If you paid extra for “high performance” fuel at certain Mobil sites in Queensland, the Federal Court says you weren’t getting what the signage promised.
In a judgment handed down this week, the court declared that Mobil Oil Australia Pty Ltd contravened the Australian Consumer Law by selling fuel branded as “Mobil Synergy Fuel” at nine sites in north and central Queensland when the fuel was not, in fact, Synergy fuel and did not contain the advertised additives.
As fuel prices continue to tick higher, it’s another reminder that the system we use to track what’s going into our cars isn’t always the most reliable.
The court found Mobil breached sectionsof the ACL by representing that the fuel:
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was “Synergy Fuel”,
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had a substantially different composition or quality to unadditised fuel, and
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contained additives delivering benefits such as corrosion protection, deposit removal, improved fuel economy, reduced emissions and peak engine performance .
In reality, the fuel dispensed at the relevant sites was similar or even the same as ordinary unadditised fuel of the same grade.
That’s the rub, for the court: Premium branding is lawful. Premium pricing is lawful. But premium claims must be true.
The penalty? $16 million, payable within 28 days. Mobil must also publish corrective notices on its website and in local papers.
My favourite part, however, is that there’s never anything more reliable than a company that has to stay under court scrutiny. Mobil now must implement and maintain an ACL compliance program for three years. So maybe this is a sign of trust for the brand going forward?
You can read the full judgment here.
