Frequently Asked Questions
Find answers to common questions about our service
Why PetrolPrices.co.uk?
- ✓ Live prices from over 8,000 UK petrol stations
- ✓ Journey Planner — find the cheapest fuel stops along your route
- ✓ Save your favourite stations for quick price checks
- ✓ Remembers your last search and fuel settings on your device
- ✓ Multi-brand filtering for fast comparisons
- ✓ Loyalty card savings shown for every station
- ✓ Optional car reminders (MOT, Tax, Insurance, Service) stored on your device — no sign-up, no data sent to us
- ✓ Dark mode for comfortable viewing at night
- ✓ Works smoothly on mobile, tablet and desktop devices
- ✓ Choose your preferred map app — Google Maps, Apple Maps or Auto
- ✓ Powered by official CMA fuel data + live retailer feeds
- ✓ Free to use — no sign-up required
New! Journey Planner
Our Journey Planner is a powerful new tool designed to save you money on longer trips. Instead of just searching a single location, you can enter your Start Point and Destination, and we'll find the cheapest petrol stations along your route. It's perfect for commuters, road trips, or just finding the best place to stop on your way home.
It's simple:
- Visit our Journey Planner page.
- Enter your journey details (Start Location & Destination).
- (Optional) Enter your car's MPG and Tank Size — this lets us calculate your exact savings.
- Click Plan Journey to see a map of your route with all the best fuel stops highlighted.
Yes! We automatically save your last 5 trips in a "Recent Journeys" section below the search form. This allows you to instantly reload frequent routes (like your daily commute) with a single click without re-typing the details.
This history is stored securely on your device using your browser's local storage and is never uploaded to our servers.
Your journey history is stored locally on your device. It can be cleared if:
- You clear your browser data or cookies
- You switch between using Safari and the home screen app (they have separate storage)
- Your device runs low on storage
- You haven't visited the site for 7+ days (Safari may auto-clear data)
For the most reliable experience on iPhone, we recommend always using the same method to access the site — either always via the home screen icon, or always via Safari.
We compare the price of a full tank at the cheapest station on your route against the average price of all stations along that same route. This gives you a realistic estimate of how much cash you keep in your pocket simply by choosing the right place to stop.
Yes! You can adjust the "Search Distance from Route" setting.
- 1-2 miles: Keeps you close to your path for a quick stop.
- 3-5 miles: Searches a wider area, which might uncover significantly cheaper supermarket fuel slightly off the main road.
Favourite Stations
The Favourites feature lets you save petrol stations you visit regularly for quick access. Instead of searching each time, you can tap the Favourites button to instantly see live prices at your saved stations — perfect for comparing your usual spots at a glance.
After searching for fuel prices, you'll see a star icon (☆) on each station card. Simply tap the star to add that station to your favourites — it will turn gold to confirm it's been saved.
You can also remove a station from favourites by tapping the gold star again.
Tap the yellow "Favourites" button at the top of the search results, or visit petrolprices.co.uk/favourites.php directly. This page shows all your saved stations with their current live prices, fill costs, and quick navigation links.
Yes, completely. Your favourite stations are stored only in your browser's local storage on your device. They are NEVER uploaded to our servers. Only you can access them from the device you used to save them.
No — for your privacy, favourites are stored locally on each device and do not sync between devices. If you use multiple phones or computers, you'll need to add your favourite stations on each device separately.
Yes! When you view your favourites page, the prices are fetched live from our system, so you always see the most up-to-date fuel costs — just like the main search results.
There's no hard limit set by us, but your browser's local storage has a capacity (usually around 5MB). In practice, this means you can save dozens of stations without any issues.
You can remove a station in two ways:
- From the search results: tap the gold star on any favourited station to remove it
- From the favourites page: tap the gold star icon on the station card you want to remove
You can also use the "Clear All Favourites" button at the bottom of the favourites page to remove all saved stations at once.
Loyalty Cards
You can upload an image of your loyalty card's barcode, which is then saved securely on your device. When you search for fuel, a "Show Card" button will appear for participating brands, allowing you to display the barcode for scanning at the till.
