Almost every fifth petrol station in Saxony has violated the 12 o'clock rule since its introduction, according to a recent analysis. According to the report, 110 out of 589 petrol stations raised prices at unauthorized times a total of 461 times up to the cut-off date of 11 May, reported the "Sächsische Zeitung" and the "Leipziger Volkszeitung". The consumer service "Mehr-Tanken", which belongs to the media company "Motor Presse Stuttgart", had evaluated the data and confirmed the figures.
Filling station operators reject accusations
According to the newspaper reports, the filling station operators do not want to be accused of anything. "First of all, we have indications that we are confronted with the effects of a badly made law, not with deliberate breaches of the rules," Daniel Kaddik, head of the German Association of Independent Petrol Stations, is quoted as saying. Changes would be made via cash register systems and would then have to be processed by machines, price masts and fuel pumps before the data is sent to the cartel office. Even slow lines or ongoing refueling processes could lead to a price change being transmitted with a delay.
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