The official inflation rate may have hit zero but families face a raft of April price rises on ‘must pay’ bills that could add up to more than £145 a year.

April 1 was the trigger date for increases on the cost of everything from a tank of petrol or a hot shower to a dental appointment or a doctor’s prescription.

BT, the BBC and the Royal Mail are also among those taking a little bit extra from the pockets of consumers.

For families who are faced with pay freezes or worse, every extra penny going out of the budget risks tipping their finances into the red.

Rising petrol prices are just one of the things adding an extra £145 to the average family’s weekly bills

Drivers are being hit worst by the Government’s decision to go ahead with the 2p-a-litre tax hike on petrol from April 1 despite complaints from business and motoring groups.

A two- car family using unleaded petrol will find they have to pay out an extra £51.36 a year in tax to satisfy the demands of the Treasury.

The petrol increase will also put up the price of everything from a basket
of groceries to a stay in a hotel, because it will increase business transport costs.

April 1 was also the day the country’s big water companies increased their charges by an inflation-busting average of  4.1 per cent, taking the average bill up £13 a year to £342.

However, some face even bigger rises. Southern Water customers face a rise of 5.6 per cent - £20 - taking the annual figure to £370.

BT has put up the cost of monthly line rental by £1 to £12.50.

It is also killing off the Friends & Family discount which offers a saving of 10 per cent on calls to up to 15 of a customer’s commonly dialled landline numbers.

Separately, the cost of a daytime landline call is going up by 15 per cent to 4.5p a minute, while it has already put up the call connection fee by 16.8 per cent to 8p.

These increases are balanced by reductions in some areas. However, a family could realistically end up paying an extra £42 a year.

NHS healthcare has also become more expensive, at least in England, where a single prescription charge is up 10p to £7.20.

By contrast prescriptions are free in Wales, while families in Scotland and Northern Ireland will see a £1 reduction as part of a gradual phasing out of the charges.

This week, the cost of a BBC colour TV licence fee increases by £3 - 2.1 per cent - to £142.40.

The black and white version is up £1 to £48 - squeezing the wallets of the public while millions of pounds go into the pockets of well-paid presenters such as Jonathan Ross.

The fall in the value of the pound against the euro and other currencies will put up the cost of imports later this year.

Nintendo has already responded by increasing the UK price of its Wii console by £20 to £200.

The Retail Price Index measure of inflation, used in most pay negotiations, hit zero in February, suggesting the cost of living is static.

But the raft of rises which come into effect now mean the squeeze on household budgets will only get tighter.

Finance expert Rebecca Atkinson, of Moneywise magazine, said: ‘The impression given by the official statistics is that the cost of living is not rising; however that could not be further from the truth.

‘April 1 has been the trigger for an increase in a number of bills. Each increase may be relatively small, but the combined effect can make a real difference.’

She added: ‘It will be interesting to see what impact these increases have on the official inflation rate.

‘If it rises there is a real risk the Bank of England will respond by putting up interest rates.’

Source: dailymail.co.uk

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Motorists face another controversial 2p a litre hike in fuel tax next month as as motoring groups today meet Treasury Ministers to demand a freeze on the controversial rise on April 1.

It is the second of three stealth tax rises to hit Britain’s 33million drivers that will see duty rise by 5p a litre over a 14-month period to help bail out ailing Government finances.

The proportion of tax paid by motorists will be around 70p in every pound spent at the pumps.

It follows the Government’s controversial decision to impose a deferred 2p a litre rise in November last year.

And it comes as motorists face an tax-increase of 0.5 per cent above inflaton in April 2010.

But the AA fears its calls to the Treasury minister Angela Eagle today to axe the tax rise will fall on deaf ears.

Since the beginning of the year, average petrol prices have risen 3.41p, though the price of petrol at the pumps has fallen slightly in the last four weeks, latest AA figures showed today.

But prices are set to rise again when a planned 2p increase in fuel duty takes effect from next month.

The AA will meet Treasury ministers to argue that the next 2p rise should not go ahead and instead be frozen.

