Petrol stations taking the piss?

ibarelycare

Is the price of oil rising again? Because the fcuking price of petrol is rising almost on a daily basis and it's really pissing me off. I haven't seen a week go by in the past couple of months where petrol stations I pass everyday haven't put their prices up. I feel so strongly about this and I really wish I wasn't too lazy to actually look into trying to do something about it, so I'll complain here instead. If only I was French

easyeason3

Seems like it, usually you would see it reported in the papers when it goes up but I haven't read anything yet.

Would you not walk or cycle? Do you really need a car?


Got in there before anyone else asked.

Biggins

Petrol prices drastically dropped recently, the suppliers such as Shell said they couldn't pass on the drop as quick due to their stock being bought earlier at agreed contract prices - YET!!! - as soon as the price goes up again from their main sources, the same suppliers such as Shell immediately hike up the prices yet again.

Overall there is no serious reduction in petrol prices and the good old days of cheaper fuel is out the window as long as the petrol companies continue to treat the customer as just someone to rip off with every tank full.

Welcome to the downside of capitalism at its worst!

My name is URL

Diesel ftw, tbh

ibarelycare

easyeason3 wrote: »

Seems like it, usually you would see it reported in the papers when it goes up but I haven't read anything yet.

Would you not walk or cycle? Do you really need a car?


Got in there before anyone else asked.

Unfortunately, yes! I only use about €30 - €40 a week's worth of petrol but it's more the principal of it all. My local garage is usually a bit cheaper than the other ones around. Last weekend they were 107.9 and then on Monday they went up to 112.9, just as the other local garage went from 112.9 to 116.9!! Crazy!

easyeason3

ibarelycare wrote: »

Unfortunately, yes! I only use about €30 - €40 a week's worth of petrol but it's more the principal of it all. My local garage is usually a bit cheaper than the other ones around. Last weekend they were 107.9 and then on Monday they went up to 112.9, just as the other local garage went from 112.9 to 116.9!! Crazy!

But think of the excercise you'ed be getting & you'ed be reducing your carbon footprint too. Give it some more thought

Yeah it's shocking the way some places just up the price drastically. But I have to say though that it is worth paying a few extra euro to get decent petrol/ diesel.
That Topaz place much use employees piss to fill the tanks because I have never witnesses petrol & diesel to get used to fast. I drive a diesel so I thought that maybe it was just me so I filled up my mothers car which is petrol & driving to her house I could feel the car kinking. Pure dirt.

Genghiz Cohen

I refuse to pay any more than absolutely necessary for petrol, Birr has the cheapest on my drive from Galway to Carlow.

I see Topaz and such charging 3-4c more than everybody else and I just drive by.
I'm not tight with money but if you start paying more than necessary, they will charge more than necessary.

Mountrath has the most expensive petrol, bastards charge nearly 10c more than the guys in Birr.

Fratton Fred

when oil was $150 a barrel petrol was €1.25/litre, oil dropped to $40/barrel and petrol went down to €1/litre. oil is now $60/barrel and petrol is heading back to €1.10/litre.

Yeah, they are taking the pish big time.

The same applies in the UK as well btw, it's not just Ireland that is being ripped off.

ibarelycare

Well I live over 10 miles from work and I don't think I could walk that every morning Topaz are taking over everywhere now though, they must own about 80% of the country's petrol stations! I wouldn't have a clue whether my car lasts longer after filling up from Topaz or Esso tbh. Topaz promote the whole "clean fuel" thing so I thought their's would be better...

Shiny

I was working a Petrol station a few years ago and we were only making
around 1cent profit per litre.

But despite this the prices were still high as the distributors are maintaining
a higher price than the market value leaving the petrol stations with no
choice.

Not many stations make much on the petrol, they make their money when
you buy a bag of crisps and a breakfast roll in their shop.

Rented Mule

The price of oil/petrol is based is not based on reality.

It is based on the perception of reality.

Thomas_S_Hunterson

I know it's all too easy a target, but you can pretty much blame Wall Street:

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/natural_resources/article5528333.ece
http://www.miamiherald.com/business/nation/story/1057972.html

Its always happens, the gangsters gradually pushing their prices up for no reason. I'm sure they have some bull s**t excuse.
You would be surprised how much extra it adds to a monthly petrol bill when they keep putting a few cents on. I also have almost run out of petrol on a few occasions as I refuse to pay more than I have too.

