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A couple of weeks ago I received and email from Justin King, CEO of Sainsbury’s, in reply to my email questioning petrol prices. So below is his reply, and my reply to his after that:


Dear Mr ************

Thank you for your email. I understand your concerns about fuel prices, especially as they are at a record high.

It’s extremely important to us that we offer our customers great value through our entire product range and our additional services, such as our petrol filling stations.

The fuel market is extremely competitive and prices are very unstable in the current climate. As you pointed out, prices had dropped when you emailed but they have recently risen again.

We appreciate that many of our customers are particularly concerned about the rising cost of fuel and we’re working hard to offset this through competitive local pricing, ensuring we offer our customers a fair price wherever they live. We also run frequent fuel promotions, which include 5p off per litre when you spend £50 in our store, and triple Nectar points per litre instead of the usual one point.

I’m grateful to you for contacting me and I hope I’ve reassured you of our commitment to fair pricing.
Yours sincerely

Justin King
Chief Executive

———————–

Hello again

Thank you for your reply a few weeks ago.

Since your last response, oil prices have remained roughly at the level at when I first contacted you. Also, the past few weeks and days have seen a further significant drop in the cost of oil, while the exchange rates have also remained relatively steady. So my question again is why is it that now oil is roughly $23-$25 lower than a couple  of months ago, these lower commodity prices are not reflected at the pumps?

I have contacted you again because you have been the only major supermarket to bother to respond to me, so I have more confidence that you will respond to this email.

I again repeat my sentiment that supermarkets are quick to raise their prices when oil shoots up, but are incredibly slow when prices fall. Over the past 6 weeks I have seen only 1p per litre come off the price of petrol, yet the lower cost in oil should have meant a more significant reduction. The public can’t help but feel that the petrol retailers and supermarkets operate in a cartel, looking to make as much profit as possible out of a tough situation.

I urge you to take action and rectify the situation. The public are more aware than ever how the oil price relates to the petrol price.

I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Regards


Who thinks I’ll get another reply?