Petrol Pricing Policy

smashey

Just curious about the way petrol and indeed diesel is priced. For example, why is it always priced at 104.9c per litre. How would this work if I want to buy exactly 1 litre of petrol. Do they charge me 105c (overcharge). If I go to a pub and ask for a pint of lager then I get exactly a pint but at a rate of E3.40 or whatever and not 339.9c. Why can't petrol retailers round the figure up or even down (unlikely).

muffler

Good point.

I think that its illegal to advertise or conduct the sale of any product when it is not priced in the the legal currency.

There is no such thing as a decimal point of 1 cent

Red Alert

i think the practice should be made illegal. everybody could just refuse to pay over the amount also.

Savman

smashey wrote:

104.9c per litre.....Do they charge me 105c (overcharge).

Let me get this straight, you are talking about €0.001c?
For a minute there I thought it was something trivial :rolleyes:

muffler

Savman wrote:

Let me get this straight, you are talking about €0.001c?
For a minute there I thought it was something trivial :rolleyes:

You need to learn some maths my man.:D
It is either €0.001 or 0.10c but certainly not the way you stated as a combination of both.

I think the query here is more the legality of this rather than the actual amount.

On a more general note I think there should be a law banning any prices that end in 99 whether that be euro or cents

Culchie

muffler wrote:

On a more general note I think there should be a law banning any prices that end in 99 whether that be euro or cents

Why 99 cents, why not 93, or 46 ??

Besides, think of all the tips the waitresses will miss out on if everything was rounded up?

muffler

Culchie wrote:

Why 99 cents, why not 93, or 46 ??

Besides, think of all the tips the waitresses will miss out on if everything was rounded up?

Because you dont get things to buy that cost for example €9.93 or €9.46.
But you sure as hell get a lot of stuff priced at €9.99

Lets face it. How many times have you went into a drapery shop or an electrical shop etc and seen items with a price tag of €99.99. Why not just make it €100.

How many times have you seen a new car advertised with a retail price of for example €29,999.00. Again why not just make it €30,000.

On the point about tips I cant see anyone loosing out as meals are also priced with the 99 cents marked after the euros.

its all down to sales physcology.

When was the last time you seen a clock on the wall of a shop (apart from a shop that sells them obviously)

Culchie

muffler wrote:

its all down to sales physcology.

Bingo !

It's all about customer price perception, marketing, sales points and price elasticity.

There is a flip side to your argument as well.

Something that sells at €9.99 today, could be €10.26 tomorrrow. Look what happened to the Euro conversion practices.
Marketeers are loathe to break certain price points, not out of the goodness of their heart, but because it dramatically reduces sales volumes.

It's different with commodities such as milk, petrol, bread etc...

Santa Claus

Actual reason that stuff is always priced at X.99 is that if it was just 1/10/100€ then a less than scrupulous employee could pocket the money without ringing it up on the till.
Whereas when the customer is due 1c change, they have to ring it up to open the till to get the change !

smashey

If they are advertising something then that is an invitation to me to enter into a contract with them. In this case the advertisement clearly states that I can purchase one litre at the displayed price which usually has a a decimal point in it somewhere eg 104.9. Now if I ask for exactly 1 litre and receive this then how do I pay for it? What are the legalities of this?

Idleater

smashey wrote:

... Now if I ask for exactly 1 litre and receive this then how do I pay for it? What are the legalities of this?

Not only that, but the "minimum delivery is 2 litres" so you are actually going to have to fork out 104.9c*2 = 209.8c.

L.

Culchie

The retail tills only work to 2 decimal places, so it will round it up or down accordingly, taking it's info from the pump dispenser reading systems.
In real terms, what you lose on the swings, you gain on the roundabout.


I do agree it's a silly practice by the way with petrol priced at 3 decimal places, but I've a feeling it's a customs and excise instruction rather than any retail 'gimmick' that is the real reason for this.

Eoin

Santa Claus wrote:

Actual reason that stuff is always priced at X.99 is that if it was just 1/10/100€ then a less than scrupulous employee could pocket the money without ringing it up on the till.
Whereas when the customer is due 1c change, they have to ring it up to open the till to get the change !

