Fuel stations using a VERY sneaky trick to get away with charging through the nose for petrol 

Beware the bowser bandits! Fuel stations using a VERY sneaky trick to get away with charging through the nose for petrol

  • Petrol stations have employed a sneaky tactic to trick their customers
  • Companies have been caught drastically changing prices between stores
  • FuelWatch spokesman said the strategy is used by most brands, if not all of them

Petrol stations have employed a sneaky tactic to dupe customers into using their services even if they are far more expensive than other fuel providers.

FuelWatch is a government-run service that provides Australians with live and rolling updates on the cheapest locations for fuel in each state.

But some petrol companies, most recently Caltex and United, have been found to be cheating the system by dropping some stores prices while raising others.

Some petrol companies, most recently Caltex and United have been found to be cheating the system by dropping some stores prices while raising others

Some petrol companies, most recently Caltex and United have been found to be cheating the system by dropping some stores prices while raising others

Some petrol companies, most recently Caltex and United have been found to be cheating the system by dropping some stores prices while raising others

Caltex was caught out appearing to drop their prices at a number of stations in Perth’s metropolitan area in order to grab headlines for being the region’s cheapest fuel locations, PerthNow reported.

In the meantime, prices are hiked up at other stores. This can lead to unwitting customers being hoodwinked into purchasing petrol from these stations and believing they’re getting the same deal they were alerted to via FuelWatch. 

‘FuelWatch is aware of a pricing strategy employed by some of the brands where they price a few of their sites throughout the metropolitan area at well below the daily average,’ FuelWatch coordinator Kyle Huynh said.

‘The purpose of this strategy is to have their brand feature in the media and on FuelWatch as the cheapest for that day, instilling an association of low prices with their brands.’

Petrol stations have employed a sneaky tactic to dupe customers into using their services even if they are far more expensive than other fuel providers

Petrol stations have employed a sneaky tactic to dupe customers into using their services even if they are far more expensive than other fuel providers

FuelWatch is a government-run service that provides people in every state across Australia live and rolling updates on the cheapest locations for fuel in each state

FuelWatch is a government-run service that provides people in every state across Australia live and rolling updates on the cheapest locations for fuel in each state

United fuel stations was also caught out doing the exact same thing in Perth a week ago.

According to the app, customers could purchase fuel from select United store for 107.1c a litre, but most stores were selling at an average of 112.2c a litre.

Mr Huynh said the strategy is employed by most brands, if not all of them. 

A spokesman from Caltex said the company doesn’t follow any intentional pricing strategy of the sort.

‘We monitor local prices regularly and focus on ensuring we deliver competitive prices and great service to our customers.’

‘As required by WA law, our prices are published daily so our customers have full transparency on local fuel prices before they go to fill up,’ the spokesman said. 



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