'Disappointing' change in fuel lock policy amid cost-of-living crisis

Seamus Monaghan locked in an impressive 44 cent per litre saving in Queensland, but was left “frustrated” when he received a message the saving would be soon capped.

Customers can use the app to search and lock-in the cheapest price at the closest 7-Eleven stores to their location.

Once the price is locked in, users can redeem the price at any 7-Eleven fuel store in Australia for the next week.

“We will honour all Fuel Locks locked in prior to the 6th of February to the full extent of the saving,” 7-Eleven said in an email to customers.

“However, if you redeem that after 12.01am on 6th of February and the saving exceeds the new maximum saving of 25 cent per litre, for technical reasons that saving that exceeds 25 cent will not be processed at the time of your purchase.”

Although his impressive saving was awarded, Monaghan admitted the change didn’t exactly sit right with him.

“I’ve used that app for a couple of years and I regularly lock in prices. (The change) was a bit of a shock… It’s frustrating,” he told 9News.com.au.

“The reason why I started using the 7-Eleven was the original for the savings.

“People are struggling to pay for things and this little hit makes you think, what’s the bigger company doing to the everyday users as opposed to maxing out their profits,” Monaghan said.

“It’s affecting everyone, I would hate for people that are struggling (to be) disadvantaged further. That got under my skin a little bit.”

The 34-year-old said the change hasn’t stopped him from using the app, but he is more careful now when locking in prices.

“On the days that I check it and when I fuel up, I take a little more time to make sure I am (getting) those savings,” Monaghan said.

9News.com.au has contacted 7-Eleven for comment.