Shell responsible for my misfuel - unleaded in diesel car standards non compliance

vikingaero

When I fuel up my diesel car I do the following:

(1) Look for the pump with diesel on it!
(2) Lift it and insert into car.
(3) Check that the hose runs from the handle/nozzle to the diesel slot on the pump (hoses and nozzles have a habit of being mixed up and intertwined).
(4) Check that the display shows the diesel price and cross check with the main price board to confirm.
(5) Check the handle says diesel and that it matches the diesel sticker on the fuel flap to be trebley sure.
(6) Fuel up.

Why so anal? Because I don't want to pay £xxx for the misfuel let alone the inconvenience. It takes 10 seconds to do all that.

arcon5

Labmanager wrote: »

As the vast majority of fuellings are carried out correctly it must be even easier to get the right fuel into your vehicle.

Of course it is, doesn't change the fact its not uncommon to make the mistake and easily done if your not paying attention.

As I said before, when in a hurry, it's easy to just grab at the green pump just wanting to get some fuel in so you can be on your way to your next appointment for example.

Just to add, i've never made the mistake of putting the wrong fuel in a car, can just sympathise with op and understand how its happened bearing in mind the points op made.

nearlyrich

I am anal about checking too, I always read Diesel on the inside of the flap and match it to the word on the pump. A friend of mine once put the wrong BP fuel in his car and it wasn't cheap to sort it out...

getzls

Do all unleaded pumps not have a green hose?

redpete

Labmanager wrote: »

If I regularly drive a mix of petrol and diesel cars I'd make a point of checking/double checking/treble checking....end of....story.

I guess I must be a less organised person than you. And I guess you must the perfect person to be a Lab Manager. Well...done.

Meanwhile, back in my normal world...mistakes...happen.

unholyangel

redpete wrote: »

I guess I must be a less organised person than you. And I guess you must the perfect person to be a Lab Manager. Well...done.

Meanwhile, back in my normal world...mistakes...happen.

I don't think anyone is saying mistakes don't happen......just rather than people need to take responsibility for their own mistakes rather than blaming it on someone else.

Its no different to me walking into a shop, picking up a tin of beans that has the same colour label as heinz beans and then blaming it on the supermarket rather my own inability to check i'm buying the right product when it turns out the beans aren't heinz after all.

If the hose was labelled as diesel but was unleaded, obviously you'd have a case. But if the labelling is correct and yet the consumer makes a mistake by assuming, it is their mistake.

sco0ter

Q. I accidentally put diesel in my vehicle instead of petrol because the pumps weren’t colour coded?

A. There is no legal requirement for petrol pumps to be colour coded, this is just industry practice. There is however a legal requirement for pumps to be labelled with the type of fuel they are dispensing. As an extra check, before commencing delivery make sure that the price displayed corresponds to the fuel you want to purchase. If you know of a petrol station which does not have the fuel type labelled on the pumps, please contact Consumer Direct on 08454 04 05 06.

Also http://www.fuelfixer.co.uk/wrong-fuelpetrol-in-diesel-faqs/misfuelling-reasons/

redpete

unholyangel wrote: »

I don't think anyone is saying mistakes don't happen.....just rather than people need to take responsibility for their own mistakes rather than blaming it on someone else.

I know - hence my earlier comment "And BTW - no-one's fault but mine."

MamaMoo_2

I used to work at a petrol station on the M5. We'd get at least 1 person a week doing this.

NiallB

I had to help out a lady at the next pump a couple of months who was very confused because the nozzle wouldn't fit her opening (Behave!)

I checked that she definitely wanted diesel and she made a horrified face.

The final insult was when she was paying and the guy charged her not only for her petrol, but also for the 16p worth of derv she'd managed to squeeze in