‘WAR, what is it good for?’
‘WAR, what is it good for?’ (No, I haven’t been raiding Adam’s CD collection!). Well, when it’s a petrol price war, then it’s good for everybody – everybody who drives a car that is.
Hard up motorist are set to finally catch a break as the country’s big supermarkets are slashing their fuel prices.
But while it’s good news for drivers who are finding it hard to keep their cars on the road (and that’s not because their driving is as bad as GrAnt’s), motoring groups reckon it doesn’t go far enough.
Sainsbury’s are getting the ball rolling with 3p being lobbed off a litre of petrol while Tesco are offering a 10p discount per litre if you buy a couple of packets of Andrex Toilet Roll. That’s not a bad idea considering the amount of loo paper GrAnt goes through after his Sunday night curry.
Morrisons look to be taken advantage of the fact that Alan Hansen will be off working at Euro 2012 for the BBC by chopping 12p of a litre if shoppers spend 60 quid or more in their stores. It’s not clear what’ll happen when the suave Scot returns.
While it’s hardly pumps at dawn, it’ll be interesting to see how each supermarket responds to the other’s price cuts and, at the end of the day, the real winner will be the beleaguered customer.
Petrol Price Cuts Are Long Overdue
However, some groups, including the AA, think this latest round of price cuts is long overdue and doesn’t go far enough. The AA, in particular, believe that prices should be falling by around 5p a litre – without the need for customers to take up some in-store offer.
Head of fuel at Sainsbury’s, Richard Crampton told The Sun: “We know that fuel continues to be a big part of many household budgets and we are committed to helping our customers cut down on cost whenever we can.
“Wholesale fuel prices have dropped across Europe and we are delighted to pass these savings onto our customers.”
But that doesn’t seem to wash with many motoring groups who feel that, following reductions in the wholesale price of oil around the world, retailers in the UK have been too slow in passing those cuts onto their customers.
Having to splash out on loo roll, whether you need 18 rolls of it or not, or spending a bit more in store to get a reduction on your fuel bill, seems a bit of a roundabout way of saving money.
You wouldn’t catch us making you jump through hoops just to get a great deal on your car insurance, would you?
Top motoring groups want the retailers to make straight cuts (no, GrAnt, I’m not talking about chips) to the cost of petrol or diesel at the pumps.
According to the AA, it has taken retailers in the UK twice as long than those in continental Europe to cut their fuel prices.
Our message to them is: Get a move on so we can all get a move on!