Some people are not bothered though. I know in one town there are two petrol stations with about 6 cent in the difference for diesel and about 4 cent for petrol yet I see people happily filling up in the more expensive station 3 mins drive from the other station. I dont know how these people have enough brain power to keep breathing tbh.

JimiTime

Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't the government put an extra 6 or 8 cent per litre on petrol this year? So while petrol dropped, the government levied it. Thats what I thought happened. Still doesn't account for the huge per barrel price drop now, but still.

ibarelycare

JimiTime wrote: »

Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't the government put an extra 6 or 8 cent per litre on petrol this year? So while petrol dropped, the government levied it. Thats what I thought happened. Still doesn't account for the huge per barrel price drop now, but still.

The 8 cent levy on petrol came in after the October budget I think? But petrol prices still dropped significantly after that, they were as low as 93.9 in January as far as I remember. Gone up at least 20 cent in most places since then.

Rented Mule

JimiTime wrote: »

Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't the government put an extra 6 or 8 cent per litre on petrol this year? So while petrol dropped, the government levied it. Thats what I thought happened. Still doesn't account for the huge per barrel price drop now, but still.

The governement put five cents on diesel.

Petrol was left alone this time around.

Mr.Lizard

The price of oil/petrol is based is not based on reality.

It is based on the perception of reality.

Times like this I'm glad I don't drive. The reason petrol prices go up and up is because people act stupidly as consumers and mindlessly pay whatever they're told to just to get their car moving again. It's just like anything that seems to cost more than it should (drink or smokes), the percieved need goes far beyond the actual need..

Complain all you like but nothings gonna happen until you put the car in the garage for a while and walk to work or the shops for a change.

Fratton Fred

Shiny wrote: »

Not many stations make much on the petrol, they make their money when you buy a bag of crisps and a breakfast roll in their shop.

I know Esso and the like would rather you bought a cup of coffee than a gallon of petrol, they make far more money on that, which is why most are like a coffee shop with a few pumps outside than a petrol station.

Aidric

Fratton Fred wrote: »

I know Esso and the like would rather you bought a cup of coffee than a gallon of petrol, they make far more money on that, which is why most are like a coffee shop with a few pumps outside than a petrol station.

Their coffee and sandwiches are mank and should be avoided.

suimhneas

what is the pricec of petrol in your local station its 114.9 in ours always ahead of the game raising prices not so quick to lower them

therewillbe

Ye, I had to use a TOPAZ YESTERDAY,E1.19 A LITRE :mad::mad:.My local TOP IS ONLY E1.09. D:mad:ING MY HEAD IN THESE SO CALLED CLEANER PETROL PROVIDERS OR WHATEVER MUCK IS COMING FROM THEM.

Mossy Monk

Mr.Lizard wrote: »

Complain all you like but nothings gonna happen until you put the car in the garage for a while and walk to work or the shops for a change.

I agree. Since I statrted doing my 60 mile round trip by foot each day, life has become so much better.

Mr.Lizard

Mossy Monk wrote: »

I agree. Since I statrted doing my 60 mile round trip by foot each day, life has become so much better.

Glad to hear it. You must feel a lot fitter now too?

Shiny

Fratton Fred wrote: »

I know Esso and the like would rather you bought a cup of coffee than a gallon of petrol, they make far more money on that, which is why most are like a coffee shop with a few pumps outside than a petrol station.

This is it exactly.

Also most garages are managed separately so just because they have
the same name, it doesn't mean they will have the same prices.

Hogzy

Eh guys have ye all forgotten about that 8c levy that went on petrol last year. So technically if the govs didnt put that levy on fuel would be around the 1.05-1.09 mark now, which is about right compared to the price of oil at the mo and the prices of fuel in the last few years

easyeason3

ibarelycare wrote: »

Well I live over 10 miles from work and I don't think I could walk that every morning Topaz are taking over everywhere now though, they must own about 80% of the country's petrol stations! I wouldn't have a clue whether my car lasts longer after filling up from Topaz or Esso tbh. Topaz promote the whole "clean fuel" thing so I thought their's would be better...

