The cost of filling up

[Michaelaw]

I'm in the mood for a bit of a tangle and my target is oil companies. Here in BC if I go out at 11pm I will pay $1.04 per liter. If on the other hand I fill up tomorrow morning I will pay $1.08 per liter. The price of a barrel of oil has not changed during this time frame! every day the same thing happens. It is my belief that we are being hosed! What I need from you guys living in Canada is conformation that you in your respective provinces are seeing the same thing go down. I shudder to think that this is a price manipulation that occurs only in BC but I need you guys to help out by telling me if you see the same activity? As soon as you report in I will Decide on how to approach this matter with big oil. Massive target I know, but if they're ripping us off, I want to voice my opinion at this point!

[Fortytwo]

Don't get me started! Next time you think you're being ripped off, think about this: I pay 2.22 per liter. And it's going up as well...

[Michaelaw]

Thanks for your input 42. I understand your frustration but am more concerned at this moment with price fluctuation without change in supply pricing. Do your prices change as ours do with respect to night and daytime pricing?

[Mad Aussie]

You're kidding right Michael? You've only just worked this out? In Australia we've been screaming at the Oil Companies and the Government about this blatant rip off for years.

[Fortytwo]

Thanks for your input 42. I understand your frustration but am more concerned at this moment with price fluctuation without change in supply pricing. Do your prices change as ours do with respect to night and daytime pricing?

Yep, they do that here too. There's a slight difference from let's say this morning and if I were to fill up this evening. Basically the owner of the station knows most people tend to fill up fridayafternoon after work. So he raises the prices with a few cents. We all know this, but it's overshadowed by the shear tax on it all...

[Greg_Nuspel]

If oil prices go up the price increases overnight. If oil prices go down the price remains high because they have to use the expensive oil reserves. So this means the oil companies stock the reserves only when the prices are high and never when it is low. It's like they expect us to be stupid enough to believe that.

Next you should go after the banks, I'm sure their motto is reduce services directly proportional to the increase in service charges. How many other businesses can charge you extra for doing their work.

[Iguanasan]

Nova Scotia has had regulated prices for some time now. It only jumps on Friday's and it seems completely random to me but then I don't watch oil prices. I'm really not sure if regulation helps or not but at least I know that it only changes once a week. Not that it matters much it's still up and down like a yo-yo and still manages to go up mostly. :(

[Bambi]

Nova Scotia has had regulated prices for some time now. It only jumps on Friday's and it seems completely random to me but then I don't watch oil prices. I'm really not sure if regulation helps or not but at least I know that it only changes once a week. Not that it matters much it's still up and down like a yo-yo and still manages to go up mostly. :(

the one advantage of this is that you can usually get a prediction as to whether it will go up or down and decide when to fill.

banks, oil companies and insurance companies. don't get me started.

[Fortytwo]

LOL. Say "hi" to capitalism. I don't think the goverment should be interfering with prices to much. Basically, I don't trust them neither. They'll run off with my money as well, given the chance.
If company's push it too far, they will fall. Recently the dutch DSB bank went bankrupt because they kept selling fishy morgages and people got fed up with it and withdrew all their savings. Don't underestimate the power of disgruntled customers.

[Mad Aussie]

We have the same issues here, as I mentioned before.

The oil prices rise and immediately the petrol price goes up. It doesn't matter that the service station tanks haven't been refilled with the so called more expensive fuel yet. We still pay a higher price to refill even though it's the same fuel we paid less for a few days before.

It's also more expensive on Friday and over the weekend here. Tuesday and Wednesday are usually the cheapest days to refill your vehicle.