1 week Ago By [email protected] (Emma Gill)
Customers have called out Costco for charging them more at its branch in Trafford Park. The wholesaler has been criticised for selling fuel at a higher price at the site close to The Trafford Centre, with shoppers saying it's taking advantage of the premium location. Driver Kris Barron regularly fills up his vehicle at Costco and has noticed on numerous occasions that the Haydock branch, half an hour down the road in St Helens, is cheaper, but not always practical for him to get there.
"The price difference normally isn’t even close like 1p a litre or anything like that, Costco Trafford Park are normally 5p or 6p a litre more expensive," he said. Fuel prices at Costco Trafford on January 14 (Image: Manchester Family / MEN) "Like you've previously reported , the queues for Trafford can be up to 20 or 30 minutes, whereas when I go to Costco Haydock, I’m normally getting to a pump within a couple of mins." Kris, who lives in Urmston and works in St Helens, added: "In reality Trafford should be cheaper not more expensive as they’re clearly selling more fuel than the Haydock branch yet are ripping of their local customers.
"I’ve even dropped a couple of comment slips in the suggestion box inside the Trafford store, but they're clearly not listening to their local Mancunian customers. It really frustrates me." Another driver told us: "I've only recently been made aware of this price difference and it's really annoying to think the same company is charging more for the same thing just because it's a different location.
Fuel prices at Costco Haydock on January 14 (Image: Manchester Family / MEN) "I pay to be a Costco member and I'd expect to pay the same to fill up my car at every branch." When the Manchester Evening News checked prices at both sites on the same day this month, January 14, there was a clear difference. At Trafford the unleaded price was 131.
9, 5p more per litre than Haydock's 126.9. Premium unleaded at Trafford was 136.
9, compared with Haydock's 133.9. And the biggest difference was with premium diesel, with Trafford charging 137.
7 and Haydock 131.9, a difference of 4.4%.
The M.E.N.
has contacted Costco for comment..
