Owners of petrol stations who charge more for fuel than what is advertised on their forecourt display signs will be prosecuted, according to Director of Consumer Affairs Carmel Foley, who says that inspectors from her office are actively looking to bring premises involved in this practice to account.
Following complaints that 10 service stations were charging more for petrol and diesel than their signs suggested, Ms Foley said she wanted to highlight this illegal practice. "Petrol prices have been rising and when the stations are notified that the wholesale price is going up, they rush to pass on the increase to the customer without changing their signs.
"I am concerned that if this practice continues, increasing numbers of motorists would be misled. Any retailer who charges a price higher than the displayed price is in breach of legislation enforced by my office and runs the risk of prosecution and being fined up to €3,000 if convicted," she said.
Ms Foley continued: "It is really greedy and a breach in the law. I will have no hesitation in prosecuting retailers found to be doing this. They are legally obliged to ensure that the price they charge is the price displayed.
"In this recent environment of rising prices I wanted to let retailers know that the hike should not be passed on until the sign is changed."
Ms Foley said she had received complaints about service stations both in Dublin and other parts of the country. The complaints arose in cases where retail outlets did not have the facility to change the display signs electronically, she added.
A spokesman for the Society of the Irish Motor Industry, which represents many of Ireland's petrol stations, was last night unavailable for comment.