Beware the April price hikes that are no joke
27th March 2009
April 1 is usually the time for jokes and pranks, but this April beware the 10 price hikes that are no laughing matter, warns PetrolPrices.com.
| What? | How much? | When? | Why? | What can you do? |
| 1. Petrol | £104 | April 1 | Pump prices are set to rise by 2p per litre as a fuel duty increase comes into force, which will cost the average driver more than £100 a year. | Find the cheapest fuel in your area by using PetrolPrices.com. |
| 2. Ford Cars | £1000 | April 1 | Ford are increasing their new car prices by up to £1000 as a result of the pound's weakness against the euro. | Go for a second hand car, there's plenty about at the minute as many people try to downsize. |
| 3. Council Tax | 3% | April 1 | Councils argue that the recession is putting a demand on social services, leading to a 3% rise for an average band D property. | Challenge your council tax band — visit www.voa.gov.uk (England and Wales) and www.saa.gov.uk (Scotland) to find out how. OurProperty.co.uk is working on a tool to make this easier — watch this space. |
| 4. Dentist | £1 | April 1 | Fillings, extractions and root canal treatments at NHS dentists are set to rise from £44.60 to £45.60. | Depending on your dental health it might be worth taking out insurance. |
| 5. Stamps | 3p | April 6 | First class stamps are set to rise from 36p to 39p, and second class from 27p to 30p. | Stock up — stamps which say '1st' or '2nd' on them will still be valid after April 1 |
| 6. Doctors | 10p | April 1 | Prescription charges in England are will rise 10p from £7.10 to £7.20. | Check if you're exempt - under-16s, over-60s, pregnant women, students under 19 in full-time education and people on benefits and tax credits don't pay. |
| 7. Water | 4.1% | April 1 | Water companies say they're investing in their pipe networks. | Get a water meter fitted - you can save up to £200 a year. |
| 8. Phone | £12 | April 1 | BT is raising its phone line rental cost from £11.50 to £12.50 per month, with call waiting and other services set to rise too. | Switch to a online bills and save £1.25 a month. |
| 9. TV Licence | £3 | April 1 | A colour television licence will increase from £139.50 to £142.50. | Go retro — a black and white licence is just £48 (rising from £47). |
| 10 Wii | Up to £20 | April 1 | Nintendo say they may have to pass on the extra costs they're incurring from Japan because of the yen's strength against the pound. | See if you can grab a bargain on online auction site eBay, or buy one now! |
---
Notes to editors
Where possible, please link to PetrolPrices.com in online articles.
Petrolprices.com is the only free fuel price comparison website with reliable data and regular updates. It allows consumers to search for the cheapest stations in their area, with potential savings of 20p a litre.
Prices are updated each weekday between 11am and 12pm. Prices are collected the previous day using fuel card transactions in petrol stations to gather an average price for each station.
87% of 5000 users surveyed in September 2007 claimed the site saves them over £100 per year. As fuel prices rise the potential savings grow because the spread between the lowest and highest prices stations widens.
PetrolPrices.com is one of 100 money-saving websites from www.Fubra.com. Check out our house price sites - www.OurProperty.co.uk and www.HousePriceCrash.co.uk.
If you would like fuel price data, including local info, please contact us.
--
Louise Doherty
PetrolPrices.com
e:
w: www.petrolprices.com
t: 01252 367208