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faulty petrol pump

dycebabe
dycebabe Posts: 37 Forumite
on my way home from work this morning (5.30am) I went into my local garage to put fuel in my car (my red light was on). I placed the nozzel into my car as usual for the first 30pence worth of petrol it was fine. There was then a noise like air coming out the pump and no petrol. I took my finger off the trigger and yet the sale amount was still increasing, it only stopped when I put the nozzel back on the cradle. The worker in the garage said that I had to pay for it as the computer showed that I had taken fuel. I showed him that my red light was still on and explained that if I had filled up with the £10.71 then it would be off. He is adimant that I have to pay for the fuel even though I didnt get any and tried to explain that the petrol pump must be faulty. what are my rights?

Comments

  • Hintza
    Hintza Posts: 19,420 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    edited 14 May 2010 at 7:18AM
    If it was me and I was local I would probably have left my name and number and told them to contact me. Probably totally illegal but I wouldn't be paying for no fuel.

    Alternatively I wouldn't have left until the owner/manager had arrived.
  • Norman_Castle
    Norman_Castle Posts: 11,871 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    Contact trading standards.They may check the pump
  • mr_lordi
    mr_lordi Posts: 207 Forumite
    dycebabe wrote: »
    on my way home from work this morning (5.30am) I went into my local garage to put fuel in my car (my red light was on). I placed the nozzel into my car as usual for the first 30pence worth of petrol it was fine. There was then a noise like air coming out the pump and no petrol. I took my finger off the trigger and yet the sale amount was still increasing, it only stopped when I put the nozzel back on the cradle. The worker in the garage said that I had to pay for it as the computer showed that I had taken fuel. I showed him that my red light was still on and explained that if I had filled up with the £10.71 then it would be off. He is adimant that I have to pay for the fuel even though I didnt get any and tried to explain that the petrol pump must be faulty. what are my rights?
    I have had this before, i may be wrong but if the garage was not a 24 hr garage, sometimes there can be air locks in the pump ( lines )espicially if it was cold and if you happened to be one of the first in, this is what the assistant told me....Go in and complain
  • vikingaero
    vikingaero Posts: 10,920 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    A decent petrol clerk would have placed out of order tags on the affected pump. If you did pay you should have left your name and address with the clerk. You could still have refused to pay and left your details - it wouldn't be bilking. Definitely contact your local Trading Standards so that they can conduct a weights and measures check on the fuel station.
    The man without a signature.
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