The Telegraph reports today that several oil companies, including Shell and BP, may have been fixing the price of fuels for the last decade.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/news/1...ecade.html

EU investigators have apparently raided the offices of both companies looking for evidence. If proved it's being regarded as being on the scale of the libor scandal.

What's the betting, though, that if it is proved there'll be huge fines all round (since it's an EU investigation presumably going into EU funds), and the price of fuel will have to go up to pay the fines! (Cynical? Me?!)

Edit: The BBC news site also carries the story:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-22533993

It also mentions that a recent investigation by the UK Office of Fair Trading concluded that the market was operating fairly. It will be interesting to see where this goes.

Interesting indeed but I too am cynical about these things. The whole oil industry is run by a cartel right from its source, if there is too much friction then they can squeeze world prices, it will be us that bleed not the oil companies.

we:ve known for years that its probably fixed, its took some body with some balls to take them on but i bet they come out smelling of roses as usual  rainy-city
xs

I've recorded my own cynicism above, but one never knows. Look what happened with the libor scandal - heads did roll, real heads, not just scapegoats. And, at least on the face of it, there have been some real changes to processes and procedures. Not that it's had any effect of borrowing rates...

Plus, of course, the real villain when it comes to fuel price fixing is the government with it's ridiculous levels of taxation, and since nothing is going to get done about that there's not going to be any real reduction in prices.

If the prices are being fixed, which would not surprise me, BP must be the worst, BP often have the most expensive fuel, normally by two or three pence per litre. Where I am, the local BP is normally 2 to 3 p more than any other forecourt in the town. Todhills, North of Carlisle is a prime example, Shell Northbound is always 3p a litre cheaper than the BP opposite on the Southbound side. p****d off with a Digital Keyboard Warrior

The price of fuel has always been rigged and probably always will be. No-one in authority has any wish to disturb monopolistic status quo situations in any industry; the big guys are too big to upset. Politicians have to protect their own interests - jobs after leaving office, backhanders whilst in office, contributions to party funds, etc., etc

Another real inequity is in the regional prices. If you buy a Daily Mail in London, Manchester, Penzance, Keswick, Glasgow or Ullapool it's always the same price. Why should we in rural areas whose need for cars is the greatest be fleeced unmercifully in comparison with those of you in urban areas? Ours - 2008 Stornoway Grey HSE Auto
Tricia's - 2006 Royal Blue Beetle Cabriolet Auto
Mine - 2014 Vespa GTS 300 Super Sport Matt Black
Ours - 2007 White Bailey Pageant Champagne

Do not hold your breath..After the banks and the debt junkies gambled and lost with our money not one has ended up where they belong...Costing us £26,562 and fifty pence for every taxpayer in the UK...

Investigating petrol tax rigging would be better, seeing as that does us out of more money than anything else.

one of the papers say tht is been going on since 2002 up to present date and say that the amount of money involved would equate to £2000 gpb per house hold in the uk can you realy see them giving us a refund bp are all ready crying that the claims in the us for the gulf rig that blew up is causing ireprable damage to the company so could they cope with another claim ?? rainy-city
xs

Given that the bulk of the price of a litre of diesel is bloody tax, any price rigging by oil co's will have had a relatively marginal effect. It's just, in these straitened times, the turn of big oil to get a kicking from the disgruntled punter. ...

Be true to yourself. That way happiness lies...

fuel protest just to give the investigation a bit of a push  rainy-city
xs