source : the age
A Perth woman has reported a local petrol station after they allegedly upped their price by thirty cents in the space of 20 minutes, as the consumer watchdog reveals it is fielding dozens of allegations about retailers ripping off customers over the skyrocketing fuel price.
Krystallea Taniora said she and her partner decided to fuel up both their cars about 5am on Monday to get ahead of the escalating price, which averaged out at $2.16 a litre at the end of last week.
She drove her car to the local station north of Perth and filled up for $2.39, and then drove home to collect her partner’s car and took it back to the station.
By the time she returned, the price has gone up to $2.69.
She said the price advertised on FuelWatch remained the same.
“I was pretty upset,” she said.
WA’s 24-hour rule means fuel retailers must notify FuelWatch of their prices by 2pm each day and then keep those prices fixed for 24 hours from 6am the following day.
Once submitted, these prices cannot be changed during that 24-hour period.
At the counter, Taniora said she was offered five cents off on the litre by the attendant when she tried to bring the discrepancy to her attention.
“I told her it wasn’t her fault, it was the company I was upset with,” she said.
The attendant eventually agreed to honour the FuelWatch price, but Taniora said she was left with a bad taste in her mouth.
She said in her work with vulnerable people across mental health spaces and in aged care, she had seen firsthand how the escalating cost of living had impacted people in her life.
“It might not seem like much but $20 is a lot of money for some people,” Taniora said.
“It could be the difference between them being able to get bread and milk that day or not.”
Taniora reported her experience to Consumer Protection and the ACCC, and said both agencies had been helpful when it came to lodging her complaints.
“It just isn’t right, these companies profiteering off this,” she said.
The retailer was contacted for comment.
Taniora’s complaint is just one of nearly a dozen Consumer Protection said it had already received, with a spokesperson confirming they had received 11 enquiries and 11 complaints about alleged discrepancies between retail fuel prices and the prices reported to FuelWatch or displayed on price boards since February 28.
The figures represent the last three weeks since the United States and Israel launched its offensive on Iran, torpedoing fuel prices as important trade routes shut down.
A Consumer Protection spokeswoman confirmed it had fined three retailers for breaches of the FuelWatch rules since February 28, and said some investigations were still ongoing into some other alleged breaches.
“More infringements could be issued,” she said.
“Due to privacy and confidentiality obligations, Consumer Protection is unable to reveal further details about these traders.”
A Geraldton trader last week was one of the first to publicly be fined by the agency for breaching FuelWatch standards.
The spokeswoman also said it had bolstered its workforce across WA to make sure retailers were doing the right thing.
“Since the start of the Middle East conflict, Consumer Protection’s compliance officers have significantly increased the number and frequency of their inspections of fuel outlets across the state to identify any pricing discrepancies,” she said.
“The regulations are in place to protect motorists from retailers raising prices once they have been lodged.”
The ACCC declined to comment.
It comes as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced a new taskforce on Thursday designed to coordinate fuel supply and security between federal, state and territory governments.
The Cook government followed suit by appointing Wheatbelt Development Commission chief executive Rob Cossart as fuel security state controller and establishing a state management team.
“Our new Fuel Security State Controller and State Management Team will ensure our public sector is laser focused on addressing fuel security challenges and working closely with the Commonwealth Government in the interests of WA,” Cook said.
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