The first 2p a litre stealth tax was quietly announced in the small print of the Chancellor’s Pre Budget Commons statement in November.

Now motorists face a further 1.84p a litre duty on their fuel from April 1 this year, which by the time VAT is added means a total tax rise of 2.12p.

However, this will be followed by a further duty increase of 0.5p above the rate of inflation from April 2010.

On top of that - for motorists but not for businesses which can reclaim it - will be the VAT which is effectively a ‘tax on a tax’.

The Daily Mail revealed in October last year how the duty rises were set to go ahead following a confrontation between Treasury minister Angela Eagle and motoring groups.

They said they were ‘left in no doubt’ by her that duty was to rise to bail out the cash-strapped Government - a fact confirmed by the pre-budget statement.

The Chancellor justified the November duty rise by insisting it ‘offset’ his reduction in VAT and the falling price of oil and pump prices. But Mr Darling also broke a pledge that there would be no increase in fuel duty before April, having insisted he would only ‘look at the matter again in the Budget.’

Last November’s announcement was not made in a Budget proper but in a ‘Pre-Budget Statement’.

AA president Edmund King said today: ‘On April 1, if the Government goes ahead with its fuel duty hike, it will join local authorities in conveniently forgetting that drivers also face the threat of severe financial hardship from the credit crunch - echoing Richmond’s proposed £800,000 raid on car parking, Edinburgh’s unjustified doubling of parking permit costs for large families and proposed workplace charges in Nottingham and Milton Keynes.

‘Many non-supermarket retailers appear to be giving drivers more credit, with pricing to challenge the supermarkets.’

Between mid-February and mid-March the average UK price of petrol fell from 90.88p a litre to 90.56p.

The average cost of diesel went down from 100.79p a litre to 99.77p.

In the last four weeks, three of the four main supermarkets have raised their average petrol prices while most non-supermarket retailers have lowered theirs.

Supermarkets remain broadly 1.4p a litre cheaper than the other retailers, although the price gap in many towns is extremely tight.

The cheapest petrol at present - at 90.2p a litre on average - is to be found in north-west England and in Yorkshire and Humberside. Northern Ireland (91.6p) has the most expensive petrol.

Source: dailymail.co.uk

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Oil giants are artificially inflating the cost of living for millions, figures suggest.

The latest Daily Mail Cost of Living Index reveals prices paid at the pumps are lagging behind the 55 per cent fall in the value of crude oil.

Diesel has come down by just seven per cent in a year.

The European Commission has launched an inquiry, following an official complaint from the European umbrella organisation for motoring groups, the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile.

Brent crude is currently trading at $44.55 a barrel, down from $100.3 in March last year - which should mean significantly lower prices across the economy.

But motorists and shoppers are still not seeing the full benefit.

When crude oil was last around $44 a barrel, just over four years ago, a litre of diesel cost an average of 84.8p a litre.

However, today motorists are having to pay an average of 99.99p a litre.

This means motorists filling up with the average 85 litres over a month are missing out on £12.91 monthly saving - or just under £155 a year.

It has led to suspicions that some companies in the petrol supply chain are boosting their profits.

Only two of the ten Eurozone countries, Germany and Italy, have higher diesel prices than Britain.

EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes has promised to investigate the failure to cut pump prices in line with the cost of oil.

In a letter to the FIA, she warns that the Commission ’stands ready to act expeditiously to stop any anticompetitive behaviour on these markets and thereby protect consumers’.

But the Petrol Retailers’ Association rejected the complaints.

A spokesman said the discrepancy between crude and diesel prices is down to the UK’s lack of refining capacity, as well as the weaker pound.

High fuel prices, particularly diesel used by the lorries which transport food and goods, have implications across the economy.

The Mail’s Cost of Living Index, compiled in association with MySupermarket.co.uk and Uswitch.com, shows the price of a typical basket of groceries is up 17 per cent since last March.

Source: dailymail.co.uk

Chancellor Alistair Darling offered some respite to motorists today by postponing April’s scheduled 2p-a-litre rise in fuel duty until October.

