Petrol price fixing

[dehne]

Hi all
Well I have worked in the service station game and at a few outlets, about every 4 hours, you would ring the opposition and check their prices, you would then enter them into your computer and wait to hear from headquarters whether to put the price up or down.

[kartone]

where is the ACCC and the motorist association ?

[colcol]

Listen kartone,  the ACCC, RACV, State Goverment, Federal Goverment and the oil companys are playing a round of golf together, on the day the petrol price 'spikes', they are too important to listen to people like us, as we are only motorists, if it was up to me, i would bust them in a week, but then i would most likely end up like the founder of AGIP Petroleum in Italy who had similar ideas, Colin.

[Beatle]

Found these today.  Graph left is petrol, right is diesel.  Adjusted to AUD$

[colcol]

In Melbourne now LPG prices have gone through the roof 88cents a litre at BP in the northern suburbs, Mr. John Shinybum from the RACV, said Motorists should fill up before the price 'spikes', and stop moaning about it, as if you fill up your LPG tank when its expensive, you have no one to blame but yourself, Colin.

[Beatle]

In Melbourne now LPG prices have gone through the roof 88cents a litre at BP in the northern suburbs, Mr. John Shinybum from the RACV, said Motorists should fill up before the price 'spikes', and stop moaning about it, as if you fill up your LPG tank when its expensive, you have no one to blame but yourself, Colin.

I was shocked to see LPG for 91.9 locally only two days ago.  I've never seen it that high before, even in the Top End or Nullabor!!  I shudder to think what it costs in the remote areas now.

[colcol]

Today in Melbourne, on the way to work at 4-30am, the petrol stations were putting their prices up for the Labor day long weekend, this is so on the way to work you will have to fill for that trip away, prices rose about 15 cents per litre, the oil companies claimed it was due to the trouble in Libia or was it Syria or the Greek dept crisis or something, spokesman for the R.A.C.V., Mr. John Shinybum said, going on the history of holiday periods, motorists should know that there will be a price 'spike', just before the long weekend, and its only a coincidence that the prices all went up within an hour of each other, and it definately not price fixing, weary driver filling up his JTS, commented that the only 'spike' he would like to see is one inserted into the posterior of the R.A.C.V. and the A.C.C.C., Colin.

[shane wescott]

Really only a good way of getting a conversation going.

The oil companies will always rule this debate.

They are very smart and start the cycle weeks out from a weekend, easter, xmas etc so they can say - no just part of the normal cycle.

I stopped worrying about it years ago, just very happy the Prado gets economical for a big car on long trips :-)

No where near the GTV6 and its roughly 8lit per 100klm to Bathurst and back.

Maybe i'll ride the Ducati more when the petrol price is high.

Just my view.

Shane

[Neil Choi]

Yep, price fixing, sky rocketed today, just in time for school holidays and easter.

If the fixers were really smart, they would have started it last couple of weeks with all the motorsport going on.

[colcol]

I heard on the radio 20-3-12 that "today petrol prices are going to skyrocket to $1.58 per litre", and it did, on the way home all the prices had gone up, [but there is no price fixing, because that would be illegal], not a sausage in any of the petrol stations, a day later, the Caltex's had dropped their prices 4 cents per litre, and the independants 6 cents per litre, and the customers were returning, why can they whack the price up 15 cents one day, and drop it 6 cents the next day?..... because they can!, and they know they are never going to get busted, because the Competition watch poodle is after the flight centre, because years ago they may have fiddled some holidays prices some where, i hope they spend lots of our money busting those crooks at the Flight centre, they should get the [electric] chair, Colin.