Yes, it is extremely secure. Your loyalty card image is stored only in your browser's local storage on your device. It is NEVER uploaded to our servers. Only you can access it from the device you used to save it.
No. For your privacy, the card images are stored locally and do not sync between devices. You will need to add the card on each device you use.
Pro Tip: Since we don't store your data on our servers, there's no automatic backup. However, you can easily create your own backup on your phone:
- Create a dedicated photo album on your device (e.g., name it "Loyalty Card Backups")
- Each time you add a card to the site, save a copy of the barcode image to that album
This way, if you ever clear your browser data or switch to a new phone, you'll have all the images ready to be re-added in seconds.
Data & Accuracy
Our data is refreshed frequently throughout the day. The prices you see may be cached for up to 15 minutes, so they are a very recent guide to the price at the pump.
We use official data from the UK Government's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) Road Fuel Prices Scheme, combined with direct feeds from retailers. This data is provided under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Prices can change quickly. While our data is very fresh, there can sometimes be a short delay between a station changing its price and the new price appearing on our site. Always treat the displayed price as a guide.
Privacy & Security
No. We have a strict privacy-first policy. We do not use cookies, Google Analytics, or any other tracking tools. Your activity is not monitored. For more details, please see our full Privacy Policy.
No. PetrolPrices.co.uk is completely free to use and does not require any sign-up, login, or subscription.
No — the car reminders feature is fully privacy-safe. Any dates or vehicle details you enter for MOT, Car Tax, Insurance or Service reminders are stored only on your device using your browser's local storage.
Nothing is sent to our servers, and we do not collect, access, or process this information in any way.
Because reminders are kept locally on your device, they will not sync across phones or computers. You can edit or delete them at any time directly from your browser settings.
Yes — PetrolPrices.co.uk now automatically remembers your last search and preferences, including your chosen location, fuel type, brand filters, and search radius. This helps returning users quickly view up-to-date prices without having to re-enter their details every time.
Your preferences are safely stored in your browser's local storage (not cookies), meaning they stay on your device and aren't shared with anyone.
If you'd like to start fresh, click the "Clear location cache" button on the search page — this will instantly remove your saved preferences.
Why Are Car Reminders Useful?
It's simple — just tap to add your MOT, Car Tax, Insurance or Service due dates:
Add your dates:
Once added, you'll see a colour-coded display showing exactly what's coming up:
- Green — not due yet (more than 60 days away)
- Amber — due soon (within 60 days)
- Red — due very soon or due today (within 30 days)
- Grey — expired, take action immediately
Your dates are stored securely on your device only — we never see or store your reminder data.
Many drivers genuinely forget yearly renewal dates — especially when MOT, car tax, insurance and servicing all fall at different times. Our reminders are designed to reduce that risk, and help you stay legal and protected.
MOT
Driving without a valid MOT is commonly dealt with by an on-the-spot fine of £100, and if it goes to court the fine can be up to £1,000.
Insurance
Driving without insurance can trigger a roadside penalty of £300 and six penalty points, and the police may seize the vehicle.
Car Tax
Driving or keeping an untaxed vehicle on a public road can result in an initial DVLA penalty of £80, rising to £1,000 if the case goes to court. Vehicles may also be clamped or seized.
Knock-on risk
If your MOT expires, you may not be able to tax the vehicle, and you could also risk wider problems if stopped or involved in an incident.
Privacy note: All reminder dates are saved only on your device (local storage). We don't receive, store, or track your reminder data.
Other Questions
Fuel prices shown on PetrolPrices.co.uk are sourced from the UK Government's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) Road Fuel Prices Scheme. Prices are submitted by fuel retailers, and PetrolPrices.co.uk does not set or amend pricing data.
If you believe a price is incorrect, please contact the relevant fuel retailer directly, as they are responsible for the accuracy of their pricing information.
We offer a fast and convenient web app that you can add directly to your phone's home screen — no app store download is needed! Simply visit our site on your phone and follow the browser's prompt to "Add to Home Screen".
No — PetrolPrices.co.uk is an independent website. We are not affiliated, endorsed, or associated with any retailer or brand shown. All logos and trademarks are used for identification purposes only and remain the property of their respective owners.
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