The Competition and Markets Authority has opened formal investigations into almost 300 forecourts over potential breaches of Fuel Finder regulations since it began enforcing the scheme.
From February 2 this year forecourt operators have had to share prices with the government’s Fuel Finder system within 30 minutes of any changes being made. The CMA began enforcing the scheme on May 1, having given forecourts three months’ grace to register with and begin using the mandatory scheme.
Responding to a Freedom of Information request from Forecourt Trader, the CMA shared that it began its enforcement role by sending 1,166 letters to fuel retailers alerting them to their obligation to comply with Fuel Finder rules, with most (1,140) letters being issued in April.
Since then, the regulator has begun formal investigations into 288 ‘motor fuel traders’, opening cases against 41 sites in May, 122 in June, 108 in July and 17 in the first two weeks of August, saying it “reasonably believes” the forecourts in question have breached Fuel Finder rules.
Some 53 forecourts have also sent ‘compliance notices’ requiring them to abide by the rules or face potential fines, which can run to 30% of a company’s turnover.
The CMA adds that while it has not yet issued any fines or ‘notices of intent’ – a warning that a penalty is set to be issued – it “reserves the right to take further action” should retailers fail to adhere to the requirements set out in compliance notices.
Most of the CMA’s investigations are believed to relate to sites that have failed to register with Fuel Finder, despite having been required to do so since February. The latest dataset indicates 8,095 forecourts have signed up to the scheme, leaving roughly 200 unregistered sites.
The watchdog says it has also “considered” a total of 1,492 forecourts for investigation, equivalent to around 18% of the sector’s 8,300 or so filling stations.
