Jim is a pensioner who wants to know why petrol costs more on pension day
A NOWRA petrol outlet has been accused of showing contempt for its customers by repeatedly increasing prices on the days aged pensions are paid.
The most recent example occurred last week when the price of unleaded petrol at Nowra’s Coles Express jumped from 152.9 cents per litre on Wednesday, August 20, to 158.9 cents per litre the following day.
On Friday, August 22, the price was back down to 152.9.
Nowra pensioner Jim Stalvies said the sudden, one-day price rise was not an isolated case, and he quoted other examples of when the petrol price at Coles Express rose sharply for just the Thursday when aged pensioners received their money.
For example, on April 30 and May 2 the price was 149.9, but on Thursday, May 1, it jumped to 154.9.
On June 11 and 13 the price was 161.9, but on the Thursday it was 166.9, while two weeks later the price jumped from 166.7 on June 25 to 169.7 on Thursday, June 26, before returning to 166.7 the following day.
Mr Stalvies said it was an annoying situation that seemed to be targeted directly at pensioners, who had little money to spare.
“Despite all the grand words from governments over the years, fuel watches, ICAC and millions of dollars expended and wasted on oil inquiries, it is still blatantly obvious that oil companies and big businesses rule the roost, and at least one is still quite happy to milk pensioners of their meagre fortnightly pittance,” Mr Stalvies said.
He said while he kept an eye on prices and avoided the service station when the price went up, people coming into Nowra on pension days, and who did not see the daily changes in petrol prices, could be caught unawares.
A Coles Express spokesperson blamed the price changes on market forces and local competition.
“The movement of pump prices is the result of a wide range of factors combined with market participants (both majors and independents) responding to the local competition,” the spokesperson said.
“Prices moving up and down are the result of a highly competitive market and, therefore, are market driven.”
However, Mr Stalvies noted other fuel retailers around Nowra did not vary their prices in the way Coles Express had.
And even when utilising the four cents per litre discount, Coles Express was more expensive than other fuel retailers on Thursday of last week, he noted.
The Coles Express spokesperson cautioned against a price comparison as, “Comparing prices on a particular day of the week, at a particular point in time, only provides a snapshot – rather than a trend.”
Mr Stalvies said it was time for governments to stop talking about petrol prices and finally do something.
But he was not optimistic about the chances of anything happening.
“While our governments get their share of this rip-off in GST, do they really care?” he asked.
“While pensioners wait and wait for a review of their pensions, it is events like this that further undermine our lifestyles.”
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