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Cheap tricks at bowser
Kelly Robinson
17 April 2008
MOTORISTS are being lured into service stations on the promise of cheap fuel only to find the discounted petrol is ethanol-based, frustrated drivers claims.
Frenchs Forest resident Josephine Ganski is warning drivers to make sure prices are for regular unleaded before filling up after she was "misled".
Ms Ganski filled up her car at Shell Coles Express at Forestville on Tuesday for what she thought was $1.28 a litre because the illuminated sign had advertised discounted unleaded fuel for the past 12 months.
When she paid for her fuel, she found the price was $1.40 a litre and was told the advertised price was for ethanol-based petrol.
Ms Ganski has lodged a complaint with the Australian Competition Consumer Commission (ACCC). "People are watching every penny at the moment and I'm concerned this advertising is luring people in and is misleading," she said.
A NSW Fair Trading Department spokesman said the advertising was legal. "It is the individual choice of the operator as to which discounted price they advertise," he said.
A Coles Express spokesman said the change was not intended to mislead the public. "However, we acknowledge there has been a change in advertising," he said.
Petrol prices soared yesterday, with some stations charging more than $1.50 a litre, however a Brookvale service station was charging one of the lowest prices in Sydney at $1.32.
The surge comes as service station owners and the opposition claim Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's FuelWatch scheme risks hurting competition and would push prices higher.
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