Fuel price WARNING - This simple error could cost you an extra £300

Motorists could be paying significantly more for their petrol or diesel than they need to by refuelling at motorway service stations compared to supermarket forecourts.

New research suggests that drivers are paying almost 20 per cent (18 per cent) more to refuel their vehicle on the motorway than at a supermarket.

On average drivers paid 127.1p a litre to refuel at a supermarket petrol station compared to 149.6p per litre at a motorway fuel station.

The difference in costs is stark and could cost drivers significantly more each time they fill up and dramatically increase their average fuel bill.

A Fuel Watch report by the RAC suggest that the cost of filling up an average-sized family car at a supermarket is £69.88.

In comparison, it costs £82.25 at a motorway service station, a whopping £12.37 more.

Therefore, if a driver filled up their car twice at a month at a motorway service station they would pay £296.88 more annually than a motorist who fills up at a supermarket would, based on the fuel costs at the end of September 2018.

Filling up on the motorway would never be anyone’s first choice and this data highlights why drivers should be more prepared on a car journey.

The RAC described September as a ‘mixed month’ for fuel prices across the country.

This is in part due to the 12 consecutive weeks of price increases for fuel costs.

In contrast, supermarkets slashing prices for petrol by 2p per litre by the end of the month.

Unfortunately, these price cuts were not reciprocated for diesel vehicles.

Diesel prices increased on average by 1p per litre which meant they were at their highest rate since August 2014.

Despite some respite in September for UK motorists, the RAC has warned that prices for fuel are likely to increase again.

Simon Williams, fuel spokesman at the RAC, said: “A dark cloud is hanging over forecourts as oil is at a four-year high and there is lots of volatility in the exchange rate due to the increasing tension of the Brexit negotiations.

“While petrol prices were cut by 2p a litre at the end of the month due to a lower wholesale price, the biggest retailers should have been passing on those savings on a regular basis rather than saving them up for headline-grabbing cut.

“Instead they were almost certainly hedging their bets based on the rising oil price and the fluctuating pound.

“This is sadly proof that rocket and feather pricing does exist among the major supermarkets.

“Latest market indications are showing prices are beginning to go the wrong way, perhaps taking us closer to the record highs of April 2012.

“We believe motorists have the right to expect the biggest fuel retailers to reflect the wholesale price more closely at the pump, as they purchase more frequently and therefore can easily do this.

“But that means moving prices down in a falling wholesale market as fast as they put them up when wholesale costs rise.”