Forecourt operators are going to extreme lengths to prove that they are not ‘ripping off’ customers, with one this week starting a 5p per litre money-off promotion.
BP dealer Kanagaratnam Rajaseelan is running this six-week offer for locals only, every Thursday from March 26, at his 24-hour site on the A2, near the Whitfield Roundabout, six minutes from Dover in Kent.
Customers will need to show that they live within the CT14, CT16 and CT17 postcodes to qualify, in a move to support the forecourt’s community.
The initiative comes after the industry has been accused by government ministers of profiteering from the volatility of fuel prices since the Iranian conflict began.
On his Facebook post Rajaseelan, who also runs a hotel in the area, says: “Dover has always been a community that supports one another – and I believe businesses have a responsibility to give back in the same spirit.
“With fuel costs continuing to rise, I wanted to do something practical that could make a small difference to local residents who support our businesses every day.
“It’s a simple gesture, but one rooted in a bigger belief, that by supporting our community, we build a stronger future for Dover together.”
Inevitably the idea has gone down well with Rajaseelan’s social media followers. One said: “Good community effort. Super.”
And another added: “It’s a big gesture. Top man!”
Meanwhile, other fuel retailers have stopped selling petrol rather than be judged as too expensive as prices continue to rise.
According to today’s figures from the RAC, the average price of unleaded has now risen more than 14p a litre to 147.19p since the start of the Mddle East conflict, adding £8 to the cost of filling up a family car which currently stands at £81. Petrol was last this high in early June 2024.
A litre of diesel meanwhile is up 29p on average, it says, rising to 171.17p, its highest price since mid-January 2023. This means a tank of diesel now costs £94, £16 more than it did at the start of the conflict, says the breakdown recovery service operator.
The RAC predicts that there will be no let up any time soon: “As a barrel of oil has been trading well over $100 for the last three days and looks set to remain at that level, drivers are in for a rough ride at the pumps in the run-up to the Easter break with no end to price increases in sight,” it says.
”With the price of petrol likely to go above 150p a litre in the next week and diesel heading to 180p, it’s looking like it will be the most expensive Easter on the roads since the early days of the war in Ukraine in 2022.”
