Servo under investigation not named

Sandhya Shetty | 13th July 2009

MOTORISTS are still fuming a week after the Office of Fair Trading revealed a Warwick petrol station was being investigated for doubling the 8.4 cent subsidy.

Can't afford it: Motorist Buckley Smith blames the state government for the increased cost of fuel.

Warwick Daily News

A WEEK after revealing a Warwick service station was under investigation for increasing fuel prices by almost double the 8.354 cent subsidy per litre, the Office of Fair Trading has refused to name the service station.

An Office of Fair Trading spokeswoman said preliminary investigations had revealed there were no major issues.

“Those preliminary results have been forwarded to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC),” the spokeswoman said.

“We can't name the service station at this stage, purely because they have been co-operating with us throughout the investigation. The investigations are still continuing.”

Motorist Buckley Smith said he was annoyed with the state government for letting the service stations jack up their prices.

“They don't lose any money off their wages. They get their vehicles supplied at the taxpayers' expense,” Mr Smith said.

“How does the government justify an extra eight cents on top of an almost 10-cent price hike on fuel?

“All they are doing is making themselves look good.

“The Bligh Government is putting the blame on fuel companies, but they are not doing anything to help the community.

“We are both on a pension. I run two cars and, for relaxation, I ride a motorbike. I am finding it very expensive to keep all these vehicles on the road.”

He said with prices going up he could neither afford to keep nor sell his vehicles.

“You can accept a two to three cent rise, but how can service stations justify that sort of profit?” Mr Smith said.

“It will never change. How about some uniformity in fuel prices across country towns?

“If you go 200 kilometres down the road and cross the border you can buy fuel at cheaper prices.”

Mr Smith said he drove around town to find the cheapest fuel before filling up.

If consumers believe fuel operators are ripping them off they can lodge a complaint by calling 3115 1783 or by logging on to www.fairtrading.qld.gov.au