Yeah I would have thought as much too but I see a huge difference in value for money when I fill up at an Esso instead of Topaz. Before Tpoaz took over Statoil everything was grand, good value for money, clean petrol, good price per litre etc.
I heard someone say it's because Topaz is Russian owned & there is a difference quality wise in their petrol & diesel. I would have thought they were all the same to be honest.

Gummy Panda

easyeason3 wrote: »

Yeah I would have thought as much too but I see a huge difference in value for money when I fill up at an Esso instead of Topaz. Before Tpoaz took over Statoil everything was grand, good value for money, clean petrol, good price per litre etc.
I heard someone say it's because Topaz is Russian owned & there is a difference quality wise in their petrol & diesel. I would have thought they were all the same to be honest.

For petrol consumer issues, just watch Mad Max 2.

Now that was a film that gave reasonable ideas for acquiring cheap petrol..

Highsider

Price in my local Topaz is 112 per litre as of this morning. The scary part is oil is only 60 dollars a barrell. Can you imagine when it goes back to 140 dollars a barrell or more. Is it possible we could be paying 2 euro a litre in the very near future?

CantGetNoSleep

ibarelycare wrote: »

Is the price of oil rising again? Because the fcuking price of petrol is rising almost on a daily basis and it's really pissing me off. I haven't seen a week go by in the past couple of months where petrol stations I pass everyday haven't put their prices up. I feel so strongly about this and I really wish I wasn't too lazy to actually look into trying to do something about it, so I'll complain here instead. If only I was French

If you were French you would be paying a lot more for your petrol than you are here

CountingCrows

easyeason3 wrote: »

I heard someone say it's because Topaz is Russian owned & there is a difference quality wise in their petrol & diesel.

:rolleyes: Irish owned

easyeason3

CountingCrows wrote: »

:rolleyes: Irish owned

Didn't know that. Just something I heard.

Squiggle

You can still get petrol for under a €1 a litre in Thurles ( from pumps.ie ) so there's many a forecourt taking the pish alright.

Fulton Crown

Don't know where our Director of Consumer Affairs and the Competition Authority with their big salaries an pensions are on this long running bone of contention..

If there is a major rip orf by whoever surely they should be on to it.

Me i deliberately look for the cheapest petrol..it's not being penny pinching but trying to minimise the rip orf from these fookoos.

Ran out o juice in Paulstown recently an had to fill at 1.20 per litre.

Had some satisfaction in "Bursting the rose" in their facilities...an left a good inch of prime sour over most surfaces.

Not something to be proud of.......but it felt good.:D

leninbenjamin

ibarelycare wrote: »

Well I live over 10 miles from work and I don't think I could walk that every morning Topaz are taking over everywhere now though, they must own about 80% of the country's petrol stations! I wouldn't have a clue whether my car lasts longer after filling up from Topaz or Esso tbh. Topaz promote the whole "clean fuel" thing so I thought their's would be better...

easyeason3 wrote: »

Yeah I would have thought as much too but I see a huge difference in value for money when I fill up at an Esso instead of Topaz. Before Tpoaz took over Statoil everything was grand, good value for money, clean petrol, good price per litre etc.
I heard someone say it's because Topaz is Russian owned & there is a difference quality wise in their petrol & diesel. I would have thought they were all the same to be honest.

they all comes into the same tank, refined at the same plant. the only difference between the various types of petrol is the additives added. I personally fail to see how it makes much of a difference.

jape

And yet the same people on here giving out about the price of petrol, are the ones calling the shell to sea rossport protestors "wasters" and "hippies" etc. :rolleyes:

Mossy Monk

jape wrote: »

And yet the same people on here giving out about the price of petrol, are the ones calling the shell to sea rossport protestors "wasters" and "hippies" etc. :rolleyes:

I didn't realise that those hippies were protesting over the price of petrol.

Radharc na Sleibhte

Mossy Monk wrote: »

I didn't realise that those hippies were protesting over the price of petrol.

