24 replies to this topic

[robminibcy]

Hi All,

 

Had a problem yesterday with a fuel station under fuelling that I could do with some advice on.

 

Filled my daily golf from empty as normal and the pump did sound odd though obviously you cant see the fuel coming out so thought nothing more of it.... Until it got to 58 litres on the display (the golfs tank is a 55 litre and I think the most ive ever got in is about 53). I stopped at this point (It hadn't 'clicked') and checked the cars gauge which said it was now just under half full (Im 100% confident his is accurate and milage done since confirms this).

 

Spoke to the attendant who was rather unhelpful and stated I must be a faulty gauge and the fuel station had had a delivery that morning. I was pretty annoyed at this point and didn't have time to continue arguing so had little choice but to pay (£70 ish!!!) and leave.

 

It was an esso station although I don't think they're actually ran by esso? Ive contacted esso customer service who've said they will be in touch however is there anything else I can/ should do now? I really cant afford to be loosing this kind of money at the moment.

[Steve220]

Keep the receipt handy.  It is difficult for them to prove it either way, but you can always get the info regarding the tank and put it together and make a small case for it.

[slidehammer]

It is pretty easy for them to check the pump is metering properly, and they will find it is faulty, they need to call an engineer out, Might be worth contacting weighs and measures and get their advice, as they must have authority over the fuel stations or the Citizens Advice Bureau 

[Van13]

You would have been in your rights to explain the problem then leave your details when investigated they would have billed you correctly

[Northernpower]

You would have been in your rights to explain the problem then leave your details when investigated they would have billed you correctly

Your statement is incorrect, you would not be within your rights to say you're not paying and leave your details, you would be committing a criminal offence. The only way you could leave without paying is by obtaining the full agreement (in writing) of the filling station whereby they agree you can leave without paying, the non-payment then becomes a civil matter between yourself and the supplier.

[hunterg30]

Fuel is delivered by volume , so if air is being pumped in with the fuel it will still show as normal on the pump. Petrol station s are not checked as much as they used to be in the past. You use to see the pumps being checked on a regular basis . I had a problem with a petrol station which had water mixed in with the petrol , had to clean out carb bowl and tank. And nobody including trading standards was interested about doing an investigation

[Van13]

You would have been in your rights to explain the problem then leave your details when investigated they would have billed you correctly

Your statement is incorrect, you would not be within your rights to say you're not paying and leave your details, you would be committing a criminal offence. The only way you could leave without paying is by obtaining the full agreement (in writing) of the filling station whereby they agree you can leave without paying, the non-payment then becomes a civil matter between yourself and the supplier.

wrong

[Ethel]

To claim theft they'd have to establish you had no intent to pay, ever. It would be a reasonable assumption for them to make and call the police and also reasonable to assume an implied contract that you pay at the time if you don't have a credit account. You could avoid prosecution if you'd given enough identity info to make it difficult to argue you were doing a runner. They'd still be able to claim additional administrative costs as you broke the contract.

 

The counter argument is they broke the contract by undersupplying you. I remember Customs & Excise running around in a van, with a copper measuring jug, checking pumps, but I think you'd be best taking it up with your local trading standards. An itemised receipt recording your registration would help. I don't fancy your chances unless the pump is found to be faulty.

 

Perhaps you should have refused to pay until you came out of his kiosk to test fill a jerrycan.

[Van13]

To claim theft they'd have to establish you had no intent to pay, ever. It would be a reasonable assumption for them to make and call the police and also reasonable to assume an implied contract that you pay at the time if you don't have a credit account. You could avoid prosecution if you'd given enough identity info to make it difficult to argue you were doing a runner. They'd still be able to claim additional administrative costs as you broke the contract.
 
The counter argument is they broke the contract by undersupplying you. I remember Customs & Excise running around in a van, with a copper measuring jug, checking pumps, but I think you'd be best taking it up with your local trading standards. An itemised receipt recording your registration would help. I don't fancy your chances unless the pump is found to be faulty.
 
Perhaps you should have refused to pay until you came out of his kiosk to test fill a jerrycan.

i agree

[Northernpower]

 

 

You would have been in your rights to explain the problem then leave your details when investigated they would have billed you correctly

Your statement is incorrect, you would not be within your rights to say you're not paying and leave your details, you would be committing a criminal offence. The only way you could leave without paying is by obtaining the full agreement (in writing) of the filling station whereby they agree you can leave without paying, the non-payment then becomes a civil matter between yourself and the supplier.

wrong

 

Actually, I'm not wrong. As a customer you cannot remove goods for sale from retail premises without paying for them; no matter how faulty you feel they are. If you enter a retail premise and remove the goods from it without written agreement not to pay you are stealing them. The only way in the eyes of the law (as a retail customer) you can remove goods is to pay for them outright at the point of purchase, or, have a written credit facility.

 

You can dispute at the point of purchase whether the goods are fit for pupose but you simply can't take them home saying I'll pay for them if you as the seller can prove me wrong.

[greenwheels]

Were any other customers having the same problem?

[robminibcy]

Were any other customers having the same problem?

there were no other customers there. I had a response from the manager today which was again that my gauge is faulty (it is NOT!!!!) and he did offer that i can go to the fuel station and he will demonstrate the pump functioning however the fuel station in question is over 100 miles away. I've emailed Esso again so will await a response. I did pay on credit card so may speak to them. See if they can assist at all. 

 

I've done 150 miles since the (half) fill up and the needle is now showing around a quarter which is pretty much bang on given that it does a bit over 600 miles to a tank.

Edited by robminibcy, 27 November 2017 - 07:24 PM.

[Homersimpson]

What you should have done was filled the car right up, if the pump was massively under reading then you would have put so much fuel in your car compared to the tank capacity that they couldn't argue that the pump wasn't wrong

[r3k1355]

What you should have done was filled the car right up, if the pump was massively under reading then you would have put so much fuel in your car compared to the tank capacity that they couldn't argue that the pump wasn't wrong

 

I agree, just keep on going until it's a ridiculously obvious mistake.  Do most pumps cut out at 100 litres???

Obviously you'd never get that much fuel in a stock Golf without it flowing off down the street.

[mm man]

Only this weekend I was filling up at Sainsbury’s and I noticed for the first time a sticker on the pump saying that it had just been checked for accuracy on weights and measurements and it was dated by an independent company.
My point being the fuel station must have to keep records on when these checks are done so Esso may be able to get this information from them and see if they are update and if any repairs have been carried out since ??
Maybe an idea?