Petrol and home-heating oil prices have fallen, but the gullible consumer can still spend far more than the canny shopper. A random survey of petrol stations last Thursday shows you can pay up to £4 extra to fill your car tank if you don't shop around. In homeheating oil, the difference can be up to £50 for a typical fill.
The editor of Consumer Choice, Mr Kieran Doherty, is urging motorists to compare prices before they fill up. "The fact that there is such a wide variation in prices is outrageous. Somebody is making a lot of money from gullible consumers. Don't be taken in by loyalty schemes or cards. Buy petrol at the best price," he said.
You should be able to see this price from the road before you pull in. The Retail Prices (Diesel and Petrol) Display Order, 1997, provides that anyone selling petrol or diesel must have a notice displaying the prices. This notice must be "legible and visible from the side of the road and a number appearing to the left of a decimal point shall be not less than 20cm in height."
While you don't generally call in to your home-heating oil supplier, it's worth ringing around. A spokeswoman for the European Consumer Centre said it had received a number of calls from consumers complaining about the increases in the price of heating oil.
There is no price control, she said, so retailers can charge what they think the market will pay. Consumers can protect themselves by phoning around. "If you usually get oil from the one supplier, you should make a few calls and check other prices before you order," she said.
When the Office of Consumer Affairs did a survey of motorfuel costs last August it found a substantial difference between the highest and lowest prices charged.
The Director of Consumer Affairs, Ms Carmel Foley, said: "In the case of petrol, the greatest difference was 10 per cent while in the case of diesel it was almost 16 per cent. Motorists will have a good idea how much they spend on fuel and what difference a few pence per litre saving would achieve on a 50-litre tank."
If motorists frequented the stations with the lowest prices, this would be an incentive to other stations to become more competitive. "The key to cheaper motoring is to think in price per litre and support the best value outlets," Ms Foley said.
Like heating oil, petrol prices are not regulated. A number of factors influence the final price paid at the pumps. Among these are the price of crude oil, the strength of the dollar, VAT, duty and the various mark-ups by wholesalers and retailers. In the past month wholesalers have announced a series of price cuts.
Local competition is the most important determinant of prices, according to the public relations manager with Statoil, Ms Martina Byrne. However, the Consumer Affairs survey found prices within areas varied considerably; with, for instance, a 10 per cent difference in prices for unleaded petrol in Mullingar, a 9 per cent difference in Carlow town, and a 9 per cent difference in Portlaoise.
The price of crude oil has fluctuated wildly over the past two years, starting 1999 at $11 per barrel. By the end of the year it was $25. During 2000 it rose to $35 and is now back to about $22 per barrel.
The recent decreases in oil prices, the reduction in duty and the 1 per cent reduction in VAT from January 1st should have hit the pumps by now, making petrol about 10 per cent cheaper. Heating oil should also be cheaper than it was two months ago.
The AA's public affairs manager, Mr Conor Faughnan, said the cuts had corrected prices down to a rational level after two years of increases. "It looks as if oil prices are stabilising and the euro is improving against the dollar," he said.
The random survey found wide variations in price. There are variations between stations selling the same brand of petrol as well as variations between brands, with up to 8p per litre difference on unleaded petrol and 9p in diesel. On an average fill, this could translate into a difference of about £4 on petrol and £4.50 on diesel.
The Irish Times found unleaded petrol at Maxol, Dublin Airport, was 69.9p per litre and diesel 62.9p, while in nearby Swords Maxol was selling unleaded petrol at 72p and diesel at 69p per litre. Further north, Maxol Mace, North Road, Drogheda, was cheaper at 64.7p per litre for unleaded and 61.7p for diesel.
The Top Service Station, Kilmacanogue, Co Wicklow, was charging 69.9p per litre for unleaded and 67.9p for diesel, while the Top Service Station, Mallow, Co Cork, was charging 64.3p for a litre of unleaded and 63.3p for diesel.
There were also variations among Statoil stations around the State with Statoil, Finglas Road North, Dublin, charging 63.9p per litre for unleaded and 60.9p for diesel, while Cassidy Statoil in Carrickmacross, Co Monaghan, was charging 68.3p per litre for unleaded with diesel at 65.9p. In Ballincollig, Co Cork, the Statoil filling station was charging 64.3p for unleaded and 62.4p for diesel.
A survey of 10 Texaco stations in Dublin, conducted by Texaco, found prices in the region of 63.9p to 65.3p.
If you're heading North, fill up your tank before you cross the Border. Unleaded petrol is about 10p per litre dearer than in the Republic, without taking the sterling difference into account. In Lisburn the Texaco filling station is charging 79.9p per litre for unleaded and 85.9p for diesel.
Unleaded petrol is 77p per litre in the Jet Service Station, Shankill Road, Belfast, while diesel is 83p per litre. At the Shell Service Station, Balmoral, Belfast, you can pay 78.9p per litre for unleaded and 83.9p for diesel (prices in sterling). So the queues at stations south of the Border are likely to continue.
When it comes to heating oil, a random survey of eight suppliers in the Republic found prices varying from 33p to 38p per litre for kerosene and from 32.5p to 37p for marked gas oil.
A spokeswoman for Texoil, Dublin (36.4p per litre for kerosene and 35.5p for marked gas oil), said an average fill is 1,000 litres with demand for kerosene versus the marked gas oil varying with the location. Kerosene can be used in indoor boilers and tends to be used in newer homes. An average three-bedroom semi-detached house would use up to 2,000 litres, or two fills, a year. The difference between buying at the cheapest or dearest rate works out at £50 per fill on kerosene and £45 per fill on marked gas oil.
It pays to exercise your consumer power.