Surely when Shell get this job done we'll all be swimming in cheap petrol. :rolleyes:

timmywex

jape wrote: »

And yet the same people on here giving out about the price of petrol, are the ones calling the shell to sea rossport protestors "wasters" and "hippies" etc. :rolleyes:

Those hiipies are costing shell money, money which they get back by charging more

jape

timmywex wrote: »

Those hiipies are costing shell money, money which they get back by charging more

Sigh. That doesn't even deserve the effort required to argue.

I'll just say one thing, Ireland has lost €400 billion by selling these resources to shell/statoil/etc, and then buying the oil back off them at inflated prices (hence this thread).

Educate yourself.

http://www.corribsos.com/

skyhighflyer

Fulton Crown wrote: »

Don't know where our Director of Consumer Affairs and the Competition Authority with their big salaries an pensions are on this long running bone of contention..

If there is a major rip orf by whoever surely they should be on to it.

Me i deliberately look for the cheapest petrol..it's not being penny pinching but trying to minimise the rip orf from these fookoos.

Ran out o juice in Paulstown recently an had to fill at 1.20 per litre.

Had some satisfaction in "Bursting the rose" in their facilities...an left a good inch of prime sour over most surfaces.

Not something to be proud of.......but it felt good.:D

Congratulations on acting like a scumbag.

The price of petrol is determined by three factors:

1. Excise duty - this makes up the majority of the price, over 60 percent if I recall correctly. This doesn't budge (and went up by 8 cent on petrol recently) so even if the price of oil was zero you'd probably be still paying 60 or 70 cent a litre to the exchequer.

2. Exchange rate fluctuations - oil is priced in dollars for the most part. When oil was at its peak around a year ago this kept the pump price far lower than it otherwise would have been. The dollar has since strengthened against the euro softening the effect of the recent oil price falls.

3. Price of oil This has been rising steadily for the past few weeks and is currently around 60 dollars a barrel - hence prices creeping up.

The petrol station industry is probably the most competitive out there. The Consumers Association - probably prompted by misinformed consumers - inquired into this recently and found that the market for forecourt retail is extremely competitive. For all those who seem to think that owners are price gouging, this could not be further from the truth. The average garage makes far more a year from their coffee machine than they do from the pumps.

For anyone still complaining or disputing the facts above - ask yourself why there is half the number of stations open now compared to 1996 and yet the number of cars has probably doubled - they didn't all close because they were making too much money, that's for sure.

Ferror

skyhighflyer wrote: »

For anyone still complaining or disputing the facts above - ask yourself why there is half the number of stations open now compared to 1996 and yet the number of cars has probably doubled - they didn't all close because they were making too much money, that's for sure.

I believe that it's more to do with the massive increase in the land values that those stations were sitting on; most being redeveloped into apartments etc...

allthedoyles

Just wait until the Irish economy starts to come good , and you will see petrol prices increasing again to 2007 levels

skyhighflyer

allthedoyles wrote: »

Just wait until the Irish economy starts to come good , and you will see petrol prices increasing again to 2007 levels

The world economy will recover, oil prices will go up, and petrol prices will follow. Although at least people will have jobs to go pay the higher fuel prices. Double-edged sword I suppose.

The main gripe I have is with people thinking oil price = pump price. I don't know if they do this as an easy way to berate station owners over the price of petrol or whether they're really that economically illiterate.

Have an image of some of the posters on here being like the educated-sounding man I saw in front of me in a garage once, telling the Chinese chap behind the counter that the price of 'crude' had fallen yesterday and demanding to know why hadn't the price of petrol gone down by at least 5 cent, reasoning that a 5 percent price drop in oil automatically mandated a five percent drop in petrol prices, and the very next day no less, ignorant of:

• the 40000 litres of fuel in the undeerground tanks he was standing over that had to be sold first before the price drop could be passed on
• the fact that most of the price is a fixed rate of duty
• the fact that a trader can buy a barrel of oil on a commodities market on a given day at a given price does not mean the petrol station owner can do the same thing, and oil doesn't come out of the ground ready to be pumped into Mrs. Murphy's Starlet, it needs to be refined first

skyhighflyer

Ferror wrote: »

I believe that it's more to do with the massive increase in the land values that those stations were sitting on; most being redeveloped into apartments etc...

