With reports of suburban servos running out of petrol, South Australians are being encouraged to check real-time petrol pricing apps before they head out to put more fuel in the tank.

Commissioner for Consumer Affairs Brett Humphrey said the apps were an invaluable source of up-to-date information on petrol pricing and availability.

“By law, petrol stations are required to update their information within 30 minutes of any change – that includes a change of price and a change in availability,” he said.

“Checking one of the many price monitoring apps before you head out will help you get an idea of what’s available and where, as well as which servos are likely to have the cheapest prices.”

Mr Humphrey said that since the conflict in the Middle East began, CBS has seen a substantial increase in the number of complaints received.

“Whlie the overall numbers remain small, we’ve seen a significant increase in complaints that petrol stations are failing to meet their obligations under the state’s real time petrol price monitoring scheme – including advice to consumers when petrol is no longer available,” he said.

“Already this month, we’ve seen more than 100 complaints – compared to less than 20 for the whole of February.
“Of those, roughly two thirds related to discrepancies in pricing, while the remainder related to a failure to advise a type of fuel was not available.

“Investigations into those complaints are continuing and, as an immediate step, we have written to all service stations to remind them of their reporting obligations, and we are also stepping up our compliance and enforcement efforts targeting the sector.

“This means we’ll have more officers on the ground, conducting snap checks to ensure service stations are complying with their reporting requirements.”

To find out more about SA’s real time petrol price monitoring scheme – or to report a discrepancy - visit www.cbs.sa.gov.au/fuel.