Fuel price apps drawing data from new Government scheme are not updated quickly enough – and it’s costing drivers up to 8p a litre at the pumps
When Rachel Reeves confirmed the Fuel Finder scheme would be introduced in 2026 during her Autumn Budget statement, she said it would ‘save the average household £40 a year’.
However, analysis of various apps and websites using Government data shows they are not being kept up to date and, as a result, could be costing drivers who rely on them an extra £260 a year.
The scheme, which launched on 2 February, legally requires every filling station to share changes to its petrol and diesel prices within half an hour of making them. From the beginning of this month, any fuel station failing to report live price changes will incur fines.
But a combination of non–compliance and delays updating applications and websites means motorists are currently encountering inaccurate information – and overpaying at the pumps as a result.
An investigation by What Car? revealed that price information on four out of five apps and sites recommended by the Government is displaying outdated pricing.
As such, drivers could end up overpaying by 6p per litre for unleaded and 8p for diesel.
Fuel pricing apps and websites using data from a new Government scheme are not being updated quickly enough, and it’s costing some drivers an extra 8p-a-litre at the pumps
This means some motorists are paying £3.60 more to fill up with petrol and £4.80 more for diesel, based on a family SUV with an average fuel tank of 60 litres.
For drivers who rely on a fuel price app and regularly visit sites where fuel prices are higher than stated, they could end up £22 out of pocket each month.
Just one site was showing prices that had been updated on the day What Car? checked, in line with new regulations introduced by the Government in February.
These state that fuel stations must report the latest prices to the real–time data service within 30 minutes of any changes.
Join the discussion
How should drivers hold fuel stations and app makers accountable for outdated prices costing us money?
What Car? checked prices for regular E10 petrol, E5 super unleaded and regular B7 diesel and found that correct prices were displayed on the PetrolPrices app, which stated that prices had been updated that day.
However, prices on Confused.com, Fuel Finder UK, Fuel Spy and MotorMouth UK had not been updated and were showing older prices in two out of four locations.
With the study taking place at a time when petrol and diesel prices were exposed to fluctuations triggered by conflict in the Middle East, the researchers concluded this was most likely due to fuel price apps not being updated, rather than filling station operators refusing to comply with the scheme.
The AA believes that 96 per cent of fuel retailers have signed up to Fuel Finder. That least around 500 sites out of 8,350 nationwide yet to share their live pricing.
‘With fuel prices likely to stay eye–wateringly high for the foreseeable future, motorists need easy access to the latest fuel prices so they can save money wherever possible,’ said Claire Evans, What Car?’s consumer editor.
‘The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero need to act quickly to enforce the legal requirement to provide up–to–date information, and fuel app suppliers need to ensure data is updated at least once a day so it shows the latest prices.’
Last week, the UK average price of unleaded held at around 157p-a-litre, while diesel dipped below 189p.
However, the AA warns that an upward swing in petrol wholesale costs (the price retailers pay when stocking fuel reserves) that started on 20 April is forecast to add 9p to pump prices, with evidence of this already having an impact across the UK last week, except in the North of England.
Yet, a more than 10p-a-litre fall in diesel wholesale costs that started in early April shows only a 4p-a-litre average reduction at the pumps so far.
Last week, across the UK, Wales and the supermarkets in Northern Ireland recorded the biggest reductions with around 1.5p taken off the pump price.
The biggest increase in petrol pump prices came in Scotland with a 1.2p rise and among supermarkets in Northern Ireland with 2.2p added. Pump prices in Northern Ireland tend to react more quickly to wholesale cost movements than in other parts of the UK, it said.
