Drivers are being told they can buy petrol for a penny a litre due to inaccurate data being shared by the government’s Fuel Finder scheme.
Forecourts have had to disclose their petrol and diesel prices with Fuel Finder since February 2, but a glitch with how data is recorded by the system is leading to misinformation being shared with motorists.
Thousands of firms have been reporting their prices to Fuel Finder since it went live, but while most are recording them in a pence-per-litre format (for example 131p), the system allows retailers to log prices in pound-per-litre (£1.31) as well.
A website found by Forecourt Trader tells visitors that they can buy petrol for just 1.3p a litre, and that its figures are “updated daily using official government data”. The website even provides a link to the government’s official page on how Fuel Finder works.
Rather than publish prices itself, the government is relying on third-party firms to ‘pull’ prices from Fuel Finder, before sharing these with consumers.
Firms doing this will use an Application Programming Interface, or API, a piece of software that enables two different IT systems to talk to one another. But the automated nature of APIs means if firms pulling prices don’t mitigate for the glitch, the software will read £1.31 a litre as 1.31p per litre.
Government documents shared with companies bidding for the contract to build Fuel Finder explicitly stated that the winning firm “will ensure that data is efficiently collected in the agreed formats, cleanse the data, validate the data, convert the data into agreed formats”, and only then “disseminate the data to Third Parties”.
Other issues with Fuel Finder we have been made aware of include:
- Over 1,000 forecourts have still yet to sign up to the scheme, despite being legally obligated to do so
- Of the 7,000 or so filling stations that have registered, over 1,000 are not sharing prices wirth Fuel Finder
- One retailer having an IT ‘ticket’ for a problem with the scheme open and unresolved for two weeks
- A conflict between timestamps accompanying price data is leading to live prices not being accurately recorded
- Individual forecourts having multiple unique identifying ‘nodes’
- Registration for the system opened two weeks late due to delays in “reliability testing”
Majority of forecourts “report some form of issue” with Fuel Finder
Gordon Balmer, executive director of the Petrol Retailers Association, told us that “the majority of our members report some form of issue with Fuel Finder”, adding:
“I have contacted the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) today to gain further understanding of when these issues will be resolved, and to request a high-level meeting with the department and their contractor, VE3 Global, to get the system stabilised, fit for purpose and in a reliable state that can be used by the motoring public.”
Forecourt Trader contacted DESNZ, which has oversight of the scheme, asking if it considered Fuel Finder to be fit for purpose, and when these issues would be resolved. The department did not address these questions, instead telling us:
“Around three‑quarters of petrol stations have already signed up and we encourage remaining retailers to register now to ensure compliance with this mandatory scheme.
“Fuel Finder will drive up competition and is set to see working families save around £40 a year at the pump, as we tackle the cost of living head-on.”
The Department added, though, that “as with any major new service, there can be some early teething issues for individual users, and we’re working closely with our data aggregator to iron these out quickly.”
Fuel Finder “operating as intended”, says VE3 Global
We highlighted Fuel Finder’s problems to the aggregator, VE3 Global, the firm that won the contract to build and run the scheme. A spokesperson told us:
“Fuel Finder prices are reported in pence per litre, and the submission interface clearly specifies the denomination. Where an abnormally low figure is entered, the system generates an automated warning and the submission is flagged for review.”
The firm said that the system ”is live and operating as intended, with strong uptake and active use across the UK fuel retail market”, adding:
“Today, over 7,000 forecourts operated by 1,185 motor fuel traders are registered with Fuel Finder, representing around 85% of qualifying sites.
“Of those registered, over three quarters are already submitting price data through the platform using the available submission channels. This level of adoption demonstrates that the system, registration process and reporting mechanisms are functioning as designed at national scale.
“VE3 is not aware of any technical issues preventing registration or price submission. Where individual operators have contacted the support team, the matters raised have related to user setup or input errors, such as address inaccuracies affecting correspondence, and all have been resolved through the established support process.
“All submission channels, including SMS and IVR telephone reporting, are operating correctly. As with any large-scale digital service, usability enhancements continue to be released as part of normal service operation to support ongoing onboarding.
“VE3 will continue to monitor feedback and work closely with stakeholders to support remaining sites, as adoption continues.”
