The Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) is promising forecourt operators that it will adopt a “proportionate approach” to enforcing its Fuel Finder scheme, expected to open for registration in December.
It is asking the industry to consult on draft guidance it revealed on is website this week on how it will deal with fuel operators who fail to report petrol and diesel price updates, or grades being unavailable, within 30 minutes of a change.
The idea is that Fuel Finder will give greater fuel pricing transparency to motorists, with data collected expected to be shared on fuel pricing apps, and an aggregator website.
Motor fuel traders (MFTs) found to be flouting the rules will face penalties, including up to 5% of their worldwide turnover – and not just on fuel takings – during the days of wrongdoing.
VE3 Global, the third party aggregator appointed to set up and operate the scheme, is expected to handle tip-offs from motorists spotting price discrepancies on what is showing on the app or website, compared with the site’s totem pole.
It will have responsibility to resolve issues of non-compliance in the first instance, reporting incidents and details of how an operator has responded to its requests to rectify the problem to the CMA
The CMA, which will have sole responsibility on deciding whether to take enforcement action against any slip-ups, says that while compliance with the regulations will be “key to the success” of Fuel Finder, it will take a “case-by-case” approach of those falling foul of the scheme.
For instance, when deciding whether to impose a penalty it will consider a “reasonable excuse” before making a decision. For example, it says, a ”significant and demonstrable IT failure, (which could not reasonably have been foreseen or avoided), which prevented an MFT complying with a requirement, depending on the circumstances, might amount to a reasonable excuse”.
The CMA, which can make informal inquiries to retailers, expects to reserve formal enforcement action, to more “significant breaches”. This will include when the CMA believes that a firm is not capable of, or willing to, take steps to prevent a further breach, or when such action has caused “significant impact in terms of scale, harm caused, scope or the number of consumers affected”.
“We know that predictability is important to businesses, and the CMA is keen to be transparent in how it intends to apply its powers,” it says. “The guidance should therefore support businesses to comply with their obligations under the regulations to minimise the need for CMA enforcement action.”
Operators have only until November 3, 2025 to submit any concerns to roadfuel.monitoring@cma.gov.uk
Regulations, which will establish a statutory framework for the Fuel Finder scheme, are expected to come into force on December 18, when registration opens for all petrol filling stations in the UK. On February 2, price reporting obligations are due to commence.
