UPDATED - Something stinks. Despite the Scottish Fuels-supporting troll claiming this and that, there has been no general price increase at independent stations on the mainland this week. Kessock is still 134.9p for unleaded. The hike is only in the Western Isles. We were down to 1p more expensive than Kessock - now we are 8p more expensive. Blatant profiteering by Scottish Fuels and Highland Fuels – because they can and they know that the people with the power to do something about it are just not bothered.
Hey, comhairle’s Fuel Action Group – how about some action?
Hey, Angus Macneil – how about some action?
Hey, Alasdair Allan – how about some action?
No, I thought not. Nobody cares.
UPDATED – Another 4p on unleaded in Stornoway this week. Now 142.9p . That’s 8p up on Christmas time. No outcry yet? Fine.
The islands are now facing increasing fuel prices again after a period of stability and sense when some of our wise retailers told Scottish Fuels what to do with their illegal five-year contracts.
Sadly, it was a temporary dip just to make us gullible people in the islands with heather in our ears feel something positive had happened. The crooks who distribute the stuff have taken a breath, shaken themselves down and are at it again.
Sources in the industry tell me that it is now very obvious that Scottish Fuels and smaller player Highland Fuels are, once again, working hand in glove to push up island pump prices. They are pushing up prices almost every week but the same trend is not happening on the mainland. The figures are there for all to see.
We had the same prices as the Highlands for a while there which is undoubtedly how it should be. Although the distance is greater to get it here, bulk sea tanker is by far the cheapest way to transport the stuff around the country. We should be cheaper.
It is now 138.9p (correction 142.9) in Stornoway, which is 4p (correction 8p) more than it was six weeks ago. 8p. Waiting for confirmation of Inverness and Glasgow prices.
Check the facts. The 4p per litre price hike since December to mid-February has just not happened on the other side of the water. That shows it is a rip-off. And a quick check shows that “brave competitor” Highland Fuels is matching every Scottish Fuels price hike with another of its own. Coincidence or proof that they too are at it? I am sure they will now write and tell me the facts as they see them.
So what is being done about it?
Good job we have the council’s wonderfully-efficient highly-paid elected councillors on the curiously-named Fuel Action Group monitoring what is happening every day, alerting us immediately to what the crooks in Inverness and Bayble, sorry Warrington, are up to and fighting hard in the interests of all islanders.
Good job the brave souls at the Office of Fair Trading are investigating this. Even though their latest inquiry has no terms of reference, has failed to call for evidence and may be scrapped in April, according to their own letter last week, we can all rest assured that the growing number of whispers and mounting suspicion that there is deep-rooted corruption and wickedness staining the very souls of the big players in this sad story are all completely without foundation.
Highland Fuels isn’t a competitor; BROGAN’S was for a short time a competitor. All Highland appears to do is to exist alongside the GB ‘following the leader’, as they seemly have chosen to be impotent by adapting a non-aggressive marketing policy. This scurrilous policy will certainly mean much higher prices for all fuels including; Petrol & Diesel, Home Heating Oil, Marine Gas Oil etc., basically affecting everyone and the Islands economy. The OFT can’t seem to grasp what is happening before them e.g. a cartel must be in operation. So far they have been faffing around when all seems to be glaringly obvious; why are they allowing this to continue? OFT needs to asking questions like; what types of communications exist or have ever existed between the two parties and how often etc. They must now start too big deeper and also start to listen to those who are affected rather than having cosy meetings with Sam Chambers & Co in Glasgow.
Try 6p per litre extra and rising at Ardashaig – fans of Highland fuels
Campaign against lying bloggers.
ASDA in December 2012 137.7p/l for diesel. In January 2013 ASDA 139.7p/l. In February 2013 (today even) ASDA 141.7 p/l.
Get your facts right. Yet more shoddy journalism from someone who should know better.
Joe, you might stop and look at your own actions before you call anyone a liar. If you had bothered to actually read what I have been doing you would know that I do not check supermarkets as they admit they use fuel as loss-leaders. Not a fair comparison. The price at Kessock Filling Station yesterday was 134.9p for unleaded. That was confirmed by PetrolPrices.com.
However, my Stornoway prices are indeed already out of date as some local filling stations have put the price up 4p in the last day or so. Some are now 142.9p a litre for unleaded. Happy now?
Time for direct action?
And the “Great Leader” say’s I do not believe I sell horsemeat ………we await a thorough investigation, by the Scot’s Government/British Government ?.
Has anyone got figures of the differential between Island and mainland prices prior to the announcement of the 5p derogation?
