Why it pays to steer clear of rip-off motorway service stations
Petrol prices may be falling but according to the Government’s Competition and Markets Authority this is not being passed on to customers.
And prices aren’t just high at the pumps. Money Mail research reveals customers who shop at motorway service stations pay an astonishing mark-up of up to 300 per cent or so for basic grocery essentials and snacks.
I visit Birchanger Green motorway service station just off the M11, which is the last — or first — chance to take a break on the journey to or from London, 40 miles south.
I compare prices to those in the supermarkets just one mile away at Bishop’s Stortford, in Hertfordshire, to see just how overpriced goods are.
On an early June lunchtime, the car park is crammed full of vehicles while the Welcome Break shopping area bustles with drivers and their passengers stocking up on fuel and refreshments for the journey ahead.
Price isn’t right: Reporter Toby with some of his shopping from the Birchanger Green motorway service station just off the M11
Petrol pumps that fuel the mark-up
Before I even get to overpriced groceries, there’s extortionate petrol prices to contend with. I drive in a snaking trail of vehicles queuing for fuel.
The sign indicates that unleaded petrol is 168.9p a litre while diesel is 179.9p. In old money that means petrol is £7.68 a gallon while diesel stands at £8.18. If you fill up a typical 60-litre fuel tank it costs £101.34 and £107.94 respectively.
Yet at the local Tesco supermarket one mile away, the fuel is 145.9p a litre for petrol and 148.9p for diesel. So filling up the car would cost £87.54 and £89.34 respectively.
If you filled up a petrol car once a week for an entire year at a service station you would spend an extra £717.60. The RAC says motorway fuel is typically 20p a litre more expensive than at other petrol stations.
Captive clients are exploited
Families who stop at service stations to fill up with fuel and refreshments are a captive audience and all too easy to exploit.
I decide to withdraw cash from an ATM — this costs £1.99 for the privilege. I was going to check the tyre pressure on the car but this is £1 so I give it a miss — I can do it for free at my local garage.
Staff are friendly at the Shell convenience store — but prices are not. A pint of milk costs £1.50.
In shops less than a mile away I can buy two pints of milk for £1.25 (62.5p a pint). Other basics are as high in price as the Welcome Break service station shops adjacent to the forecourt.
Price premiums: A single banana was 70p and a prawn sandwich was £4.40 at Little Waitrose where six 'reduced' eggs were still £3.60. A one-litre bottle of Buxton water was £2.50 and a packet of crisps was £1.55 at WHSmith while a bottle of Cava at the services station was £13
Snack costs not welcome
Strolling though the giant glass-fronted archway under a Welcome Break sign I am greeted by a host of shops and food outlets.
The open-plan design aims to lure shoppers in to spend money as they battle their way to the toilets at the back of the complex.
WHSmith is immediately to the left. I start by stocking up with a one-litre bottle of Buxton water. It costs £2.50.
Yet this bottle bought in a multi-pack at a local supermarket works out at 50p. Thirsty customers pay 400 per cent more at this price than at a service station.
A packet of cheese and onion Walkers crisps is priced £1.55 at WHSmith. Yet when I scan this 45-gram packet at the till it comes up as £1.60.
I was being ripped off before but now I feel downright cheated, especially as the same packet would cost £1 in town.
Rip off: Motorists who shop at motorway service stations pay an astonishing 300% or more for basic grocery essentials
A packet of Cadbury buttons is another con — £3.50 for 95g. Not only am I paying too much, but I am also a victim of so-called ‘shrinkflation’ as it is £1.35 for a 119g bag at the nearby Tesco and Waitrose supermarkets.
I fancy a cappuccino so go to Starbucks where I pay £3.75 for a ‘tall’. It would have cost me £4.15 for a ‘grande’ and £4.45 for a ‘venti’.
Yet the same cappuccino at a Starbucks in Bishop’s Stortford is £3.45 for a ‘tall’, £3.95 for a ‘grande’ and £4.15 for a ‘venti’. This is a difference of 30p, 20p and 30p respectively.
I’m tempted by a bottle of Cava Brut but I balk at the cost — £13 at the service station.
Price hike are going bananas
There is a Little Waitrose at the Welcome Break, a smaller version of the supermarket, aimed at those in need of essentials returning home after a long trip or holiday. And it is fine to expect to pay a bit extra for this convenience.
Bananas: Little Waitrose sells loose bananas for 70p each. Yet Waitrose in town, a mile away, sells this exact same fruit for 18p
I am a bit peckish and decide to buy a banana until I see that small loose bananas are being sold individually for 70p each.
Waitrose in town, a mile away, sells the same fruit for 18p, while Marks & Spencer charges 17p and the nearby Tesco 16p. This amounted to a price hike of up to 338 per cent.
I choose a prawn sandwich at £4.40. If I’d been clever and bought it at the Waitrose in town it would have cost £3.60 — a saving of 80p.
The Little Waitrose also has the cheek to put a yellow reduced sticker on six free-range ‘essential’ eggs — dropping a £4 price to £3.60 as they could only be displayed a further week before they would be thrown out.
We know the price of eggs has gone through the roof but the same supermarket chain in town charged just £1.25, for fresher eggs. It seems a rotten trick.
Waitrose says its branch at the service station is operated as a franchise so Welcome Break sets prices.
The model works much the same at other service stations, such as those run by Moto or BP with a Marks & Spencer food outlet where prices may be double that of nearby shops.
Fools fuel: The Birchanger Green service station on the M11 was charging 168.9p a litre for petrol, when a Tesco station a mile away was charging 145.9p
A Welcome Break spokesman says: ‘As a motorway services operator we provide a wide range of facilities — from refuelling, toilets and rest stops to meals, drinks and shower facilities.
‘Offering 24-hour-a-day access every day of the year means operating costs are higher compared to local shops and supermarkets.’
I vow never to spend a penny in a service station again unless for a comfort break. How much longer before they charge to use the loo?
