Motorway services charge double high street prices

MOTORWAY service areas are charging up to nearly double high street prices for some drinks in an "unforgivable" rip-off of drivers, according to a survey published today.

A WH Smith shop at one site was found to be selling bottled water for 91 per cent more than its town centre stores.

Marks & Spencer also charged "inflated prices" in its motorway shops, including a 25 per cent increase on a bottle of its own-brand Scottish water, 16 per cent on a sandwich and 15 per cent on a large sausage roll.

Burger King charged 12 per cent more on the motorway than it did in its high street restaurants.

The survey by What Car? magazine also showed that fuel was more expensive at motorway services, with drivers having to pay an average motorway levy of 5.2 per cent for unleaded and 3.4 per cent for diesel.

That means drivers filling their fuel tank at motorway services would pay on average 77 more per year than they would if they filled up elsewhere.

What Car? editor-in-chief Steve Fowler said: "It is unforgivable for retailers to take advantage of motorists in such a brazen manner.

"With fuel prices at an all-time high, the 5.2 per cent average motorway fuel mark-up is hard for consumers to fund, and a 91 per cent mark-up on a bottle of water is utterly unacceptable.

"Motorway services get away with charging such exorbitant prices only because enough drivers pay them. We suggest all motorway users plan their journeys carefully and try to avoid using such greedy retailers as much as possible."

Motoring groups said such high prices threatened road safety by deterring drivers from stopping.

Phil Gomm, of the Royal Automobile Club Foundation, said: "The whole point of service stations is to encourage motorists to take a break and fight fatigue.

"If the price of food, drink and fuel puts them off stopping then this could have a negative impact on the rate of accidents on motorways."Neil Greig, policy and research director for the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM), said the results were similar to its own survey four years ago, and the problem went back decades.

He said: The implications for road safety is that drivers will avoid stopping at service areas for fear of being ripped off and drive for too long without a break.

"For this reason, the IAM would like to see more service areas in place across the network with some deregulation of the services that they offer.

"Drivers really only want a place to stop and a toilet but service areas have to provide a range of service 356 days a year which pushes up prices.

"More service areas would also allow some competition, for example by displaying fuel prices for the next three stopping points as they do in France."

Automobile Association president Edmund King said: "Motorway service areas have to be careful they don't price themselves out of the market.

"We understand they have additional costs to bear such as the provision of parking, toilets, rest areas and 24-hour services, but prices still need to be reasonable.

"It is important for drivers to take a break on long journeys to avoid falling asleep at the wheel, so more should be done to encourage drivers to stop."

WH Smith, M&S and Burger King said their motorway service area branches were franchises run by the service station owners and they did not have control over pricing.

Service station operator Roadchef said the higher prices reflected extra running costs.

A spokesman said: "It isn't reasonable to compare high street prices with those at motorway services. Service areas are situated in remote locations and have extended opening hours, so the costs associated with running the retail outlets are higher than on the high street or in a supermarket."

Fellow operator Moto said motorway service areas cost in the region of 25 million to build and it had to claw back this money by charging higher prices.

It added that it had to pay for the upkeep of the entire services area - including the slip roads.