Fuel Retailers Face Fines From Tomorrow for Hiding Their Prices

From 1 May 2026, fuel retailers that fail to report their prices accurately and on time will face enforcement action from the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), with potential fines of up to 30 per cent of their turnover. The crackdown marks the end of a three-month grace period since the government’s Fuel Finder scheme launched on 2 February, during which the CMA focused on helping businesses comply rather than punishing them. That support phase is now over.

For drivers, this is significant. There is currently more than a 50p per litre difference between the cheapest and most expensive fuel in the UK, a gap that on a single 55-litre tank adds up to a difference of roughly 33 pounds. With petrol averaging around 157p per litre and diesel sitting at approximately 189p per litre as of late April 2026, knowing where to fill up is not a minor convenience. It is a genuine saving.

What Is Fuel Finder and How Does It Work?

The Fuel Finder scheme requires every fuel retailer in the UK to report their prices to the government within 30 minutes of any change. That data is then made available to third-party apps and websites, giving drivers access to near-real-time pricing information for filling stations across the country.

Before Fuel Finder, price comparison relied on a patchwork of voluntary submissions, crowdsourced data and manual checks. Drivers had no reliable way of knowing whether the forecourt down the road was cheaper than the one they had just passed without physically driving to it. The scheme is designed to change that by making accurate, current pricing universally available.

The CMA has said it will prioritise enforcement against conduct most likely to undermine the effectiveness of Fuel Finder. That means targeting retailers who fail to register with the scheme entirely, as well as those who register but do not report price changes accurately or within the required 30-minute window. The potential penalties are serious. Fines of up to 30 per cent of turnover would represent a devastating hit for any forecourt business, and the CMA has made clear it intends to use that power where necessary.

Why This Is Needed: The Margins Problem

The enforcement comes against the backdrop of a fuel retail market that the CMA itself has described as suffering from “persistently high” margins and weak competition. The regulator’s annual road fuel monitoring report, published in December 2025, found that fuel margins remain well above historic levels and that operating costs do not explain the increase.

Supermarket fuel margins, which historically sat at around 4 per cent in 2017, had risen to an average of 8.4 per cent in the first half of 2025. On a pence per litre basis, supermarket margins stood at 9.6p per litre for the first nine months of 2025, down from a high of 10.9p in 2022 but still far above the levels drivers were paying before the energy crisis. Non-supermarket retailers fared even worse, with margins of 11.1p per litre, up from 10.8p the previous year.

The CMA’s view is clear: retailers have been keeping more of the savings when wholesale fuel prices fall rather than passing them on to drivers. Fuel Finder is designed to fix this by making prices transparent and giving consumers the information they need to shop around. But transparency only works if the data is accurate, which is why enforcement from 1 May is so critical.

The Price Gap Across the UK

The variation in fuel prices across the country is striking. Unleaded petrol can be found for as low as 146.9p per litre at the cheapest forecourts, while motorway service stations regularly charge close to 200p per litre. The gap between the cheapest supermarket fuel and average motorway services prices is roughly 29.5p per litre.

Regionally, Northern Ireland is the cheapest place to fill up, with an average unleaded price of 150.9p per litre. Greater London is the most expensive at 158.6p, a gap of 7.7p between the two. For drivers filling up once a week, that regional difference alone adds up to more than 20 pounds per year on a standard tank.

These variations are not new, but Fuel Finder makes them visible in a way they have never been before. A driver in any part of the country can now check real-time prices before leaving home and plan their fill-up accordingly.

The Warning: Do Not Chase Cheap Fuel at Any Cost

While finding the cheapest pump is tempting, there is a practical limit to how far it makes sense to drive for cheaper fuel. Lee Puffett, Managing Director of Start Rescue, warns that the sums do not always add up.

“Driving several miles out of your way or making a dedicated trip to fill up could mean paying more overall and possibly running out of fuel altogether, especially as more drivers run their cars to near empty due to high costs,” says Puffett.

The point is a fair one. If a filling station five miles away is 3p per litre cheaper than the one around the corner, the saving on a full tank is roughly 1.65 pounds. Depending on the car, the fuel burned getting there and back could easily wipe out that saving entirely. The smarter approach is to use Fuel Finder to check prices at stations you would pass anyway, on your commute, near the supermarket or on a route you are already driving, rather than making a dedicated trip.

There is also a safety dimension. The Highway Code states that drivers must have sufficient fuel or charge for their journey, particularly on motorways. Running out of fuel on a motorway could result in a 100 pound fine and three penalty points for careless driving, as well as putting yourself and recovery operatives at risk.

“We advise monitoring local fuel forecourts and, as you are passing by, to fill up with petrol or diesel when the fuel gauge shows roughly a quarter tank,” adds Puffett.

How To Actually Find the Cheapest Fuel

The Fuel Finder data feeds into a number of apps and websites that drivers can use right now. Sites such as PetrolPrices.co.uk and Fuel Finder UK pull from the government data and allow searches by location, showing the cheapest options within a given radius. Most major supermarket apps also display their current fuel prices.

The key habit to build is checking before you leave, not after you have already pulled into a forecourt. A two-minute search on your phone before your morning commute could identify a cheaper station on your existing route. Over a year of weekly fill-ups, even a consistent saving of 5p per litre adds up to more than 140 pounds on a 55-litre tank.

With enforcement now backing the scheme, the data should become more reliable and more comprehensive. Retailers who were previously slow to update or who quietly avoided registering will now face real consequences for non-compliance. For drivers who have spent years suspecting that forecourt pricing was opaque and inconsistent, Fuel Finder with teeth is a welcome development.

The wider shake-up of driving-related policy currently being planned by the government touches everything from licensing rules to vehicle standards, but for most drivers, the change they will feel most immediately is the one that lands tomorrow: the ability to see exactly what every forecourt in the country is charging, updated in real time and backed by the threat of serious fines for anyone who tries to hide it.

Sources:

GOV.UK: Registering With and Reporting Your Fuel Prices to Fuel Finder

GOV.UK: Fuel Finder Enforcement Guidance

GOV.UK: Fuel Margins Remain “Persistently High” and This Is Not Explained by Operating Costs, CMA Finds

CMA: Road Fuel Monitoring Annual Report 2025

PetrolPrices: Fuel Finder Fact Check