Price caps introduced in attempt to stop rip-offs

With petrol prices highly volatile due to the Middle East conflict the Victorian government has stepped in to try and prevent consumers being ripped off at the pump. The government brought anti-price gouging laws into effect on Tuesday, demanding fuel retailers must set a daily cap on fuel prices and publish the price in advance. Under the scheme, retailers have until 2pm to set their fuel price for the following day, with the capped price published on Servo Saver app at 4pm. The price will apply for 24 hours from 6am the following day, and retailers can reduce the price during a 24-hour period, but cannot increase it. Petrol stations that fail to register or report their prices face fines of more than $3000 for each breach, or more than $24,000 if taken to court. Victorian Minister for Consumer Affairs Nick Staikos said the new 24-hour price cap will help motorists shop around for the best deal and put more downward pressure on prices. The ACCC this week also announced it will urgently meet with fuel market participants to seek more detailed explanations for recent pricing conduct during the current Middle Eastern crisis, amid consumer concerns about sudden petrol and diesel price spikes and distribution issues in regional and rural Australia. The ACCC will also commence weekly market updates to provide increased transparency to consumers and enhanced scrutiny of retailers’ behaviour. So how are Wangaratta retailers complying with the new laws? Six Wangaratta petrol retailers submitted their capped fuel prices on the Servo Saver app at 4pm for Thursday, 12 March, but it appears most price hikes are affecting diesel. On Wednesday, 11 March, Servo Saver recorded 199.5c/l and 227.5c/l for Unleaded 91 (U91) and Diesel (DSL) fuel types at APCO, respectively. Thursday’s fuel prices were capped at 209.9c/l (U91) and at 245.5c/l (DSL), and the most recent updated prices on the Servo Saver app identified no price jumps, remaining stagnant at 209.9c/l (U91) and 245.5c/l (DSL) on Thursday, 12 March. On Tone Road, EG Ampol recorded 219.9c/l (U91) and 238.9c/l (Premium Diesel), and their Thursday fuel prices were capped at 249.9c/l (U91) and 259.9c/l (Premium Diesel). Servo Saver recorded 219.9c/l (U91) and Premium Diesel jumped by 10 cents to 248.9c/l as of an 11.21am update. On Wednesday, prices for U91and Premium Diesel at Mobil Wangaratta were 199.5c/l and 233.9c/l, respectively. Their fuel prices were capped at 2.99c/l for both U91 and Premium Diesel. On Thursday, Servo Saver recorded a 12 cent jump to 211.5c/l (U91) and an 11.6 jump to 245.5c/l (Premium Diesel) as of a 9.06am update. On Greta Road, BP Wangaratta recorded 209.5c/l (U91) and 249.9c/l (PDSL) on Wednesday. Their capped prices for Thursday were 299.9c/l for all fuel types on offer. On Thursday, Servo Saver recorded 215.5c/l (U91) and a 0.4 reduction to 249.5c/l (PDSL) as of 9.06am. U91 and DSL prices at Ampol Foodary were 214.9c/l and 254.9c/l, respectively. Capped prices for Thursday were published as 222.9c/l and 264c/l. As of 11.15am the next day, 220.9c/l was recorded for U91 and 253.9c/l for DSL. Shell Reddy Express recorded 229.9c/l for U91 and 245.9c/l for Diesel on Wednesday, and their capped prices for the following day were set to 229.9c/l (U91) and 259.9c/l. Servo Saver recorded 209.9c/l (U91) and 257.9c/l (DSL) on Thursday as of 9.03am.

Price caps introduced in attempt to stop rip-offs

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