Thursday, September 2, 2010
Are Tonbridge car drivers getting ripped off at the petrol station?...
The price of petrol has always been a real bugbear of mine. Maybe it's because, at heart, I'm a tight Yorkshireman (by parentage at least) but, ever since I've been old enough to drive, I've noticed the differences in prices from one petrol station to another, from one area to another. There never seems to be any logic to it. For example up in my home town area around North East Lincolnshire there are several major oil refineries on the Humber Bank nearby so you might therefore expect the price to be lower; actually it's usually significantly higher. Now according to a certain Gordon Hill who has been in contact with TonbridgeBlog it seems that Tonbridge is one of the worse hit towns when it comes to the price at your pump. Think about it: 5p difference per litre equals two quid every fill up. Some motorway service stations charge well over 10p more than the usual price. With petrol prices pushing £1.20 a litre that's no joke. Why do we put up with it? Because we're naive? because we have to? because it's more convenient not to go out of our way? Who knows but it could be time for Tonbridge motorists to make a stand....
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5 comments:
Yes, Tonbridge motorists make a stand leave the car at home and walk when you can.
Agree with anonymous!
Petrol does seem around 5p a litre dearer in this area, compared to say Hastings and the south coast. This is possibly due to a mis-concieved perception that this is an affluent area. There may well also be some sort of "gentleman's agreement" (price-fixing cartel,) between local petrol stations (Sainsbury's included).
Unfortunately, unless we regularly travel out of the area, we have little choice but to pay up.
YES - make a stand - walk!!!!
The main local retailers (Sainsbury and Shell) defend their high prices in Tonbridge compared with the same brands' lower prices elsewhere by saying they have a 'local pricing policy'. In other words, Sainsbury say they can charge 115.9p per gallon because that's what Shell charges and vice versa. With those two major retailers dominating fuel sales in Tonbridge, we consumers lose out unless we travel out of the area to get cheaper fuel, which has an environmental impact. Even affluent Sevenoaks has the same brands cheaper than Tonbridge.
Market forces or price fixing? You decide. To what extent within the law can retailers collude to keep prices high? The local Trading Standards Office say retailers can charge what they like.
Nothing will change and the people of Tonbridge will continue to be ripped off unless we start boycotting these exorbitantly priced local filling stations. It would only take a month-on-month drop in retail sales to trigger a local price war between Sainsbury and Shell in the Tonbridge area.
So come on Tonbridge – let’s show a bit of consumer power and vote with our feet! The website www.petrolprices.com shows ALL filling station prices. Use it and plan your journeys to avoid being mugged by the Tonbridge filling stations!
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