An investigation into Fuel Finder compliance five months after the system went live has found hundreds of forecourts are still in breach of the rules, either by not being registered with the mandatory scheme or by not sharing prices.
Since February 2 forecourt operators have had to register with Fuel Finder and share any price changes within 30 minutes of them being made. Enforcement by the Competition and Markets Authority began on May 1 following a three-month grace period.
Research from Press Association has found, however, that around 570 sites have yet to share a single price with Fuel Finder, while a further 1,751 have not submitted a price change for over a week, with 96 not reporting any changes in over a month. Figures seen by Forecourt Trader, meanwhile, indicate over 300 of the UK’s circa 8,300 filling stations are still yet to register with the scheme.
A spokesman for breakdown firm the RAC claimed it is “not plausible that so many haven’t changed prices in a week, let alone a month”, though the Petrol Retailers Association said smaller, rural operators who receive monthly fuel deliveries may be among those not updating their prices regularly.
Retailers who fail to comply with Fuel Finder rules face maximum penalties of 30% of their annual turnover – though operators would have to go through several enforcement stages before the Competition and Markets Authority issued any fines.
The CMA says it “will take action when petrol stations fail to comply with the law”, and added that “the majority of petrol stations are now registered with the scheme”.