I would say that is a handy (for the shop) by-product of the 1c change thing, but not the main reason for it.

It sounds stupid, but it works: A huge amount of people will think of an item priced at €9.99 as "under a tenner", even though the difference is obviously only one cent. In the same way, a lot of people will subconsciously group two products priced at €8.99 and €9.99 as closer in price, then they would with two products priced at €9.99 and €10.99 even though the difference is the same.

muffler

Well, the only way to find out for sure if its legal or illegal to sell petrol in this fashion is to contact the ODCA. I did and here is their reply.........

23rd January 2006

Our Ref: 06/003791


Dear Sir/Madam,

I refer to your recent correspondence with regard to the display of Petrol
and Diesel prices in decimal points.

The Prices charged for Petrol and Diesel must be displayed in compliance
with the Retail Prices (Petrol and Diesel) Display Order 1997. The ODCA is
the market surveillance and enforcement authority for this order.

The ODCA does not have a role in the formulation or drafting of
legislation. This is the responsibility of the Consumer Policy section of
the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. I have forwarded your
comments to that section for their consideration.

I trust you find the above to be satisfactory and trust this resolves this
matter for you. Should you have any further comments in this regard please
do not hesitate to contact our office.

Kind Regards

________________________
Elisa Goode
Office of Director of Consumer Affairs


Now that is as clear as pig sihte. Now for anyone who wants to look at the Display Order here it is http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/ZZSI178Y1997.html.

I thinkthe pig is going blind

smashey

nereid wrote:

Not only that, but the "minimum delivery is 2 litres" so you are actually going to have to fork out 104.9c*2 = 209.8c.

L.

Now I am thinking along the lines of false advertising. They advertise the price of a litre but the minimum you can buy is 2 litres.:eek:

dingding

Santa Claus wrote:

Actual reason that stuff is always priced at X.99 is that if it was just 1/10/100€ then a less than scrupulous employee could pocket the money without ringing it up on the till.
Whereas when the customer is due 1c change, they have to ring it up to open the till to get the change !

You could have a bag of one cent's in your pocket. Some shops particularly in hte US give you 5 dollars if you don't get a reciept. Another way of solving the same problem.

Litcagral

smashey wrote:

Now I am thinking along the lines of false advertising. They advertise the price of a litre but the minimum you can buy is 2 litres.:eek:

Even though it's usually stated that the minimum delivery is 2 litres, one can easily get less. I've often wheeled the lawnmower over and put less than a litre in it.:)

If fuel is advertised at eg. 106.9 it usually means 106.9999999 repeating. If one gets 100 litres, the price will not be €106.90 but €106.99.

Culchie

I have to be honest.

I don't think debating the relevance of a third decimal in petrol pricing is a particular consumer issue, especially as you win just as much as you lose, as the 2 decimal retail till rounds up or down the figure from the pump reading.....so if you lose out on a penny (lol)this week, chances are you'll gain next week.

Debating and highlighting the government take of 65% + of the retail price is a consumer issue however, and would warrant a discussion.

I'm all for highlightin real consumer issues, but being pedantic does consumer interest groups more harm than good in the long run.

Savman

Seriously people, get out more :rolleyes:

mad m

Anyone ever go over what they put into there car while filling up? Like sometimes I would just go over€20 and they never look for it in garage.Just do it all the time.:)

muffler

mad m wrote:

Anyone ever go over what they put into there car while filling up? Like sometimes I would just go over€20 and they never look for it in garage.Just do it all the time.:)

Good point and its something that does happen quite a lot.

The real issue here is not about loss of value or whatever but about selling petrol and diesel with prices in decimal points. Is it legal or not?

Can anyone else point out any other product that is advertised and sold with a price that includes decimal points.

Savman

muffler wrote:

Can anyone else point out any other product that is advertised and sold with a price that includes decimal points.

Yes, currency

I'm very sure the road signs displaying the price per litre is a legal requirement for fuel stations so the retailers are not at fault. In fairness they can set the price to whatever they damn well like so I wouldn't be getting so bothered about decimals of cent - if you only knew how much tax the govt pockets from each litre of fuel....:eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: