I received an email from my cousin this evening and it is self-explanatory. Although I buy my petrol from the big supermarkets, I'd urge readers to support this campaign:-
"Please see what you think and pass it on if you agree with it.
We are hitting £129.9 a litre in some areas now and soon we will be faced with paying £1.50 per litre. So Philip Hollsworth offered this good idea:
This makes MUCH MORE SENSE than the 'don't buy petrol on a certain day campaign' that was going around last April or May! The oil companies just laughed at that because they knew we wouldn't continue to hurt ourselves by refusing to buy petrol. It was more of an inconvenience to us than it was a problem for them. BUT, whoever thought of this idea, has come up with a plan that can really work.
Please read it and join in!
Now that the oil companies and the OPEC nations have conditioned us to think that the cost of a litre is CHEAP, we need to take aggressive action to teach them that BUYERS - not sellers control the market place. With the price of petrol going up more each day, we consumers need to take action. The only way we are going to see the price of petrol come down is if we hit someone in the pocket by not purchasing their petrol! And we can do that WITHOUT hurting ourselves. Here's the idea:
For the rest of this year DON'T purchase ANY petrol from the two biggest oil companies (which now are one) i.e. ESSO and BP.
If they are not selling any petrol, they will be inclined to reduce their prices. If they reduce their prices, the other companies will have to follow suit. But to have an impact we need to reach literally millions of Esso and BP petrol buyers. It's really simple to do!!
Now, don't wimp out on me at this point... keep reading and I'll explain how simple it is to reach millions of people!!
I am sending this note to a lot of people. If all of you send it to at least ten more (30 x 10 = 300)....and those 300 send it to at least ten more (300 x 10 = 3,000) ... and so on. By the time the message reaches the sixth generation of people, we will have reached over THREE MILLION consumers! If those three million get excited and pass this on to ten friends each, then 30 million people will have been contacted! If it goes one level further, you guessed it.....
THREE HUNDRED MILLION PEOPLE!!!
Again, all YOU have to do is send this to 10 people. That's all (and not buy at ESSO/BP). How long would all that take? If each of us sends this email out to ten more people within one day of receipt, all 300 MILLION people could conceivably be contacted within the next 8 days!!! Acting together we can make a difference. If this makes sense to you, please pass this message on.
PLEASE HOLD OUT UNTIL THEY LOWER THEIR PRICES It's easy to make this happen. Just forward this email, and buy your petrol at Shell,Asda,Tesco, Sainsburys, Morrisons, Jet etc. i.e. Boycott BP and Esso "
Chloë Blackburn (died 2024)
5 hours ago
13 comments :
This spam email appears every few years, and while it might seem a sensible idea, three immediate points spring to mind:
(a) if people boycott certain garages, they there's the potential for job losses at said garages. Doesn't really seem fair to those employees who might end up on the dole because of the actions of other people.
(b) where do you think the supermarkets buy their petrol from? Given Tesco/ASDA/Sainsburys et al. don't have their own refineries, they buy in from the big companies such as BP and Esso. So the BP/Esso fuel will still be bought, just via a third party.
(c) I remember hearing (although it may not be true) that most/all fuel sold in NI comes in from the one supplier (I've a feeling it's BP, but that may be wrong) - each end vendor will have their own mix of additives, which is why supermarket petrol will be slightly cheaper (i.e. they don't have as many additives as BP, although they all meet the EU regulations). A Maxol employee once told me that all their fuel comes from BP.
Still, It's worth a try. as I said, I buy my petrol mainly from the supermarkets anyway.
Do consumers simply accept the situation - as is presently the case - and do nothing?
Or are there any alternative means of putting pressure on the oil companies?
I'm open to suggestions.
Tim, this article on the resignation from Parliament of Gerry Adams is interesting. It notes that he has not applied for the Stewardship of the Chiltern Hundreds, or the Manor of Northstead, as is usual. See - http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/newsnight/michaelcrick/2011/01/gerry_adams_makes_british_parl.html
I for one agree Timothy. I often walk into town even if it is over 3 miles. My Uncle Bud says the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has damaged the continental drift that keeps us from freezing. I can't get warm at all these days. The big boys will continue to take advantage unless we boycott them. £767 for a fill of heating oil! It is going to be £8 a gallon for petrol. That is going to hit where it hurts. A tin of tomatoes is already over 100% more expensive. But The People still have power. It's motivating them while we still have time that is important. When it is too late there will be no jobs for anybody. No food. No future. I love you for trying to wise us up.
And many, if not most, of the big oil companies operate mini supermarkets from their forecourts, so hopefully staff would continue to be employed for that.
Lobbying the government to reduce the tax take would be more effective. Or asking your granny.
It's a spam.
What's the most effective way of lobbying the Government?
Sorry Tim. That is a naive idea. Also as a shareholder in BP - as most of us are, one way or another, I will continue to buy from BP
Petrol is still cheaper than some bottled water..... why do we buy gallons of it every day?
sammy mehaffey
PS I have to sign as anonomous as I havent got a password
I wish Chateau Silent Valley would work in the tank of the SLK, Sammy! :-)
Boycotts are a bit socialist.
W.
Crikey! Mandy if your Uncle Bud is right and crude oil has damaged continental drift, that is serious! The slow passage of the earth's crust - the tectonic plates - has been damaged?! By oil?! It would be worrying enough if the oil spill had merely affected the working of the Gulf Stream. But this? And on top of it all tinned tomatoes are already 100% more expensive! Where will it all end?
It's obvious. The oil has seeped in between the tectonic plates, thus reducing friction and finally spinning North America 180 degrees. That holiday home in Florida will not look so nice in 50 years.
There's cheap land around the Arctic Circle......
Sorry to say it's the Government's high taxation of fuel that's causing the high prices.61%in the UK,52%in Germany making it £1.13 per litre and even the Republic only take 55%making it £1.09 per litre.50% tax would be plenty for the Government thus giving the motorist fuel around £1 per litre.And it is true in N.I.that Tesco,Asda et al get their supplies from B.P.,I know because i work down at Airport Road West and i see the tankers come and go all the time to the B.P. terminal.
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