Charged for filling diesel van with petrol

Phil27

Hi,

I recently hired a van for a day as I was moving house and made the misake of putting petrol into it.

I was not told at the time of hiring the van if it was petrol or diesel and there was nothing on any of the paperwork, keyring or petrol cap. The only thing that made me assume it was petrol was the green BP logo on the cap (which is the same as my petrol car).

Over a month down the line I have just been charge on my creditcard £270 from the hire company. I have not had any contact from them regarding this fee.

I was just wondering if anyone could advise me on what my rights are regarding the fee as I feel there should be some signage to confirm the van was diesel or if they are allowed to charge my credit card without authorisation.

Thanks,

Phil

googler

On balance, I think I'm with the hire company.

From my experience of diesels, it's fairly obvious that they're noisier than petrol engines, and they usually have a delay before starting up whilst the glowplugs heat up (and there's a warning light on the dash to show this).

Take it you drove it away from the hire company and filled it up later?

Idiophreak

What happened after you'd put petrol in? Did you have to get the tank drained etc?

worried_jim

Seems fair to me. "assume" makes and !!! of u and me. When driving it the diesel rattle should have given it away- and that 99% of all vans run on diesel.

Ivrytwr3

yep, if you weren't sure, you should have asked/called the hire company and not took a 50/50 gamble!!

Buellguy

Think I'm with the hire company here I'm afraid

From this site:

http://www.saga.co.uk/insurance/car-insurance/the-cost-of-filling-up-with-the-wrong-fuel.aspx

Putting the wrong kind of fuel in your car can add up to be a hugely expensive error. And it’s all too easily done.
It’s estimated that 120,000 drivers put the wrong fuel in their cars every year – that’s about 13 an hour – and they end up paying a massive £50 million in repair bills.
Research shows that some garages have quoted thousands of pounds to put things right. If you happen to own a Chrysler Grand Voyager, it will cost you a whopping £5,000 to sort out, which includes new injectors, injector pump, fuel filter and fuel pump. Next up is the Land Rover Freelander TD4, coming in at a pricey £4,300.
But repair bills seem to vary quite considerably depending on what car you drive. If, on the other hand, you own a Skodia Octavia, only expect to pay £110 for being absent minded at the pumps. Yet, if you’re driving a BMW 320d and make the same mistake, then it’ll set you back £1,000.

andrew-the-cat

To be honest I think you are extremely lucky you were only charged £270. It could have been a LOT more expensive than that.

Mistral001

If it could be proven that the van was not damaged by putting deisel in it, you might have a case here. However, can you prove that you have not caused some damage to the engine or shortened its life? The bill probably was for draining the fuel tank which is not a straightforward job these days as often the tank has to be removed in some vehicles because of anti-syphoning devices in the filler pipes.

Possibly the OP was lucky as he/she might have gotten a bill for a new engine.

shaun_from_Africa

as I feel there should be some signage to confirm the van was diesel or if they are allowed to charge my credit card without authorisation.

When you made the booking or gave your card details when collecting the van, you would have also authorised the hire company to take payment for parking tickets, unpaid tolls or uninsured losses to the vehicle.

The bill probably was for draining the fuel tank

And probably for loss of hire revenue whilst this work was being carried out.

colino

At only £270 you've got a bargain. Accept it and move on before they work out the real cost.

skivenov

What actually happened? Did you start the engine? Did you get a company out to drain it, or did you get the hire company to send someone out to drain it?