The part of a penny in petrol costs.

chrisinessex

There is something concerning me about petrol costs. That is other than how at our local garage it can go up 4p a litre in a morning, the other thing is the part of a penny? It seems that everywhere is doing the 112.9p or 111.9p at the moment and I want to have my 0.1p change. Obviously as you buy more the 0.1p changes to 0.2 0.3 etc.

There must be some law about selling petrol at a price you can't actually pay.
Does anyone know?
Sorry if this has been on the forums before but I searched and could not see anything.

Woby_Tide

not this old chestnut, if you think the pumps are mis-calibrated complain to trading standards, otherwise you're paying for the petrol you receive

LandyAndy

Woby_Tide wrote: »

not this old chestnut, if you think the pumps are mis-calibrated complain to trading standards, otherwise you're paying for the petrol you receive

Exactly. These fractions of a penny can't be avoided. eg fuel is 1.01 per litre and you buy half a litre. Pumps round to the nearest penny and would have to regardless of the price.

chrisinessex

Calm down Woby_Tide if you don't read the question, don't come back with such an abrupt reply! What have chestnuts got to do with anything.

I know the pumps are calibrated just fine I had trading standards out last month, I was asking about how the price of something can be advertised as one it is impossible to pay.

If the pumps round up then the price is not xxx.9p is it.

LandyAndy

chrisinessex wrote: »

Calm down Woby_Tide if you don't read the question, don't come back with such an abrupt reply! What have chestnuts got to do with anything.

I know the pumps are calibrated just fine I had trading standards out last month, I was asking about how the price of something can be advertised as one it is impossible to pay.

If the pumps round up then the price is not xxx.9p is it.

Yes it is. If the price is 110.9p and you buy 10 litres you pay 1109p exactly. No pricing structure can exist without there being roundings somewhere.

vikingaero

I sometimes check my fuel receipts and multiply the quantity of litres by the price per litre. Sometimes the pumps round down. So if the price of the fuel is £46.5547 then the price charged is £46.55 and not £46.56.

chrisinessex

Sure I understand there has to be some rounding in any price structure, but how can you have a unit price that is un-payable. You don't see apples xxx.9p a kg but they round it if you have less or more than a whole quantity. But petrol unit price can not be paid.

davetrousers

Even if the price were in whole pence you would still get rounding issues

LandyAndy

chrisinessex wrote: »

Sure I understand there has to be some rounding in any price structure, but how can you have a unit price that is un-payable. You don't see apples xxx.9p a kg but they round it if you have less or more than a whole quantity. But petrol unit price can not be paid.

Petrol is not dispensed in discrete units so the unit of one litre is an arbitrary break point in the dispensing. If fuel was 115p per litre it would be 522.73p per gallon.

Similarly if apples were 85 p a kilo they would be 38.64 p a pound.

In both cases the unit price is payable in metric units and unpayable in imperial ones.

Woby_Tide

chrisinessex wrote: »

Sure I understand there has to be some rounding in any price structure, but how can you have a unit price that is un-payable. You don't see apples xxx.9p a kg but they round it if you have less or more than a whole quantity. But petrol unit price can not be paid.

you best never look at pension funds then, some of them have the audacity to be priced in 4 decimal places, I've subsequently withdrawn all my funds to buy a apples as they are priced correctly in good old full rounded Great British pounds and pence

vikingaero

Woby_Tide wrote: »

you best never look at pension funds then, some of them have the audacity to be priced in 4 decimal places, I've subsequently withdrawn all my funds to buy a apples as they are priced correctly in good old full rounded Great British pounds and pence

So the best place to shop - without confusion - is Poundland?!