HARD-UP motorists should shop around for their petrol to get a better deal, a minister has said.
Mark Spencer said it was up to drivers to stop themselves getting ripped off – not up to greedy forecourts who are charging bumped up prices.
The cost of diesel and unleaded petrol is still higher than last Christmas
And he urged them to go for independent retailers rather than supermarket giants instead – as they tend to be cheaper.
It comes as drivers face the highest festive fuel price on record and supermarkets are accused of “heartlessly” overcharging people.
They will pay 153p a litre for petrol and 176p for diesel — respectively 7p and 27p more than last year, the RAC says.
Yet the wholesale price of petrol is the same as it was last Christmas while diesel is only 14p more.
Thousands of families are set to start their Christmas getaways today, with roads busier than usual as people make their festive trips to see family and friends.
But the food and farming minister insisted Brits should “look around for the best deals and use the power of your pay packet” to drive down costs instead.
Thousands of greedy forecourts are overcharging motorists and refusing to charge in line with wholesale prices – piling pressure on ministers for a new independent PumpWatch regulator.
Mr Spencer told TimesRadio earlier that people should look to independent retailers rather than just rely on supermarkets.
He said: “I would say to [supermarkets] they’ve got to try and look after their customers.
“But I would say to those customers or my constituents that shop around to look around for the best deals and to use the power of your pay packet, if you like, to drive down that cost.
“And if you move your custom to places where it is a low price, and there’s lots of independent petrol retailers now that are actually lower than the supermarket prices, you know, use that, use your consumer power to drive those prices down again.”
But Tory MP Greg Smith said it shouldn’t be up to Brits to have to drive around to find the best deals.
He told The Sun: “Whilst prices are creeping down at the pumps, fuel retailers are still charging prices way higher than the crude oil price should suggest, not least given the 5p per litre cut in fuel duty that is clearly not being passed on.
“Fuel retailers need to stop taking motorists for a ride and charge fair prices for fuel.”
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Where to find UK’s cheapest petrol and diesel?
The easiest way to find the cheapest forecourt in your area for fuel is by using price comparison sites.
Websites like Petrolprices.com will list the cheapest filling stations in your area.
You need to register with the site, enter your postcode and tell it how far you’re willing to travel for fuel (up to 20 miles) and what fuel type you’re after.
How to check fuel prices near me?
Beyond using Petrolprices.com, there are other websites you can use to check the cost of fuel in your area.
Fleet News and Allstar also lets you to check petrol prices across the counties so you can see how your region compares to the UK average.
Comparison website Confused.com also has a petrol prices checker that lets registered users find petrol prices within a five, ten or 25mile radius.
Petrolprices.com is useful, but it does only give you limited amounts of searches each day, whereas Confused.com doesn’t.
Here are four easy ways to cut down your petrol bills by hundreds of pounds a year.
Plus, we round up six ways to make a tank of petrol last longer.