BATHURST resident Bill Gibbons is furious that there is no pricing consistency between 7-Eleven retailers in Bathurst and Orange.
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Mr Gibbons, who frequently travels between Bathurst and Orange, said there was a time that Orange would always be two cents dearer, but now it is significantly cheaper.
He has also found that the two 7-Eleven retailers in Bathurst, located on Stewart Street and the Great Western Highway at Kelso, often displayed vastly different prices.
His frustration grew on Tuesday, when he drove past the two retailers and found their prices had jumped by more than 20 cents overnight to around 150 cents per litre, with there being 10 cents difference between the unleaded varieties.
When he got to Orange later that morning, the price had also risen, but was seven cents cheaper than the lowest Bathurst 7-Eleven price.
“That is absolutely disgusting that you can put petrol up 20 to 30 cents per litre overnight,” Mr Gibbons said.
“I think it is time that people realise that these service stations are making a mockery of us.”
By mid morning the prices at all three retailers had dropped by several cents to 152.4 (Bathurst), 141.9 (Kelso) and 127 (Orange) cents per litre, but Mr Gibbons said it still didn’t account for the disparity between retailers.
He said someone had to be held accountable for it and that motorists should be far more selective about where they fuel up.
“If I had my way, I would tell everyone in Bathurst to support the one station and make them rich to teach the others in town a lesson,” Mr Gibbons said.
A spokesperson for 7-Eleven said prices do vary between locations and the company always aims to be competitive in each market.
“We know that consumers want to be more in control of the fuel price they pay, and want to be able to get a good price for their area regardless of which of our stores is more convenient for them,” they said.
They said consumers can use the 7-Eleven fuel app to “lock in” the best local price and redeem that in stores Australia wide within seven days.
“Locals in your area are the biggest redeemers of 7-Eleven Fuel App fuel price lock vouchers in the country through our Bathurst, Orange, Kelso and Lithgow stores,” the spokesperson said.
“They have saved approximately $100,000 in 18 months.”
