Sainsbury's shoppers are fuming after the supermarket upped a service charge at its petrol stations. The minimum cost of pumping up tyres at Sainsbury's petrol stations is now 50p in line with other supermarkets, having previously been the cheapest.
The supermarket giant used to have a minimum charge of 30p for three minutes but this has changed to 50p for five minutes, matching Tesco, Morrisons and Asda, reports The Mirror. While this still amounts to 10p per minute, it is a 20p rise in the minimum amount drivers must spend if they want to pump up their tyres.
The AA recommends checking tyre pressure every two weeks as it can be dangerous to drive with them over or under inflated. The new Sainsbury's charge, which was brought in a few months ago, hasn't gone unnoticed by customers amid the cost of living crisis.
READ MORE: Tesco customers outraged at new car charge say they'll shop elsewhere
On Twitter, user @BigThickSlices wrote: "The tyre pressure machine at @sainsburys Banbury went up from 30p to 50p. It has always been 30p. Now they hike it 66%. Same machine. Just a sticker over the price.
"OK, it’s a small thing. But there are so many opportunistic price rises happening now." He added: "Who honestly needs the extra two minutes? Just make sure you take off the dust caps first!"
A Sainsbury's spokesperson told The Mirror: "Back in July, we started offering customers five minutes rather than the previous offer of three minutes, with each minute remaining at 10p per minute. This is in line with the wider market offering and based on customer feedback."
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