Pipeline (bulk buying membership card) for cheaper petrol

Given that a big operation such as AllStar doesn't offer discounts, I can't see how some chancer like that can offer significant savings.

In it's reply to my registration, it says,"...Pipeline has only been going for a month but we have already secured agreement in principle from a major retailer to offer fuel discounts of between 5p and 10p a litre. We have also had great support from the media, particularly from the car forums, Times Online, and from Martin Lewis, the money saving expert. If you haven't already done so, please check out the Media Page on the website." And, it continues,"Membership has been growing at an astonishing 10,000 members per week so we are well on our way to launching the Pipeline Card in the spring of 2006...."

Not a lot, but every little helps.

By the way, what you call a chancer I recognise an entrepreneur.

SteveH ( snipped-for-privacy@italiancar.co.uk) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

AllStar may not *offer* savings to their card holders, but I think it's a fairly bloody safe bet they *GET* savings...

Hmmm, I'm not so sure, especially as they charge for their services.....

If there were significant savings to be made, they'd be passing on some of that to their customers and not charging a yearly fee.

IMHO, of course.

SteveH ( snipped-for-privacy@italiancar.co.uk) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

You poor, dear, sweet, innocent naive little person, you...

" "

Maybe, maybe not. But you'd have thought that offering such an incentive would encourage more fleet operators to sign up with them rather than rivals. Given the margins in petrol, I'd suggest that there's no discounts available *at all*.

Remember, I used to be line manager for a supermarket filling station - I know that anyone offering 5p-10p discount is talking bollocks as 5p is pretty much taking all the margin - Safeway, for example, were losing money on a large proportion of fuel sales due to their agressive discounting when you bought your weekly shop with them..... however, as a loss-leader to drive footfall, it was very successful.

Maybe this guy really believes he can get discounts, but I'd suggest he probably doesn't know the market as well as he thinks he does.

SteveH ( snipped-for-privacy@italiancar.co.uk) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

They sell on convenience, on documentation (remember they ask for the mileage, so that helps stop people taking the piss and keeps track of mpg) and - most importantly - on stopping people filling the missus' car on their expenses.

I've signed up, but I'm not holding my breath.

True, they offer lots of benefits, but so do several other fuel card operators.... which leads me to believe they're not getting any significant discount at all.

I could be way off the mark here, but it's one hell of a way of getting people to hand over details for marketing purposes.

SteveH ( snipped-for-privacy@italiancar.co.uk) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

Or everybody's nice and comfortable on a fat margin, and doesn't feel a need to launch a price war?

He doesn't want much in the way of info - and I can't *possibly* get more spam...

Yes they do but nowhere near 5p or 10p!

Alan

Yes they do, but nowhere near 5 or 10p.

I own a petrol station and we only have a margin of 4.46p and I need to pay for minor things like rent/rates, wages, insurance, electricity out of that.

Also, if it is free to register, who will pay to produce and post all of these membership cards? I suspect there will be an exceptional cost of =A310 or so per member to pay for this at a later date.=20

Alan

I own a petrol station and we only have a margin of 4.46p and I need to pay for minor things like rent/rates, wages, insurance, electricity out of that.

Also, if it is free to register, who will pay to produce and post all of these membership cards? I suspect there will be an exceptional cost of £10 or so per member to pay for this at a later date.

Alan

To quote from the site, 'All those involved in the oil business are getting their cut from the inflated prices we're paying on the forecourts - the oil-well owners, refineries, filling stations. On top of that, the government siphons off nearly 70p per litre in tax.'

So, really, the Government's slice of it is only 'on top of' the filling stations' cut.

Only if you're taking that from the filling station - I'm sure the oil company as a whole is making more than 5p/l

The message from "Tim S Kemp" contains these words:

Just a little! After all, their /costs/ haven't gone up by $20 a barrel.