But he added that fuel duty would increase by 0.5p a litre in real terms from 2010.

Mr Darling said: “For environmental reasons we will increase fuel duty by half a pence per litre in real terms from 2010.

“Fuel duty is due to rise again in April but, because I want to support the economy now and help business and families, I will postpone that increase until October.”

AA president Edmund King said: “This temporary relief should quell any panic at the pumps. The Chancellor has listened to us and made a sensible decision.

“The proposed increase would have taken fuel prices to new record levels. Two pence might not sound like much but when it is added to the 20p-a-litre increase in pump prices in the last year it could have been the last straw for many motorists and hauliers.

“If fuel prices remain at record levels in the autumn the increase should be scrapped.”

David Frost, director-general of the British Chambers of Commerce, said: “With the price of petrol at the pump rocketing, the Chancellor was right not to introduce the proposed 2p rise in fuel duty.

“However, as the Chancellor reduces his own economic growth forecasts, he should have said that he is scrapping the 2p rise rather than merely deferring it.

“Businesses and motorists are being squeezed by higher fuel costs and the Government is getting an unexpected windfall due to higher duty receipts. There is no justification for a 2p rise in October.”

The Freight Transport Association (FTA) welcomed the 2p postponement, saying it would save the industry about £140m.

But it added that any increase should have been put off for at least a year while the market remained so turbulent.

Motorists will also face an April 2009 fuel duty rise of 1.84p a litre - an increase previously announced.

Mr Darling also announced further transport measures today, saying that if Britain was to remain competitive over the next 20 to 30 years, the Government had to take more radical steps to reduce congestion on our roads.

He announced he was:

* Setting aside new funding to develop the technology which could underpin national road pricing, inviting tenders to test this with the results expected next year;

* Reforming capital allowances for business cars to increase the incentive to move to lower carbon-emitting cars;

* Proposing, from April 2009, a major reform to Vehicle Excise Duty (car tax) to encourage manufacturers to produce cleaner cars and, by introducing new bands, there will be an incentive to encourage drivers to choose the least-polluting car;

* Under this new regime, the most-polluting vehicles will face a VED rate of £425, while those emitting 150 grams or less of CO2 per kilometre will pay less;

* Introducing from April 2010 for new cars a new first-year VED rate based on carbon dioxide emissions of the car;

* Cars which emit less than the proposed 130 grams per kilometre European standard of carbon dioxide emissions will pay no car tax at all in the first year, but a higher first-year rate of £950 will be introduced for the most-polluting cars.

Mr Darling said: “It is right that if people choose to buy a more-polluting car that they should pay more in the first year to reflect the environmental cost.

“The changes will provide a real incentive to manufacturers and motorists.”

The Treasury reckons that as a result of the reforms, the majority of motorists will be better or no worse off in 2009.

Source: independent.co.uk

A clever new web site – www.shiply.com enables astute consumers to save up to 75% off their bill by matching themselves up with hauliers already travelling along a similar route.

With congestion on Britain’s roads at bursting point and diesel costs this year reaching record highs, ultimately it’s the environment and the British public that pay. Hauliers have suffered the most, with over 16% going bust and business volumes falling by 30% in the last year alone.

With the dark cloud of the credit crunch descending, savvy consumers are listing goods they want to move on shiply.com. Feedback-rated hauliers looking to utilise their spare capacities are then placing competitive bids (like a reverse-auction) to carry out the jobs. By giving work to vehicles that would otherwise be empty, users of the site can expect significant savings and help minimize the number of wasted trips.

Announcing the new service, Robert Matthams, managing director said: “Our aims are to offer a viable solution to the haulage industry for keeping their lorries full; save consumers money in the face of the credit crunch; and contribute towards a greener solution. Anything that needs to be moved from boxes to boats can be listed on the site – free and with no obligation to accept any prices received.” At any one time there are over 930,000 items listed on eBay which are available for local collection, usually due to their oversized nature. This may deter prospective bidders who don’t live locally. The prospect of arranging a courier is time consuming and not to mention expensive. Shiply, a certified member of the eBay Developers Program, has developed eBay tools which allow bidders to import eBay items they have won or are currently bidding on into Shiply – ready to receive to bids from transportation service providers. http://www.shiply.com

Fired lorry driver Christopher Bevan kept 2 of his ex-employer’s fuel cards and went on a £7,000 spending spree it has been heard.

