Rigging petrol prices in Britain?!
British oil companies are accused of a price-fixing, which led to millions of drivers having paid too much for their petrol, something that has been described by the UK government as œdeeply worrying”.
Energy Secretary Ed Davey pledged to punish with “the full force of the law” any company that has imposed more costs on drivers by rigging the price.
Meanwhile, parliamentarians demanded a full probe by the UK authorities after officials from the European Commission raided companies like BP, Shell, a price-reporting agency, and Statoil, a Norwegian oil company.
The Office of Fair Trading was also blamed by politicians and experts for reporting that the petrol market was “working well” in January.
Robert Halfon, MP for Harlow, has accused the market regulator of a “limp-wristed, lettuce-leaf” inquiry that failed to get to the bottom of inexplicable price rises over the last few years.
Halfon said that the companies have been distorting the oil price since 2002, which means drivers have potentially been ripped off for more than 10 years.
Over that time, petrol prices have risen dramatically by more than 80 per cent to around 135p per litre.
The allegations were described as “extremely concerning” by the Prime Minister’s spokesman.
“The European Commission is investigating, we could expect any companies which it wants to talk to fully comply with the investigations,” he said. “It would be deeply worrying if prices have been driven up for consumers.”
European investigators, who raided the London offices of BP and Shell, said the alleged price-rigging could have had a œhuge impact” on the cost of oil, including the price of fuel for consumers.
MOL/HE
This article originally appeared on : Press TV
Source: http://rinf.com/alt-news/breaking-news/rigging-petrol-prices-in-britain/33688/