[colcol]

It was in the Herald Sun this week, so it is an incorruptable source, Petrol prices have become more unpredictable than ever, in the 13 price 'spikes' this year, Mondays and Wednesdays were cheapest 4 times and Thursdays and Fridays were cheapest twice, the old cheap Tuesday was true only once, RACV spokesman Mr. John Shinybum, [not his real name], said the petrol cycle, which once only lasted a week, had never been more unpreditable, unwary motorists faced paying up to $15 more till fill a typical family sedan, if they waited too long, when the duration of the 'spike' changes unpreditably that confuses motorists, unless you plan to fill up on cheaper days, you will pay more, Mr. Shinybum said, the longest cycle was a record 22 days in February, but now the 'spike' is happening every 12 to 13 days, spokesman for the petrol industry, Mr. Fat Bastard, [not his real name], on hearing of this, laughed, sent a message to motorists by pulling his pants down and breaking wind loudly, Mr. Shinybum, agreed by nodding fast and saying all this gas reminds me that motorists should consider converting their cars to gas, Colin, [not a fat bastard at all].

[Neil Choi]

Yep, bugger me, $1.72.9 for PULP this morning.  Do I feed the family or drive my Alfa, tough decision?  What would you do? 

[colcol]

I go past 4 petrol stations close to each other and last wednesday, the Caltex bumped its PULP to $1.70, the other 3 didn't for a day, the 3 did a roaring trade for a day, in response due to no customers the Caltex dropped it prices $1.57 for PULP, and got some customers back, how can you bang up the prices and then drop them down in a day?, price fixing?, perhaps you could complain to that ALLEGED motorist organisation the R.A.C.V., and they might for the first time in their life do something for the motorists, but i wouldn't hold my breath, Colin.

[Barry Edmunds]

Colcol

The oil companies raise and lower petrol prices whenever and as often as they like simply because they can and there not one politician with the intelligence and or the intestinal fortitude (read that as balls) to do anything about it. The Federal Government certainly won't do anything which might upset their nice little earner as every price rise at the pumps means a boost for federal treasury and no treasurer would knock back any extra revenue, at least if he wanted to keep his job.

The oil companies always maintain that they don't control the pirce of petrol, but if that is the case why then do the service station operators have to ring a secret telephone number to find out what price to charge.

There has been numerous inquiries into petrol pricing and oil company practices et al and each one has produced the same result - There is no evidence of collusion or price gougng of motorists by/among the oil companies, it is caused by the rise of the Australian $, it is casued by the fall of the Australian $, the high exchange rate of trhe Australian $ is the reason, the price of Singapore crude oil, add you own reasons here.

The main reason why the many and numerous inquiries have failed is pretty simple, the oil companies employ smarter lawyers, pay them more than do governments and oil company people who appear at any inquiry are simply smarter than the politicians conducting the inquiry. The politicians are simply not smart enough to ask the right questions and, as a result, the oil companies only tell the inquiry members what they need to know which is not necessarily the answer to the question asked by said ill-informed inept politicians and the dumb-ass politicians are not smart enough to know that they are being snowed yet agin.

The RACV is no different to any of the other lap-dog motoring organisations whose function is supposedly to look after their members. The RACV spokespersons are good at talking but utterly impotent when it comes to making the oil companies taking any notice. They have no power or authority over anyone, least of all oil companies. Quoting RACV and other spokepersons about fuel price spikes only give the media something to fill in time on TV news or space in the print media.

The ACCC is also as worthless as any other body when it comes to taking action on petrol pricing. The Petrol Commissioner which comes under the precinct of the ACCC is being paid $300,000 a year. For what? There would have to be a very good case to charge this person with fraud for taking money under false pretences.

Any pronouncements from the Petrol Commissioner sound more like the opening address to the local comedy festival than they do in being meaningful comments about fuel prices. The only harm any comments from the Petrol Commissioner are likely to produce would be when the oil company executives fall off their chairs in the boardroom laughing their heads off when they heard the comments.

[colcol]

The head of the A.C.C.C., Mr D. Sim said they were going to look into petrol price fixing between the oil companys, they had evidence that the oil companys had been communicating between each other and monitoring each others pricing and setting the days when the price would spike, and yes the head of the A.C.C.C. is called Mr. Sim, look it up, Colin.