In one other blow to motorists, a National Measurement Institute audit launched this month discovered 5.7 per cent of bowsers had been under-delivering on gas.
The shortfall was small, simply 30 to 90 cents per $100 of gas, but when utilized uniformly throughout the nation would imply an total ripoff of wherever between $9 and $29 million.
NRMA spokesman Peter Khoury stated the outcomes had been “clearly unacceptable”.
“We are pleased to see that this matter is being addressed, that these audits continue and it is absolutely critical that all companies do everything they can to ensure that their browsers are accurate,” he stated in a press convention on Tuesday.
“We know and have seen fines issued to companies for doing the wrong thing, whether they intended or not.
“It is just not acceptable in 2022 to have bowsers which can be withholding petrol that motorists have already paid for.”
NMI general manager for legal metrology Bill Loizides said the audit report couldn’t legally reveal the names of the service stations under-supplying fuel.
He said repeat or particularly egregious errors could spark fines or prosecutions but none were issued in the 2021-2022 period.
“It’s good to have the ability to get the message out that there’s a regulator on the beat, guaranteeing folks get what they pay for,” he said.
The most immediate threat to drivers’ hip pockets comes from a pre-Christmas price rise in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.
The NRMA said more than a quarter of Sydney service stations were selling petrol for more than $2 per litre despite the wholesale price dropping to, the lowest since October and almost 40c per litre below June highs.
Average prices in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane were between 173c per litre and 180c per litre
“That’s why it is vital to do your analysis as a result of there’s a very actual risk that households significantly in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne, who go away, could find yourself discovering petrol cheaper of their vacation vacation spot or en path to their vacation vacation spot somewhat than the capital metropolis as a result of these cycles are going up,” Khoury said.
Khoury said prices weren’t expected to jump as high as recent surges and should begin to drop by as much as 30c per litre shortly after Boxing Day.
The news for holidaying drivers is better in Adelaide and Perth, where prices have just bottomed out, and in Canberra, Hobart and Darwin, where they’re slowly falling.
Khoury urged anyone with complaints about bowsers not delivering the right amount of petrol to contact the Office of Fair Trading or the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.
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The percentage of bowsers under-delivering fuel in tests on almost 4000 dispensers was slightly higher than recent years but the NMI said this was expected given it was targeting “excessive threat commerce teams”.
The institute also found 20 sites had fuel quality problems, from 384 surveyed.
Loizides, from the NMI, warned fruit, vegetable, meat and seafood retailers had been within the institute’s sights subsequent yr.
