Euro fuel rip off.
Daylight robbery at the pumps
British motorists are paying more than
10% more for fuel than their European neighbours.
A new report from comparison website
uSwitch.com found that the average British driver spends £1752 every year on
fuel, more than any other 'big five' European country.
Our spanish counterparts enjoy the cheapest fuel and pay
around £343 less to fill up their vehicles each year.
uSwitch.com who carried out the survey also found that
over the past eight years, British drivers have paid up to 20% more for
their fuel than Germany, Spain, France or Italy.
Figures compiled last month, before the kick-off of the
Supermarket price war, reveal than UK motorists pay an average of 7% more
for petrol and 17% more for diesel than the rest of Europe.
Germany and France both have higher taxes
on petrol but the UK has the highest level of tax on diesel fuel, currently
57%. The Uk goverment currently
collects £33.4 billion in fuel tax, £200 million more than any other
European country. Mark Monteiro of
uSwitch said "Although the government has postponed the two pence rise in
duty, motorists still have a right to feel hard done by".
"We all currently pay 7% more to fill our cars, vans and
lorries than our European neighbours, forking out an average of £1753 a year
to run our vehicles." Mr Monteiro
called on fuel providers to drop their prices.
He said "For drivers who are reliant on
their cars for business, leaving the car a home is not an option. Price cuts
of up to four pence per litre at the forecourts of some of our largest
supermarkets have been a step in the right direction but we need to see the
major petrol retailers follow suit".
However, Ray Holloway, director of the Retail Industry's
Petrol Retailers Association, defended retailers. (Brave man)
He said that the rise in fuel prices was affected by
complex commercial deals, as well as government taxation, and implied that
retailers are being unfairly blamed by drivers.
"Recent claims that forecourt retailers are not reducing
the price of fuel at the pump fast enough to match the drop in the crude
price are laughable." Mr Holloway.
Well I can assure you Mr Holloway that I speak on behalf on many when I say
that the price of fuel today is most definately not something to laugh
about. Dean.Larder 121-vans.
European petrol prices:
Petrol(ppl) Diesel(ppl)
UK
119
133
Germany
116
115
Spain
96
100
France
114
110
Italy
116
116
Source: Petrolprices.com/July 2008. | 
