PetrolHawkHow prices work
PetrolHawk shows two kinds of price: the ones forecourts send to the government’s Fuel Finder, and the ones drivers report. Here’s where each comes from, how drivers check them, and what a forecourt’s rating means.
Where prices come from
Fuel Finder. Most UK forecourts send their own prices to the government’s Fuel Finder service. PetrolHawk shows those prices as they come in, marked Live from the station in the app. A Fuel Finder price is always the forecourt’s price in PetrolHawk: on the map, in the list, on your route and in your price alerts. Drivers can’t overwrite it. If Fuel Finder stops sending a forecourt’s prices for a while, drivers’ reports take over until it’s back.
Drivers. At forecourts that aren’t on Fuel Finder, prices come from drivers who report and confirm them in the app. Every new price is compared with what nearby forecourts charge, and an unusual one waits until a second driver reports the same price.
Checking a forecourt’s prices
At a Fuel Finder forecourt, open it in the app. You need to be within 500 m.
- Prices match confirms every price the forecourt sent, in one tap.
- Different price lets you say which grades match and enter what the pump shows for the others. You can also snap the price sign and PetrolHawk compares it for you.
If PetrolHawk is open when you stop at a Fuel Finder forecourt, it may ask straight away whether the pump shows the forecourt’s price.
How a check is judged
A different price isn’t judged straight away, because the forecourt may not have sent its new price yet. It gets an hour. Then the check is one of these:
| In the app | What happened |
|---|---|
| Slow to update | The forecourt sent the price you saw, after you saw it at the pump. The feed was behind. |
| Wrong | It never did, and another driver saw the same price as you, or you’re a highly trusted driver. |
| Unconfirmed | It never did, and nobody backed you up. |
| Matched | Other trusted drivers said the forecourt’s price was right. |
| Changed since | The forecourt moved to another price altogether. This check doesn’t count. |
If Fuel Finder itself wasn’t working, the check isn’t judged at all.
A forecourt’s rating
Every judged check counts towards the forecourt’s rating: Reliable, Mixed or Often wrong.
- Checks from the last 90 days count, and recent ones count most, so a forecourt that fixes its prices recovers within a few weeks.
- One check per driver per day counts.
- Checks from signed-in or verified phones count more, and so do checks from drivers with a high trust score.
- A Wrong check counts in full. Unconfirmed and Slow to update count a little.
- A forecourt needs at least three checks from two different phones before it’s rated. Until then it shows Prices the station sends itself.
Tap the strip above a forecourt’s prices to see its rating: how many checks matched, how far off the pump usually is when it’s wrong, and the latest checks. Nobody’s name is shown.
Often slow to update means the pump often changes before the forecourt’s new price reaches Fuel Finder, so the price in PetrolHawk may be a little behind.
When drivers keep seeing a different price, what they saw is shown beside the forecourt’s price for a few hours, or until the forecourt sends a new one. At a forecourt that’s Often wrong, one trusted driver is enough. The forecourt’s own price stays the headline.
Points
- Prices match earns confirmation points straight away.
- Different price earns report points once you’re shown to be right: the check comes back Slow to update or Wrong. You’ll know within the hour.
- Checks that turn out right raise your trust score. Checks other trusted drivers contradict lower it.
- Checked while signed out? Sign in or create an account on the same phone, and your matching checks are credited to it.
Questions? See Support or email [email protected].