That was part of it, especially in Dublin, but there are still a lot of mom and pop stations that used to be in the middle of nowhere that have gone, in a lot of cases you can see the derelict sites. The land they were on was worth very little and they haven't been redeveloped.

That said, a well-run busy station with a decent retail trade will make good money, and its a fairly recession-resistant business as well, but it sure won't be from the pumps that they make it.

I also laugh when I see people queueing outside Tesco to save a couple of cent on petrol, where the cost of idling the engine while queueing at the pumps will more than eat up the savings made.

Another good one is driving a car that gets 20 to the gallon and complaining about pump prices, or putting a tenner in the car 'to get the the cheaper place' and buying 40 Johnny Blue, sweets, and a few scratchcards while you're there. "I mean, the price of fags, sweets and scratchers is the same everywhere, right, but I'm being a canny consumer and getting my petrol down the road because its a few cent cheaper". Think that giving up the smokes and not paying the idiot tax, sorry, the Lotto would be a better option mate.

legendal

On December 26th, oil prices fell as low as $32 - $36 a barrel among the three largest oil providers. Open to correction on this, but from what I can tell, it takes about 3 weeks for drops/rises in prices to be reflected at the pumps, hence why petrol and diesel were at their lowest in Janurary.

Right now, prices are around $60 - $61 a barrel. That, coupled with the increased excise duties, are mostly to blame for the higher prices today. Bloomberg ftw: http://www.bloomberg.com/markets/commodities/energyprices.html

Fulton Crown

skyhighflyer wrote: »

Congratulations on acting like a scumbag.

The price of petrol is determined by three factors:

1. Excise duty - this makes up the majority of the price, over 60 percent if I recall correctly. This doesn't budge (and went up by 8 cent on petrol recently) so even if the price of oil was zero you'd probably be still paying 60 or 70 cent a litre to the exchequer.

2. Exchange rate fluctuations - oil is priced in dollars for the most part. When oil was at its peak around a year ago this kept the pump price far lower than it otherwise would have been. The dollar has since strengthened against the euro softening the effect of the recent oil price falls.

3. Price of oil This has been rising steadily for the past few weeks and is currently around 60 dollars a barrel - hence prices creeping up.

The petrol station industry is probably the most competitive out there. The Consumers Association - probably prompted by misinformed consumers - inquired into this recently and found that the market for forecourt retail is extremely competitive. For all those who seem to think that owners are price gouging, this could not be further from the truth. The average garage makes far more a year from their coffee machine than they do from the pumps.

For anyone still complaining or disputing the facts above - ask yourself why there is half the number of stations open now compared to 1996 and yet the number of cars has probably doubled - they didn't all close because they were making too much money, that's for sure.

Scumbag ??

Look pal if your gouged like that you look for some redress..basic instincts take over.

Scumbag ..no ...concerned consumer venting his frustrations ..hell yes !

Good informative post ..but less of the personals please...capece ?

P.C.

I love these threads. :rolleyes:

If you think petrol or diesel is too expensive - stop buying it.

It is really that simple!

And don't say - oh, but I need it to get to work - you need food to live, but you are not on here complaining about the price of meat or bread.

Petrol is a grudge purchase.
You like your car.
You like the freedom that your car allows you.
But, you don't like the costs involved.

This means that when you look at the fuel gauage, and realize that you need fuel, you are already peed off, and are thinking - how much is this going to cost me :mad:.
So, when you pull up onto the forecourt you are upset about having to pay for something that you don't really want, but have to have.

When you go and buy food, you don't think - I paid sooo much for my house and kitchen, why do I have to spend more money on food.
No, you are thinking about what you are going to cook for your dinner, and how nice it is going to be.

LittleEve

Mossy Monk wrote: »

I agree. Since I statrted doing my 60 mile round trip by foot each day, life has become so much better.

+1 on the 60 mile round trip

CantGetNoSleep wrote: »

If you were French you would be paying a lot more for your petrol than you are here

yes much dearer prices over there, was living there for a while and thank god i didnt drive! their insurance is much cheaper though i think, even though they're crazy drivers :rolleyes::D

Squiggle wrote: »

You can still get petrol for under a €1 a litre in Thurles ( from pumps.ie ) so there's many a forecourt taking the pish alright.

ah remember when it was under a euro a litre a few months ago