With enforcement of the law behind Fuel Finder now live, the number of forecourts in breach of regulations could result in penalties of £3.53bn being issued by the government, analysis reveals.
Fuel retailers have had to share their prices with Fuel Finder since February this year, but for the first three months of the scheme’s operation the Competition and Markets Authority, which regulates the system, focussed on compliance with the rules rather than their enforcement.
That period has now come to an end, and with the CMA having the power to issue penalties of up to 30% of a firm’s annual UK turnover, the 1,613 petrol stations that are thought to be in breach of Fuel Finder regulations could attract fines worth over £3.5bn if the regulator were to fully flex its muscles.
Those 1,613 non-compliant sites are based on a combination of 647 of the UK’s 8,300 petrol stations currently not registered with Fuel Finder, and a further 913 forecourts likely to be in breach of regulations for not having updated the database with price changes in the last fortnight – a near economic impossibility given the current volatility of the wholesale market. A further 53 forecourts have yet to share a price despite being registered with the scheme.
While a huge proportion of a forecourt’s revenue will go straight to the Treasury via fuel duty, an analysis of over 1,800 sites run by five of the biggest fuel-retail firms in the UK indicates the average forecourt turns over £7.3m a year.
Taking that figure and multiplying it by 30% the CMA could fine the 1,613 sites likely to be in breach of the rules reveals the total exposure of the forecourt sector stands at an estimated £3.53bn worth of fines.
While the Competition and Markets Authority is unlikely to issue such penalties, and simple mistakes or omissions are more likely to result in a request to input or make corrections to Fuel Finder data, the £3.53bn figure demonstrates how much power lies behind Fuel Finder regulations.
Commenting on system, James Hitchman, operations director at PetrolPrices and MyAutomate said:
“It’s disappointing to see there are still sites missing from Fuel Finder, particularly given the length of time DESNZ and VE3 Global have had to engage the market. This isn’t a reflection on the many retailers who are complying in good faith, but it does create an uneven playing field for those doing the right thing. I hope the missing data does not undermine consumer confidence in what should be a valuable and trusted scheme.”
