Former owners of X Convenience face court charged with failing to fulfil real-time petrol price app requirements

The former owners of one of SA’s top fuel chains are facing $10,000 fines over petrol prices that weren’t as advertised online, in the first case of its kind.

The former owners of one of SA’s largest fuel chains failed to abide by real-time petrol pricing app laws, with prices as much as forty cents per litre different when consumers arrived at the pump, a court has heard.

On Friday, Andrash Pty Ltd – former owners of the lucrative X Convenience chain – faced the Adelaide Magistrates Court in the first case of its kind in SA legal history.

The company has yet to plead to a total of 42 counts of failing to comply with fuel pricing scheme requirements, an offence that carries a maximum fine of $10,000, between April 9 and July 14 this year.

The charges arise from alleged incidents at the company’s outlets in Paradise, Port Adelaide, Woodville North, Panorama, Brooklyn Park, Hindmarsh, Hampstead Gardens, Netley and Hillcrest.

They have been laid under the legislative scheme that governs updates to real-time petrol price apps, such as Petrol Spy and the RAA’s fuel app.

That scheme requires all SA fuel retailers to report their prices to a central database as close in time as possible to the price changing at the pump, but not more than 30 minutes after that time.

The former owners of petrol station chain X Convenience are before court accused of failing to comply with fuel pricing scheme requirements. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Emma Brasier

The scheme’s website says motorists can then access fuel price information for free, via one of the apps, and can “report mistakes” to the government by uploading photos online.

It is alleged that, on 42 occasions, Andrash-owned outlets failed to fulfil the requirements of the scheme while updating their fuel prices to the central database.

Court documents show the biggest price discrepancy to be 40c, when their fuel was 223.9c per litre on the app, and on the pump it was 183.5c per litre.

It is further alleged that, in multiple instances, they did not update their price to the central database for between two and five days. Law requires it be done within 30 minutes.

On Friday, Frank Combatta, for Andrash, asked the court to set aside an hour-long hearing for the matter early next year.

“The parties have been in extensive discussions in relation to these matters, and I believe the prosecution is in the process of issuing a fresh information (court file),” he said.

“I expect that the facts will be agreed in relation to it all, and it can be dealt with in a bundle.

“There are other things happening around this, and we are looking for a fairly quick resolution to the matter.

“The facts should be agreed, there should be written submissions, and the issue of penalty will be the main topic.”

The case was adjourned until January.

In May, BP struck a deal to acquire the X Convenience network and, last month, began a rebrand of its outlets.

BP, which is not charged with any offences nor accused of any wrongdoing, is expected to complete the sale in 2025.

X Convenience – established by the Adelaide-based Kosmidis family in 2006 – remains a third-party business until the BP acquisition is complete.

Originally published as Former owners of X Convenience face court charged with failing to fulfil real-time petrol price app requirements