In the first action of its kind in South Australia, the operators of X Convenience have been convicted and fined a total of more than $10,000 for breaches of South Australia’s Real Time Petrol Price Monitoring Scheme.

The Commissioner for Consumer Affairs commenced proceedings against the operators of nine suburban outlets after repeated breaches.

Under the scheme, servos are required to register any change of price within 30 minutes of the new price going live, to ensure real time petrol price monitoring apps provide accurate, up to date information.

The Adelaide Magistrates Court was told that, in some instances, the incorrect price remained visible on apps for as long as four days, with incorrect prices ranging from nearly 53 cents less than the actual price to nearly 13 cents above the actual price.

In Court, the Commissioner for Consumer Affairs argued a penalty should be imposed and conviction recorded, despite the fact that the business was substantially in the process of being sold to new operators.

Magistrate Patrick Hill noted that in many cases, the failure to update prices may have led to the business turning away customers as the price at the pump was cheaper.

But he also said the offending undermined the efficacy of the scheme by misleading consumers and the public as to the price of fuel.

“This scheme is only ever as good as the information that underpins it,” Commissioner for Consumer Affairs Brett Humphrey said.

“When consumers log in to one of the nine apps that provide real time petrol price updates in South Australia, they expect to have accurate, timely information.

“Failing to update price changes for days is simply unacceptable, regardless of whether the actual price at the pump is higher or lower.

“Compliance with the scheme remains a focus for Consumer and Business Services, and staff will continue to undertake spot checks and investigate complaints as they occur.”

In the offences involving the Paradise outlet, the business was fined a total of $5040, with the remaining breaches attracting a total fine of $5400.