Mr Bevan used the fuel cards 98 times over a period of 5 weeks racking up the huge bill. It was heard by courts that he was filling up cans and then re-selling them at low-cost. Customers were beating a path to his door.

However at around 1am on October 30 last year a garage cashier became suspicious and phoned police. The police caught Mr Bevan with the two fuel cards and class A drugs.

Judge Francis Gilbert QC said Bevan was guilty of “rampant dishonesty” and sentenced him to a total of 10 months in jail: eight months for the fraud and drugs offences and two months for the criminal damage, but made no order for compensation due to his lack of means.

Moral of the story - It is so vitally important for hauliers to keep on top of the whereabouts of their fuel cards. They should be treated the same as debit/credit cards and immediately cancelled if an ex-employee has possession.

Source: shiply.com

Widget UK Ltd wants personal navigation devices to be available where customers need them most: in forecourt retail sites across the UK.

Stevenage, 16 March 2009 - Consumer electronics distributor Widget UK Ltd today announces that it is seeking discussions with major oil companies and independent distributors in the forecourt retail sector to place its range of satellite navigation devices in the reach of the public when they need it most.

“When you are lost, a petrol station is the first place you are going to stop,” said Widget founder Mark Needham. “When we first started selling TomTom navigation devices, there was only one version of the product, and it cost several hundred pounds. Now some TomTom models are in the price range suitable for forecourt retailers to range them or use them as loyalty scheme prizes.”

Darren Cottage, distribution manager for TomTom UK stated: “Our products are famous for being easy to use, and have been shown to reduce the number of miles drivers travel looking for their destination, thus saving fuel, money and time. We welcome this initiative to make our products even easier to purchase.”

Source:  Widget UK

Figures for the first nine months of 2008 show a decline in visitors from England, Scotland’s biggest tourist market, of 4%, or the loss of around 400,000 individual trips.

The VisitScotland figures also reveal an 11% decrease in visits from North America and an 8% fall in tourists from continental Europe, taking the total number of lost trips to almost 700,000. The lucrative business travel market was also hit by a 16% downturn.
Although petrol prices have fallen and the pound strengthened against the dollar, there are fears that the deepening recession and the continuing credit crunch could bring further falls in 2009, despite the Scottish Government’s Homecoming Year initiative.

The figures are contained in a Competitive Environment report for VisitScotland, the national tourism agency, which says that Scotland’s tourism businesses suffered more from the economic downturn than those in other parts of the UK.

It describes the outlook for the next few months among many sectors of the industry as “pessimistic”, adding that almost one in five tourism businesses has indicated it may have to shed staff this year.

The report says: “In terms of why we are underperforming the rest of the UK, factors that look likely to have impacted more strongly in Scotland are the high fuel costs last year, which may have discouraged some international travellers who had planned to undertake driving tours to Scotland, or those who arrived at another airport in the UK.

“The economic situation may also have meant that some consumers chose to sacrifice short breaks or second holidays.”

The downturn affected all sectors of the tourism industry, which is Scotland’s largest employer.

Visitor attractions recorded a 12% drop in admissions, although not all of that can be attributed to a decline in tourists. Hotels, guesthouses and self-catering businesses all recorded a decline in bookings while hostels and camping and caravan sites remained stable, suggesting tourists are staying in cheaper accommodation.

The report says, however, that tourism businesses are hopeful that the Homecoming celebrations, in addition to other events, will have a “positive impact” in what is likely to be a “challenging year”.

Industry experts said there were concerns that the downturn would persist throughout the year. Debbie Taylor, chair of the British Hospitality Association and managing director of the Old Course Hotel in St Andrews, said: “Every sector of the industry was affected last year and this is being compounded in the first quarter of 2009.

