Leader: Wanted: Roadmap to fair fuel pricing

n THE days before the financial crash, the banks used to do it. The power companies do it still. And now the oil companies have been caught doing it. For those who have not guessed the connection, we are referring, of course, to the practice of not passing on to customers changes that financially benefit providers of services.

Banks and other financial institutions were notorious for putting up mortgage interest as soon as base rates went up, but being tardy in reducing it when they fell. Consumer watchdogs and utility monitoring websites have shown that when the price of oil or gas goes up power bills soar but when it comes down, they remain higher for longer than they should.

Now the latest AA survey shows the same is happening at the pumps, with drivers in Scotland missing out on the benefits of a drop in the wholesale cost of fuel as motorists pay more at the petrol pump this month than last despite a 3p drop in wholesale costs of a litre of fuel for retailers. It is the kind of behaviour that makes powerless consumers angry. What to do?

Although we are reluctant to suggest more bureaucracy, one option might be for the UK government to threaten petrol companies with more regulation. The prospect of “Ofpet” might bring the retailers to their senses. The alternative, which the AA points to, is that greater competition between the supermarkets for customers might produce a cut in the forecourt prices and encourage other retailers to follow suit. The latter would be preferable.