MR Paul Antony Fernandez (above) does not own a car.

Yet the 42-year-old security officer is up in arms over what he perceives to be cartel-like behaviour among the four petrol companies here.

He feels for his motorist colleagues when he hears them gripe about ever-rising pump prices, especially when petrol companies inevitably raise prices in unison. He says this gives consumers no choice but to pay the higher price when filling up.

Enough is enough, Mr Fernandez said.

Price-fixing is an accusation that's often been flung at the companies whenever they raise pump prices, often within hours of one another.

This month alone, Caltex, ExxonMobil, Shell and Singapore Petroleum Company (SPC) have increased prices twice.

In fact, it's the eighth time that prices have gone up since last July, The Straits Times reported.

Mr Fernandez isn't the only one who's fed-up.

In the last week, two disgruntled readers have written to The Straits Times Forum.

One of them, Mr Benjamin Tay, wrote: "Have Singaporeans grown used to the pump-price increases without registering their displeasure with the oil companies? Or is it that their complaints are falling on deaf ears?"

Mr Fernandez sure isn't keeping mum.

"Whenever there's a price hike, it's across the board," he said.

"When one company raises its prices, the others follow suitimmediately."

Coincidence?

Mr Fernandez doubts it. It happens too often whenever there is a price adjustment.

He said SPC used to offer lower pump prices, but has now followed the other three market players.

And the simultaneous price hikes, he feels, have become more obvious over the years.

"I remember they were less frequent and much more gradual from 2003 to 2005," recalled Mr Fernandez, who was a taxi driver then.

Media reports between 2003 and 2005 showed pump prices were raised just twice in 2003, thrice in 2004 and four times in 2005.

INCREASED 8 TIMES IN 8 MONTHS

Yet, from last July to this month, prices have gone up eight times.

No doubt, oil prices have spiralled in the last year, crossing the US$110-a-barrel mark last week before settling at around the US$100 mark.

Still, Mr Fernandez asked, do the petrol companies have to raise prices at the same time?

He said he has been thinking of buying a car as he may be transferred to an office farther from his home, but worries about the costs.

"Salaries do not rise as fast as pump prices. The frequent hikes eat into more of people's disposable income, and they feel the pinch more."

As for the Consumers Association of Singapore and the Competition Commission of Singapore, MrFernandez feels they lack clout in this issue.

"They don't have that much power, so they can't do much to keep the 'oil cartels' in check," he claimed.

He suggested that a government regulatory body be set up to monitor pump prices - something similar to the Public Transport Council (PTC) or the Energy Market Authority (EMA).

The PTC was established in 1987 to approve and regulate transport services and fares, while the EMA, set up in 2001, is a statutory board that aims to promote competition in the energy industry.

A watchdog for the petrol industry would benefit consumers, he said.

This article was first published in The New Paper on Mar 26, 2008.