Still, there may be a bright side as long as we make whitewash in Scotland since the industrial quantity which the Office of Fair Trading will be buying to find no fault with the wholesalers should give work to a fair few.
UK Petrol Prices for Thursday 3rd January 2013
Avg > Min > Max
Unleaded 132.12p > 126.9p > 145.9p
Diesel 140.06p > 134.9p > 154.9p
At the time Gordon Diesel was 132.9p Unleaded and 140.9p Diesel
(i.e. we were paying average UK price after the 5p derrogation)
UK Petrol Prices for Monday 18th February 2013
Avg > Min > Max
Unleaded 137.92p > 130.9p > 149.9p
Diesel 144.76p > 138.9p > 156.9p
Gordon Diesel price currently 140.9p Unleaded and 145.9p Diesel
So we know Gordon Diesel has fixed his margin at the 5p derrogation so Highland Fuels have increased the price on the Island by 3p on Unleaded and 1p on Diesel relative to the average mainland price.
A company director has probably had a talking to from an area manager, “can’t you just do as your told”.. “we are helping you to make £millions”.. “PUT YOUR PRICE BACK UP NOW”.
So here we are back at square one, with no incentive to make a detour down to Back anymore. Time to crank up the FFS campaign once again, they seem to be the only ones willing to keep up the pressure. Where are the MP and MSP on this, and why are they silent on the issue?
Will you all please stop bothering me on the telephone line and realise that I am now slightly too devoid of the stamina required to become the MP although I do accept that I am the most experienced but I am not sure my stomach and my knees could stand all the rich food and young women that go with the job as secretaries of course just because the present fellow from Barra is not bothered about doing anything which of course is what most of us want him to do to get us our freedom and nothing else. I hear he is to be replaced which is a pity because then you might get somebody who will do something about fuel which is not what we want for a Free Scotland balance of payments and GDP. But however I hear your pleas and I suggest you find someone who looks and not necessary speaks like Donald because I could soon teach that and the very man is that troublemaker fuel fellow Callum Iain Macmillan who follows a fine lineage with his uncle an MP on the wrong side before Donald, and his grandfather the Prime Minister Harold (Macmillan NOT Wilson) on the right side all he needs is to change his name and get grey now that he has developed pluicean suitable for the job and also he is from Stornoway like Donald but not a mill owner.
Alex is still not speaking to me this week, still in a rage because I suggested he step aside on the grounds that Nicola is much more popular and you cannot have two people with fishy names in charge after 2014 its coming yet for all that and he already has too many people with funny names in his cupboard Paul Wheelbarrow and Ricky Blockhead who sounds like a pop singer. We need more people like Neil Alex who is doing so well at health messing up the figures but I have given up my ambition that Big Alex would win the 100 meters next year because he will insist on four square meals a day and long lingering lunches and cozy suppers at Bute House which some very uncivil servants are calling “Brute House” very funny until I catch them although they gave a good blow for freedom this week when they put the Raasay crofters in their place and gave people from south of the border the right to shoot them. Meanwhile I see from the Hebrew News that the MSP is willing to do anything for anyone in Eriskay so come here and turf my peats I cannot trust him to cut them because he sent me a picture last year where he was holding the wrong end of the tarisgeir and shoes.
So, our MP does nothing, our MSP does nothing, the FAGs (and the rest of the council) do nothing, the FFS does nothing, and our Dear Leader remains incommunicado on the subject. The OFT never do anything, anytime.
I’m thinking it is maybe time we had a bit of a change in the islands, as in a new MP, a new MSP, a new council and the elimination of the post of Dear Leader of the council. We badly need to elect people who are going to actually represent the islanders and fight for us. We also need to get shot of the Wastemidden government and their useless OFT.
The trouble is, who do we vote for? The London Labour Party (Scottish Branch) are of no use as they have thrown their lot in with the Tories and the English government. The Whigs are a waste of space and time, and the SNP appear to have lost interest in the islands, even to the extent of stealing the shooting and fishing rights from the good people of Raasay and handing them over to outsiders to run it like the old style English landlords.
We need to elect people who are not party hacks who toe the party line, but who want to do their best for the islanders. Has anyone got any good ideas on this? I’m even tempted to suggest Lochie as, regardless of all else, he couldn’t possible be any worse than the space wasters we have at the moment.
We had a chance to get rid of the dead wood, the greedy and the corrupt last year and the year before that etc. Someone comes around and does the voting for you too in these parts. You get what you deserve if you put an x in the box you have been told to put it in. No point Lochie standing for president if he continues to put his washing out on Sunday and provide such marvellous convenience meals of a standard not seen since the days of The Galloping Gourmet (nudge, nudge, wink, wink…).