DRIVERS are furious that fuel prices at the pumps haven’t dropped despite the 5p duty cut.
The Chancellor announced the tax break in yesterday’s Spring Statement as part of measures to ease the cost of living crisis.
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Drivers across the country including in in Upminster, Stafford, Orpington and Ashington all reported that prices were unchanged today.
Howard Cox, the founder of campaign group FairFuel, said he is “furious” that the “cut in fuel awarded by the Chancellor is not being passed on to drivers”.
He added: “RIshi should have implemented an independent pump pricing watchdog yesterday at minimal cost to prevent the fuel supply chain from continuing to profiteer from the world’s highest taxed motorists.”
The fuel duty reduction could cut the cost of filling up the average family car by around £3.30 if it’s passed on to drivers, experts said.
But drivers have complained that the cost of filling up hasn’t reduced at other forecourts.
Motorists also fumed that the price of fuel was so high that the price drop hasn’t made enough of a difference.
Average fuel prices hit a record high on Monday, with petrol at nearly £1.67 a litre and diesel at £1.79, according to the RAC.
The cost has been pushed up due to rising oil prices following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
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This means the drop only takes the average pump price back to where they were just over a week ago, the RAC said.
Forecourt operators don’t have an obligation to pass the price saving on to customers – despite the government demanding that they do.
Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said he and Mr Sunak has written to major retailers, trade bodies and the supply chain to outline that they expected prices to “quickly” reflect the cut.
Companies may also be waiting to buy fuel at the lower price before implementing the cut.
Furious drivers took to social media to vent their frustration.
One motorist wrote: “Not entirely sure what the 5p drop in fuel duty has done to help motorists, maybe the cost of fuel has ‘gone up again’ as there has been no change in price to the customer this morning.”
Another said, in a tweet to Mr Sunak, “Can you please explain why a litre of fuel is costing more today than yesterday?
“It’s almost like a market that fluctuates on a daily basis allows these massive companies to just slap a few extra pence on to cover costs.”
“Driven past four petrol stations this morning and not 1 of them have reduced the price,” a motorist added.
Asda, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Morrisons vowed to slash petrol and diesel prices last night.
Announcing the cut yesterday, Mr Sunak hailed it “the biggest cut to all fuel duty rates ever”.
It kicked in from 6pm yesterday evening and will last for a year.
It should amount to a saving of 6p a litre at the pumps after 1p of VAT is factor in.
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