“There has been a slow start to the year and there is a lot of uncertainty about what will happen over the next few months. We can only hope the domestic market will pick up. As the pound is weak against the euro, more people will stay at home rather than going abroad.”

Andrew Martin, former professor of tourism at Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen and now visiting professor at Wasburn University, Kansas, said

Scottish businesses had to step up their marketing efforts with their own funds to attract back lost customers.

“The private sector has to start putting its hand in its pocket,” he said. “In the US, businesses self-tax and put the money into a central pot to be spent on marketing. That’s what Scottish businesses have to learn to do.”

A VisitScotland spokesman said tourists were “responding positively” to campaigns such as Homecoming Scotland 2009.

“The fantastic range of events throughout the year, and sense of celebration and welcome that Homecoming Scotland will generate are exactly what Scotland needs to continue to perform well,” he said.

Source: scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com

LONDON (Reuters) - Petrol prices in Britain were up about 5 percent over the past month to mid-February, rising more sharply than the current inflation rate, the Automobile Association said on Wednesday.

The average retail price of unleaded petrol rose 4.3 pence to 90.9 pence per litre from 86.6 pence in mid-January.

“Petrol prices have risen by nearly 5 percent in the past month, compared to the current UK inflation rate of 3 percent,” the association said in a press statement.

On the key wholesale oil product market, petrol prices have risen more sharply than crude oil over the past month.

Industry analysts have said that was because of relatively low levels of petrol in Europe and the United States, the key gasoline export market for European oil companies.

On the other hand, inventory levels of middle distillate products, such as diesel, have been higher than last year.

The Automobile Association said the average diesel price rose more modestly.

Diesel rose by 2.1 pence to 100.8 pence per litre in mid-February from 98.7 pence in mid-January.

The price difference between unleaded gasoline and diesel fell 9.9 pence a litre from 12.1 pence over the same period.

(Reporting by Ikuko Kao; Editing by Marguerita Choy)

Source: uk.reuters.com

Fuel pumps at more than 70 Tesco filling stations in the UK had to be checked after thousands of people were overcharged at one petrol garage.

Drivers using the Ystrad Mynach store, Caerphilly, received less fuel than they paid for over a nine month period.

The average overcharge amounted to £2 to £3 over nine month and was found after trading standards checks. Court proceedings have now been launched,

Customers have been offered a refund or can opt for the money to go to charity.

A Tesco spokesman said a software error was spotted at three pumps during a routine test by Caerphilly council’s trading standards department at the Ystrad Mynach garage last autumn.

Caerphilly council said court proceedings have been launched against the supermarket over the issue and it will not comment further.

The fault meant less fuel was dispensed than was paid for by customers who used the affected pumps from 26 October, 2007 to 7 July last year.

My mother was due a refund of £48 which she did collect, but could not believe that someone in front of her collected less than 50p! Michelle Smith, Talbot Green

It meant the supermarket had to undertake the “lengthy process” of checking pumps at a further 72 of its service station which use the same software.

After no other faults were found, the company was able to trace customers who used the Ystrad Mynach branch using their Tesco Clubcards and credit cards.

Donate to charity

The Tesco spokesman said many customers had “reacted positively” to the letters as they were only owed small amounts of money.

He added, however, that some local businesses, who used the petrol station regularly, may be owed “a couple of hundred pounds”.

He said many customers had opted to donate money to be shared between four local charities - Trinity Fields, a school for young people with special needs, Ystrad Mynach Boys and Girls Club, Ty Hafan Children’s Hospice and Ystrad Mynach Hospital for the Aged.

The supermarket said: “Tesco will also make sure that the total refunds and charity donations add up to more than twice as much as the original overcharges caused by the fault at the pumps.

“We would also like to offer reassurances that we have checked other sites as a precautionary measure and can confirm that this was an isolated incident.”

A spokesman for Caerphilly council said: “We are aware of the issues relating to fuel at the Tesco site in Ystrad Mynach following an investigation by this authority and subsequent court proceedings.

“However these proceedings have not yet reached a conclusion and for legal reasons we cannot comment further at this time.”

Source: bbc.co.uk