Two thirds of drivers say they’ll use the brand new Fuel Finder Scheme – what’s it and will it prevent cash?

Two thirds of drivers say they will use the Government’s new Fuel Finder Scheme to keep an eye on how much their local petrol stations are charging.

Last week, the Government launched the scheme which legally requires every petrol station to share changes to their prices within half an hour of making them. 

Drivers can access live pricing data via websites, on their smartphones or through their vehicle’s sat-nav system.

This allows motorists to locate the cheapest forecourts around them, so they won’t get ripped off at the pumps.

And it seems that the scheme is proving an instant hit with drivers as 67 per cent of motorists told the AA they will now start to monitor their local pump prices on mobile and other devices.

This rises to nearly nine out of 10 young drivers and four in five in the young family bracket (25-44 years).

67% of drivers say they will use the Government’s new Fuel Finder Scheme to check which local petrol stations offer the cheapest pump prices

As of 11 February, 7,020 retailers (84 per cent of all UK fuel stations) were showing on the database and 78.4 per cent of them have logged a pump price change.

Last week, average UK petrol pump prices reached a plateau of 132.0p a litre, a level last seen in June 2025 and once more at the lowest since the summer of 2021.

This levelling off followed a 5.5p fall from 12 December. 

Diesel is down to an average of 140.8p a litre, having been at a high of 146.9p in early December. 

But wholesale petrol costs have risen 3p a litre since early January, and drivers will now be taking advantage of pump-price transparency thanks to the Fuel Finder Scheme to locate the retailers refraining from passing on price increases. 

The results of the AA’s survey of more than 13,000 drivers indicates complete pump-price transparency across the UK will likely have a transformational impact on the way motorists in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland buy their petrol and diesel.

When Fuel Finder went live, views of pump prices on the AA App fuel-price search engine jumped six-fold. 

The compulsory Fuel Finder system will eventually take over from the CMA’s voluntary scheme, which covers 65 per cent of forecourts.  

There are nearly 8,350 forecourts in the UK, all of which are required by law to register with the scheme and log price changes within half an hour. Nearly 7,000 have already done so.

The scheme legally requires every filling station to share changes to their prices within half an hour of making them and should save households £40 a year 

Why has the scheme been introduced?

It was launched after years of campaigning following a major investigation into the fuel retail sector discovered drivers are being ripped off consistently at the pumps.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has called for the implementation of the statutory scheme since 2023. It had found evidence of weakened competition in the fuel retail industry post pandemic.

In her Autumn Budget Chancellor Rachel Reeves confirmed the Fuel Finder Scheme would be implemented and said it would save the average household £40 a year.

The official launch was celebrated by motoring organisations who called it ‘the start of the journey to cheaper fuel prices around the UK’.