Hundreds of British petrol stations are failing to comply with a legal requirement to report live price changes to a Government database designed to help drivers save money, new analysis has revealed.
Press Association analysis of data submitted to Fuel Finder — the system used by price comparison apps — suggests many sites have not provided any petrol prices at all, despite the obligation having been in force for more than five months. Of those that have submitted data, 1,751 last reported a price change more than a week ago, including 96 that had not supplied an update for at least a month.
“Hundreds of UK petrol stations failing to report live prices to Government fuel finder system despite legal requirement.”
Simon Williams of the RAC said it was “not plausible that so many haven’t changed prices in a week, let alone a month”, adding that “most retailers receive new fuel supply at least once a week”.
The scheme was introduced by the Government in February and was hailed by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer as “the cheap fuel finder”, forcing stations to publish live prices so drivers can “choose the lowest price”. Since February 2, every UK forecourt has been legally required to log price changes within 30 minutes.
“Fuel Finder was introduced to help stop drivers paying over the odds when they fill up, so these findings are very concerning,” Williams said. “It’s vital that all retailers follow the rules by recording price changes within half an hour. Steps must be taken to ensure those not reporting prices begin doing so immediately.”
Figures from the database show that 7,765 open forecourts had provided prices for E10 petrol — standard unleaded — as of 10am on July 6. Separate data from My Automate, a petrol station data company, indicates there were 8,338 operating sites in the UK as of May 31. Of those on Fuel Finder, 2,229 are supermarket filling stations; 410 of those had not uploaded a price change in at least a week. A further 226 forecourts registered on the system have either not submitted data or are listed as temporarily closed.
When Fuel Finder launched, ministers estimated it would save car-owning households an average of £40 a year by increasing competition. The Competition and Markets Authority has the power to take enforcement action against retailers not meeting the requirements. A three-month grace period for enforcement ended on May 1.
The findings come as average petrol prices in the UK remain about 19p per litre more expensive than before the conflict in the Middle East, despite oil prices returning to pre-war levels. The database was created on the back of a CMA recommendation in July 2023, which found that competition among retailers had weakened since 2019, with drivers paying nearly £1 billion more for fuel at supermarkets the previous year because of increased margins.
