Sainsburys petrol extra peny dropping

akkers

I have found this problem to occur often at Sainsburys petrol stations but more so at the one at White Rose Centre in Leeds.
Everytime I have been there, I have filled up and put the nozzle back. In between me putting the nozzle back and me going inside to pay the amount had gone up by a penny. Initially I thought it was the cashier cheating but looking at the pump on my return it was showing the extra penny. So it looks like that even when you have stopped fuelling, put the nozzle back and pump has turned off, it adds an extra penny (all behind your back).
I suspect that most people are not too much bothered by an extra penny, so no one is complaining. But it must make a little pocket money for someone at the end of the week.
Incidently, I reported this to CAB but they have shown very little interest.

ChumLee

Once you've illiminated human error and fraud. You then need to speak to the weights and measure people at customs. Get a crime number for the fraud if they are conning you.

DCFC79

Tell Sainsburys about it via 1 of the forums of contact.

JJ_Egan

Local council weights and measures first stop as said .

ampersand

This happens often at several locations of Mr T pumps I use.

I tell them, with gently firm courtesy:-), and that 1p is removed.
Being older, female, Penelope Keith in Voice as and when, all helps.

Write to new CEO. Why not? He wants to know about these things and I see local branches trying hard, prices falling - still mix and match with w8rose though.

SuperHan

Vote with your feet and go to the new Shell garage around the corner.

I much prefer it, although it does cost me more when I come out with a full tank and a Starbucks drive through...

ampersand

mse is about money-saving, not paying more.

paddyrg

Most filling stations round here have a small pot of pennies on the counter especially for people who go a penny over!

Forwandert

Just pay with cash and say you haven't got the penny.

SuperHan

ampersand wrote: »

mse is about money-saving, not paying more.

It was a joke. It costs me more as it has a drive through Starbucks that I buy every time I go that petrol station.

I actually think the fuel price may be cheaper. To really save money, the new Asda petrol station in Beeston about a mile away is about 2p cheaper a litre than anywhere else I've seen if the OP is wanting to take a slight detour.

daytona0

Let me be a smart !!!! and blow your minds!

Unleaded in Leeds should be 113.9p per litre in sainsburys (source: http://www.whatgas.com/fuel/sainsburys.html#.VckOj_lViko )

If you underfill your tank by 1p (to counteract this phenomenon) then;

113.9 pence per litre (or 1000 ml)

1 pence per 8.77963125549 ml (1000/113.9)

so you underfill by roughly 8.78 ml

Lets say you can travel 15 kilometres per litre, which (and I don't know much about cars) seems to be a good figure on car forums.

You'd expect to do about 0.13 km for 8.78 ml of petrol

That is less than 0.1 miles (0.08) and roughly 130 metres

So you're getting bothered about 1p which is roughly about 130 metres. Not being funny but, unless your disabled, there is no excuse why you can't walk that extra 130 metres


EDIT: according to google RE: how long does it take to walk 130 metres;

"To use this formula for short navigation legs, break it down to 1.2 minutes per 100 metres horizontal distance and 1 minute for every 10 metres of ascent. You can only travel at the speed of the slowest person and so you may need to use a slower formula such as 4 kph which is calculated at 1.5 minutes per 100 metres."

Oh dear!

Oh, and before you say "but they are pocketing an extra 1p due to it ticking over when you haven't used it" I bring up two points:

1. It is a penny!

2. How can you prove that the pump does not incorporate fractional rounding? Maybe you have pumped an amount of petrol which has a decimal equal to or greater than 0.5, thus rounding it up to the nearest integer that we work with in our currency system (1p). They may well round anything 0.49r and lower as 0p. That means that there is NO EVIDENCE to disprove the possibility that, if you are ninja-like in pumping gas, you can get 4.38 ml of gas for absolutely free!!!!!

Regarding point two, it is practically a coinflip (50% vs 50%) as to whether the petrol rounds up or down to the nearest penny. Also, you won't notice those times it rounds down, so the data is obviously skewed. If we take your post at face value and assume that fractional rounding down DOESN'T happen then you'd need to have it happen 4 times in a row for it to start being statistically significant (according to a chi squared test). So if you've been to Sainsburys 3 times and it has happened all 3 times then you need to go back one more time just to be sure

This is ALSO assuming that they don't round ALL fractional values UP to the nearest integer, in which case you are technically only losing 0.5p instead of the 1p you are talking about in your post, because the average of all values between 0p and 1p is 0.5p!! I can't believe I'm in the position to say that someone is potentially overreacting over half a penny!! :rofl: