Petrol price boycott?

bungler

Hi all,
I am sorry if this has been done before but i just received an email and find it interesting. DO you think it would work and would you support it?


Petrol Prices

Please see what you think and pass it on if you agree with it.

We are hitting €146.9 a litre in some areas now and soon we will be
faced with paying € 1.50 per litre. So Philip Hollsworth offered this
good idea:

This makes MUCH MORE SENSE than the 'don't buy petrol on a certain day
campaign' that was going around last April or May! The oil companies
just laughed at that because they knew we wouldn't continue to hurt
ourselves by refusing to buy petrol. It was more of an inconvenience
to us than it was a problem for them. BUT, whoever thought of this
idea, has come up with a plan that can really work.

Please read it and join in!

Now that the oil companies and the OPEC nations have conditioned us to
think that the cost of a litre is CHEAP, we need to take aggressive
action to teach them that BUYERS - not sellers control the market
place. With the price of petrol going up more each day, we consumers
need to take action. The only way we are going to see the price of
petrol come down is if we hit someone in the pocket by not purchasing
their petrol! And we can do that WITHOUT hurting ourselves. Here's the
idea:

For the rest of this year DON'T purchase ANY petrol from the two
biggest oil companies (which now are one) i.e. ESSO and BP.


If they are not selling any petrol, they will be inclined to reduce
their prices. If they reduce their prices, the other companies will
have to follow suit. But to have an impact we need to reach literally
millions of Esso and BP petrol buyers. It's really simple to do!!

Now, don't wimp out on me at this point... keep reading and I'll
explain how simple it is to reach millions of people!!

I am sending this note to a lot of people. If all of you send it to
at least ten more (30 x 10 = 300)....and those 300 send it to at least
ten more (300 x 10 = 3,000) ... and so on. By the time the message
reaches the sixth generation of people, we will have reached over
THREE MILLION consumers! If those three million get excited and pass
this on to ten friends each, then 30 million people will have been
contacted! If it goes one level further, you guessed it.....

THREE HUNDRED MILLION PEOPLE!!!

Again, all YOU have to do is send this to 10 people. That's all (and
not buy at ESSO/BP). How long would all that take? If each of us
sends this email out to ten more people within one day of receipt, all
300 MILLION people could conceivably be contacted within the next 8
days!!! Acting together we can make a difference. If this makes sense
to you, please pass this message on.

PLEASE HOLD OUT UNTIL THEY LOWER THEIR PRICES It's easy to make this
happen. Just forward this email, and buy your petrol at
Apple, Topaz, Tesco etc. i.e. Boycott BP and Esso

Kristopherus

That email came around over a week ago. Originated in U.K.

Ardennes1944

its not their fault as much as the government. yes they could certainly lower it, but its the greens who've fla'd the situation with all the extra taxes

Atomic Pineapple

Why target the petrol stations when its nothing to do with them? Its the governments high taxation and duty of/on mineral oil that has prices so high.

Matt Simis

This was my reply to the same chain spam on "other" Irish forum:

Sorry but this is idiotic. I dont understand the logic of this at all.
Why try to hit the Petrol companies when the majority of fuel costs are Government Taxes (of multiple types). Fuel in regions that arent taxed is cheap per litre, like 25-40c a litre.

If you have a problem with fuel prices, the Government is to blame, not BP or Esso.

From pumps.ie:

Current average petrol price: 143.9
Current Vat: 24.97c/litre
Fixed Duty: 59.622c/litre
Total Government take: 84.59c/litre

Cost before tax & duty: 59.31c/litre
Retailer & distributor margin (est): 11c/litre (note some Petrol Station owners claim to make only 1-2c a litre net, these are the guys you are trying to bankrupt).
Base petrol price (est): 48.31 <- This is the part you want reduced?


So you want Esso/BP to cut the base cost from 48c to what.. 40c.. 30c?
If they cut their profits by a massive 25% (ie one quarter of their revenue gone and presumably 50-60% of their profit wiped out) our fuel prices would be still an extremely high 130c at the pump*.

*Unless the government use the opportunity to increase tax take on it again (their intake is on a proportional scale to fuel cost).

Why people go out and make chain letters yet dont spend a little bit of time with a calculator (or just look at pumps.ie) I cannot understand.
A more effective way (though "illegal") to send the message retail Fuel is too expensive is to brew your own fuel, though more likely you need a diesel engine (ie Veg Oil, BioDiesel) etc.

squod

http://www.pumps.ie/

If you're actually paying 149/litre then it's your fault the prices are inflated. Shop around.

R.O.R

Excellent - I'm all for this since I buy my petrol at either Applegreen or Topaz.

Not sure what the impact will be though as there are very few BP or Esso stations left Ireland - in comparison to Topaz anyway.

coolbeans

Deutschlandfürimmer7 wrote: »

its not their fault as much as the government. yes they could certainly lower it, but its the greens who've fla'd the situation with all the extra taxes

Two points. Our petrol is still amongst the cheapest in Europe and the FF/Green coalition added the carbon tax which was in the offing anyway. The fact is the country is broke courtesy of FF misgovernance and there is absolutely no way that the Government can afford to reduce duty on fuel at this stage. In fact it would be madness to do so due to the perilous fiscal situation we find ourselves in.
People continuously voted for cronyism and the purchasing of elections by consecutive governments so we only have ourselves to blame.

Run_to_da_hills

It's the governments fault, not the oil companies. We need to keep organizing days of strikes and civil disobedience until they finally get the message

man.about.town

petrol is remarkably cheap, the government tax amounts to around half the price per litre.

if you think how much it costs to explore for oil, drill it, suck it up, transport it to the refineries, refine it, turn it into petrol diesel, transport it to relevant countries, then transport it again to the petrol stations. thats a long expensive process.

if you really think about it, its madness that we pay 1.50 or more for hlf a litre of bottled water when we have perfectly good drinking water from our taps.

theres always going to be demand for oil, so the only realistic way for prices to drop is if the government drops the taxes. boycotting certain petrrol stations will do nothing. irish/uk petrol market is nothing compared to us, asian market

Ardennes1944

coolbeans wrote: »

Two points. Our petrol is still amongst the cheapest in Europe and the FF/Green coalition added the carbon tax which was in the offing anyway. The fact is the country is broke courtesy of FF misgovernance and there is absolutely no way that the Government can afford to reduce duty on fuel at this stage. In fact it would be madness to do so due to the perilous fiscal situation we find ourselves in.
People continuously voted for cronyism and the purchasing of elections by consecutive governments so we only have ourselves to blame.

one point. i have never voted and i will be voting for Sinn Fein so i reserve the right to take myself away from that blame and keep my previous statement thank you.

bungler

Matt Simis wrote: »

This was my reply to the same chain spam on "other" Irish forum:

Sorry but this is idiotic. I dont understand the logic of this at all.
Why try to hit the Petrol companies when the majority of fuel costs are Government Taxes (of multiple types). Fuel in regions that arent taxed is cheap per litre, like 25-40c a litre.

If you have a problem with fuel prices, the Government is to blame, not BP or Esso.

From pumps.ie:

Current average petrol price: 143.9
Current Vat: 24.97c/litre
Fixed Duty: 59.622c/litre
Total Government take: 84.59c/litre

Cost before tax & duty: 59.31c/litre
Retailer & distributor margin (est): 11c/litre (note some Petrol Station owners claim to make only 1-2c a litre net, these are the guys you are trying to bankrupt).
Base petrol price (est): 48.31 <- This is the part you want reduced?


So you want Esso/BP to cut the base cost from 48c to what.. 40c.. 30c?
If they cut their profits by a massive 25% (ie one quarter of their revenue gone and presumably 50-60% of their profit wiped out) our fuel prices would be still an extremely high 130c at the pump*.

*Unless the government use the opportunity to increase tax take on it again (their intake is on a proportional scale to fuel cost).

Why people go out and make chain letters yet dont spend a little bit of time with a calculator (or just look at pumps.ie) I cannot understand.
A more effective way (though "illegal") to send the message retail Fuel is too expensive is to brew your own fuel, though more likely you need a diesel engine (ie Veg Oil, BioDiesel) etc.

Just to be clear guys, i am not out to bankrupt anyone. I mearly put up the email to find out more about it. I did not know the break down of the rates and just wanted to see was it a good idea or not. Obviously after reading the above posts i know its not a good idea.

Matt Simis

bungler wrote: »

Just to be clear guys, i am not out to bankrupt anyone. I mearly put up the email to find out more about it. I did not know the break down of the rates and just wanted to see was it a good idea or not. Obviously after reading the above posts i know its not a good idea.

Dont worry, wasnt aimed at you!

Deutschlandfürimmer7 wrote: »

one point. i have never voted and i will be voting for Sinn Fein so i reserve the right to take myself away from that blame and keep my previous statement thank you.

[Insert Facepalm]

bungler

Matt Simis wrote: »

Dont worry, wasnt aimed at you!

Phew, I was waiting foe the lynch mob to knock on my door

Ardennes1944

Matt Simis wrote: »

Dont worry, wasnt aimed at you!

[Insert Facepalm]

why the facepalm huh?

Matt Simis

Deutschlandfürimmer7 wrote: »

why the facepalm huh?

See bolded text. Unless you just turned 18.

Ardennes1944

Matt Simis wrote: »

See bolded text. Unless you just turned 18.

yes i saw the bold text. and im 19 so for you

Eric Cartman

this wont hurt anyone but retailers, if you were really going to do something , get a massive group of diesel drivers and have them all start using green diesel, that doesnt hurt the retailer but instead jsut hurts the goverment, youd need a lot of people in on it though, would need to be impossible for customs to police it

Ardennes1944

look all these plans for boycotts and stuff are pointless in this country because we are a nation of sheep. protests similar to what is happening in Cairo will never happen here, its not what we 'do' unfortunately

encyclopedia

This boycott makes absolutely no sense, so many flaws in it, the largest chain of petrol stations in Ireland is clearly Topaz which changed its name from shell and statoil due to the Corrib gas field situation. If a boycott was to be put in place why would you choose to support a company with such humanity controversies surrounding it.

BP and Esso are not the major players in Ireland so a boycott on them here would not change anything.

So many things about that email are UK or USA based - the BP mention, the fact that there is only around 4.5 million people in Ireland and there is mention of spreading it to 30 million.

It is also rumoured that tesco is supplied by Esso so if true it would defeat the purpose of it anyways.

If it was thought out a bit better it may make a little bit of sense but it more then likely make no difference. When it comes to fuel really its a sellers market unfortunately. It will only change if we lower overall demand and make use of renewable energy.

If you were to boycott anyone you would be better off boycotting Topaz

Matt Simis

Deutschlandfürimmer7 wrote: »

yes i saw the bold text. and im 19 so for you

Not really, you arent to blame I agree.

coolbeans

Matt Simis wrote: »

Not really, you arent to blame I agree.

Reinsert facepalm for the SF vote though. Their economic policies are so removed from reality that it's funny. I actually find it alarming that some people believe what they have to say on economics.

kirving

Even if the entier country stopped buying petrol, the oil companies woudln't exactly suffer. 830 Million People live in Europe alone, 4.5 Million live here.

Matt Simis

coolbeans wrote: »

Reinsert facepalm for the SF vote though. Their economic policies are so removed from reality that it's funny. I actually find it alarming that some people believe what they have to say on economics.

Well I was dodging that one as their supporters tend to be... "passionate", just wait and see...

si_guru

Kevin Irving wrote: »

830 Million People live in Europe alone, 4.5 Million live here.

...and most of them don't own a car!

bladebrew

if people paid attention to the price signs outside garages they could save money, there is garage in cork that is always about 4 cent per litre than another garage a few mins drive away,
but the more expensive garage is always packed

billyboy01

The price of fuel should be fixed at a maximum price of 99c a litre, for the good of the economy ie commuters, truckers, tour operators etc.., I wish the clowns in Kildare St. would wake up before the economy grinds to a halt. 99c I think IMO is a fair price to pay for fuel!

200motels

Matt Simis wrote: »

This was my reply to the same chain spam on "other" Irish forum:

Sorry but this is idiotic. I dont understand the logic of this at all.
Why try to hit the Petrol companies when the majority of fuel costs are Government Taxes (of multiple types). Fuel in regions that arent taxed is cheap per litre, like 25-40c a litre.

If you have a problem with fuel prices, the Government is to blame, not BP or Esso.

From pumps.ie:

Current average petrol price: 143.9
Current Vat: 24.97c/litre
Fixed Duty: 59.622c/litre
Total Government take: 84.59c/litre

Cost before tax & duty: 59.31c/litre
Retailer & distributor margin (est): 11c/litre (note some Petrol Station owners claim to make only 1-2c a litre net, these are the guys you are trying to bankrupt).
Base petrol price (est): 48.31 <- This is the part you want reduced?


So you want Esso/BP to cut the base cost from 48c to what.. 40c.. 30c?
If they cut their profits by a massive 25% (ie one quarter of their revenue gone and presumably 50-60% of their profit wiped out) our fuel prices would be still an extremely high 130c at the pump*.

*Unless the government use the opportunity to increase tax take on it again (their intake is on a proportional scale to fuel cost).

Why people go out and make chain letters yet dont spend a little bit of time with a calculator (or just look at pumps.ie) I cannot understand.
A more effective way (though "illegal") to send the message retail Fuel is too expensive is to brew your own fuel, though more likely you need a diesel engine (ie Veg Oil, BioDiesel) etc.

I agree, with the election coming up now is the time to tell whoever comes to your door looking for your vote tell them if you get in to government reduce the excise by 20% and I'll vote for you. They might listen I doubt it but they might.

si_guru

But how do you suggest they replace the revenue?

Increase income tax? Increase VAT? Increase VRT?

ei.sdraob

motors readers might find this thread on subject interesting

Banditboy_irl

Saw a post from some pro goverment supporter ... Giving the reason why the price is being hiked up!

He says its because modern cars have become more economical so less fuel is being bought and thats why theres a price hike.

Jasus ... Kept in the dark & fed pig sh*te ...