I've just paid £1.659 per litre for petrol at the garage in my village. It is the best price around for miles, including all the supermarkets. I've known the owner for forty years and today I asked him how he could trade at that price. His answer was because I don't believe in ripping people off.
So make of that what you will.
If a small independent garage can do that price, why can't others. What is the price of petrol in Hartlepool??

It seems to be the case of most small independently owned garages. The enemy here is the greedy supermarkets and petrol companies.
There are a few around in Hartlepool area so when i fill up next i will be looking them up.

Funnily enough, I’m saving money on petrol. Our lass doesn’t expect rides out up to Danby or Middleton in Teesdale twice a week (cos it’s nice) and has accepted ‘rationing’ to my delight.

You not only save on petrol, Snowy because "rides out" usually incur further costs on food and beverages. Even if you stop for a cup of tea and a cake it soon mounts up. You could of course take a flask and sandwiches and push your luck at a remote picnic spot.

Nah, someone will press charges one day.

You could take rat boy as the excuse when you accidently visit one of these dogging sites.

Petrol should be dropping as oil is below $90 a barrel, quick to put the price up but slow to reduce it.

Accidentally take ratboy? He’s a black fell terrier, he follows me every bleeding where!
Ratboy had his undercarriage removed as a pup by the breeders, so he’s better at chasing furry things than shagging them.

Who determines the price of oil and gas, it’s not costing anymore to get them out of the earth so why are they going up in price ?
I can understand electricity going up as the fuel driven by the cost of oil and gas is required at the power stations to run the generators.
Basically oil and gas and energy companies can charge what they like as far as I am concerned and currently the government is doing nought about it.
Oil has dropped in price has the price of fuel dropped accordingly ?

This has been like this since the dawn of time with petrol, goes up like a rocket, comes down in a parachute nice and slow, but never comes down to the price it was because they think we’re that dumb we’ll just be happy to get it down.
No Government can call the oil and gas companies because they take an even bigger cut in taxation than the companies do. And to add insult to injury the bar stewards charge VAT on fuel (sorry Mr J, an EU directive) where we pay VAT on the fuel tax, robbed twice

I don't think the brothers who own Asda will be quick to reduce their pump prices, as they need all the cash they can get to service the loans they took to purchase the supermarket. The filling stations they already owned may well be used to subsidise their supermarket forecourts, so it may depend upon what their competitors decide to do & force their hand

I can’t disagree but one of the Leave campaigns reasons for leaving the EU was so the U.K. would have control over our levels of VAT, I am waiting for the government to do this, of course they won’t, too much of an earner for them.

Still wrong though, VAT is a vile tax. We need taxes of course, or we couldn’t function, but why the EU brought it in was to fill it’s coffer’s not the member states coffers, so yes, it should go.

When i worked paying income tax never bothered me. I knew the more i paid the more i would receive. VAT is another matter as its 20 per cent for those on benefits as well as a billionaire. The only tax that never takes into consideration of your earnings. No wonder many of use the black economy to get stuff done.

If the Government genuinely depend on that income, put it onto income tax and as Mr A says, make it more equitable for everybody according to their means.

[quote="Jamie1952"
Basically oil and gas and energy companies can charge what they like as far as I am concerned and currently the government is doing nought about it.
Oil has dropped in price has the price of fuel dropped accordingly ?[/quote]
It never does and never will be. People are so happy if they knock a couple of pence off something after its gone up tens of pence. Think this time last year it was under 120 a litre. Went up to nearly 2 quid for us planet killers diesel and now down to 180. It will continue dropping but i,ll be shocked if it ever goes under 150 a litre no matter what the cost of a barrel actually is.

VAT was reduced substantially during the pandemic, so it has been affected by our government without EU intervention but I think it needs a whole new coat of looking at and then abolishing for something better and fairer. What is better and fairer, I'll leave the answer to that to others.

think any party stated they,d put up income tax to scrap VAT it would be a vote winner for me. However so many people have this thing about paying income tax and some until recently thought VAT was only something for luxury goods because its not on food or kids clothing. Overall i think they,d be commiting political suicide by pushing income tax increases.

Wasn,t VAT introduced initially as a replacement for the old purchase tax we paid on certain goods we bought. Over the years its increased to its present level and on increasing numbers of products also. The only fair way of taking taxes is the ability of people to pay them. This was the problem with the old Poll Tax where this ability to pay was never taken into account.

Driving up to Hartlepool for the match I took particular notice of petrol prices, and in Hartlepool itself. I didn't see any under £1.70 per litre and yet my friend in our village can sell if for £1.659. Some garages were quoting prices up to 14p more than him. Motorway prices have always been far in excess of the norm. I would only use them in a dire emergency and then only put a minimum amount in. I can't remember ever filling up at one. Anybody who does is absolutely stupid in my book.

Yes it replaced purchase tax and was introduced at 8%, then 12.5%, 15% and now 20%.

For me we need to start with abolishing VAT on essentials and be really fair on what is classed as essential but I won't hold my breath waiting for that to happen.

I doubt that, I don’t drive, I would paying additional income tax to substitute the No vat on fuel among other goods I don’t use.

[quote="derwent"]Driving up to Hartlepool for the match I took particular notice of petrol prices, and in Hartlepool itself. I didn't see any under £1.70 per litre and yet my friend in our village can sell if for £1.659. Some garages were quoting prices up to 14p more than him.
there is a little place like that a few miles the other side of halifax just the same that sells one of those smaller brands of petrol. in normal times his fuel is over 10p a litre more than anywhere else. past it on saturday and it was 4p cheaper than morrisons.but was too late to pull in. know next time i,m passing i,ll go in even if 1p dearer than the supermarket crooks but only if i have enough in to get to the next one which is over the hill in oldham.