Quote:
Originally Posted by hillbillyreefer
How many investigations have been launched by government into price fixing by the oil companies? None have ever been able to conclude there is price fixing or collusion.
If joe charges 78.9 and pete across the street is charging 79.9 obviously joe is going to get the business. Pete looks across the street at the sign sees 78.9 and realizes why his station is slow. Drops price to 78.9 business picks up. Pretty easy to match prices when they are displayed on the sign in numbers that are 18" tall.
Now lets all go make our tinfoil hats.
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This in theory is how it should work but in BC is does not. I have lived in a few Canadian provinces and have seen firsthand what is outlined in the above post play out.
In NS or ON gas station Pete would undercut his competitor by $0.04 cents/litre in response gas station Joe slashes his price by $0.06 cents and you get a good old "Gas War". The radio stations jump on the bandwagon and everyone flocks to that neighborhood to fill up.
Not so in BC. EVERY gas station within it's particular tax zone(metro, rural) is within $0.01 cents of each other and they all change their price together at the same time. It stinks of price fixing but the government is unable or unwilling to catch them at it.