Over 900 complaints but watchdog says fuel traders did not engage in price gouging
No fuel price gouging took place when prices suddenly spiked last month, the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) announced yesterday after receiving almost 1,000 complaints, writes Jamie McCarron.
The consumer watchdog released its March fuel report into the business practices of home heating oil traders and filling stations after the Government urged the public to notify it of any suspected gouging.
While the CCPC could not rule out that “individual companies may have benefited’ from sudden price increases in early March, the report found that prices generally rose in line with the global shock to the oil market.
“The examination of wholesale prices, retail prices and the review of the home heating oil and road fuel markets indicate that the price increases seen in recent weeks were not driven by competition issues, but rather by significant increases in international wholesale costs,” the report stated.
The commission received 907 complaints from 685 members of the public, 59% of which were in relation to perceived price gouging by sellers of home heating oil and 41% regarding petrol and diesel.
Over 900 complaints… but watchdog says fuel traders didLast month, the price of home heating oil saw its largest increase since the Central Statistics Office began collecting data in 1996, with a rise of 67.5%, while the national average price in March was €2.05 for diesel and €1.88 for petrol.
The government announced a temporary cut in excise duty at the end of March of 20c a litre on diesel and 15c a litre on petrol, but prices have continued rising to an average of €2.17 (diesel) and €1.92 (petrol) as of yesterday.
The chair of the CCPC, Brian McHugh, said yesterday that businesses are free to set their own prices and that only issues related to traders not honouring their agreements with consumers would be investigated.
“The distress and concern we heard from consumers was very real”’ he said. “A large number of consumers suspected that recent price increases were illegal and motivated in significant part to increase profits.
“However, while we have identified a small number of questionable consumer protection practices, we have not seen price increases that are in breach of any law.”
The CCPC added that it was seeking more details regarding 24 complaints about home heating oil that had been paid for before the sudden price increase.
One woman contacted the commission to say that she paid for 500 litres and was awaiting delivery when the supplier rang her the next morning to say they could not honour the deal due to changes in prices.
She was told that her options were to accept a refund or pay an extra €90 for the same 500 litres. Other consumers told the CCPC that home heating oil traders cancelled orders that had already been paid for, claiming that they were out of stock, yet had continued to advertise oil as available at a higher price.
Brian McHugh, chair of the CCPC.
Another complainant said they had paid an agreed price but were only informed on delivery that the price had increased.
The CCPC stated that it is seeking further detail on these complaints to investigate further and has also written to traders “setting out in detail the consumer protection rules that apply to quotes and pricing and reminding them of their obligations under both consumer protection and competition law”.
Photo: Photo shows fuel signs and haulage trucks leaving forecourts in South Kildare. (Pic: Eamonn Farrell/ © Rollingnews.ie)
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