DRIVERS have spotted a garage selling fuel for MUCH cheaper than big name petrol stations as costs soar.
An eagle-eyed motorist saw an Essar station in Herefordshire is selling unleaded for 157.9p per litre, and diesel for 169.9p.
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That compares to the average price of fuel is 182.77 per litre for unleaded and 193.04 for diesel according to the latest government figures.
The driver posted on Twitter: “So a tiny village garage in Herefordshire can manage this, but not the mega-stations of Shell, BP, Esso etc?”
There is only one Essar forecourt in Herefordshire according to the retailer’s website, which is the Broad Oak Garage.
Essar has 68 forecourts across the country, and you can check if there is one near you on its website.
The tweet has racked up thousands of likes, with motorists slamming larger petrol chains for failing to lower prices.
One said: “This needs to go viral and tag the big companies in it!! It’s a disgrace that they can’t follow suit…”
While another tweeted: “We’re paying silly money for petrol.”
“Cheapest petrol near me is at a small independent garage, well below supermarket levels, motorists should shop around,” another commented.
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It comes as big petrol retailers have been slammed for not lowering prices as wholesale fuel costs dip.
The wholesale cost – which is the price of fuel when it arrives at the forecourts – of unleaded has dropped to 131.75p per litre on average.
This is where prices stood in early May this year – at that point, drivers were paying around 167p per litre on average to fill up.
But lower prices have not been passed on at the pumps this time round – drivers are currently paying an average of 183p per litre at the pump.
The RAC said bigger chains are “cutting prices too slowly”.
It slammed the big four supermarkets – Tesco, Asda, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s – by claiming they have failed to reduce prices in line with wholesale costs, as well as other forecourts.
That’s despite several of the supermarket giants lowering prices recently.
Asda was the first supermarket to slash the price of fuel – and it’s now 12p cheaper than the national average.
While Sainsbury’s cut its fuel prices last week in line with Asda by an average of 5p.
Tesco has cut the price of petrol by 6.5p a litre and diesel by 4.5p.
Smaller garages, on the other hand, have passed on lower prices at the pumps.
A Texaco petrol station in Walkden, Greater Manchester, attracted motorists from miles around after it started selling unleaded petrol at 159.9p a litre.
While drivers rushed to a Shell garage at Trago Mills in Devon after unleaded petrol was being sold at 164.9p a litre.
How can I save money on fuel?
With petrol prices high, it can add a big cost onto your budget.
But there are some things you can do to save money.
You can always check petrol prices online before heading out to your nearest station.
Websites like Petrolprices.com let you search for petrol stations offering the best prices near you.
It’s free to use for your first 20 searches.
Taking heavy items out of your car can help lessen the load and checking your tyre pressure can all help you increase fuel efficiency.
Or you could try using a loyalty scheme – many petrol stations operate them and they could see you racking up points which could be used to buy your petrol.
Here we spoke to a motoring expert about the TikTok fuel hacks you should try, and the ones to avoid when trying to save money on petrol.
We also put together a guide on how you could save £190 at the petrol station.
