taking the car to actually get somewhere is usually not an option.
Don’t forget next week is school holidays so the petrol company’s will cash in on people going on holiday and days out. I have been watching this over the last 5 years and true to form up go the prices.
I avoid Ferrybridge like the plague.
I once lifted the nozzle and the pump clocked up 10p before I’d even got the nozzle in the car.
Needless to say, I refused to pay it.
The BP garage 1 mile down the road at Darrington is cheaper, but this one is historically 4p a litre more expensive than my local 5 miles away.