Drive off notice for non payment of fuel

oldagetraveller1

Jenni_D said:

I think the OP has been clear that it was a Jerry can of fuel? (So probably 5 litres tops)

Pedant alert.

Could well be up to 20 litre (4.4 Imp.gallons). That is the volumetric capacity of a true jerry can by defintion.

scrappy_returns

At this point the OP is realising why Adrian is on so many people's ignore list....

Aretnap

AdrianC said:

I don't think you're going to get anywhere without disproportionate time, energy and blood pressure being invested.

Why would it cost the OP any time, energy or blood pressure? The ball is in the debt recovery agent's court - they're the ones claiming that she owes them £30. If they want any money from her, they're the ones who have to do the fighting. 

If I were in the OP's shoes I would write to them and make clear that I was happy to pay for the fuel, but not any additional fees given that this was an error on the part of the garage. The agency then has three options

(1) accept the offer which leaves everyone happy (it probably beats their average recovery in these situations) 
(2) take the OP to court over thirty quid (which seems unlikely) or
(3) Send the OP some letters threatening to take her to court, then give up when no money comes back.

No time or energy required if the OP is willing to accept a very small risk of being taken to the small claims court and has a large enough recycling bin to accommodate the letters. 

The rest of your post is just moralising which doesn't really merit a response. 

Jenni_D

(2) If you're referring to the debt recovery agency then (unless they've actually acquired the debt*) then they CANNOT take the OP to court - it's not their debt to pursue.  

* The OP would know that the debt was assigned, because it's NOT assigned unless the debtor is notified at the time of assignment.  

Brie

I'm confused about why you can't pay the agency the cost of the fuel.  Is it because it's online?  Perhaps you could send a cheque to them instead??  They have to have a postal address somewhere.

AdrianC

Aretnap said:

AdrianC said:

I don't think you're going to get anywhere without disproportionate time, energy and blood pressure being invested.

Why would it cost the OP any time, energy or blood pressure? The ball is in the debt recovery agent's court - they're the ones claiming that she owes them £30. If they want any money from her, they're the ones who have to do the fighting. 

If I were in the OP's shoes I would write to them and make clear that I was happy to pay for the fuel, but not any additional fees given that this was an error on the part of the garage. The agency then has three options

(1) accept the offer which leaves everyone happy (it probably beats their average recovery in these situations) 
(2) take the OP to court over thirty quid (which seems unlikely) or
(3) Send the OP some letters threatening to take her to court, then give up when no money comes back.

No time or energy required if the OP is willing to accept a very small risk of being taken to the small claims court and has a large enough recycling bin to accommodate the letters. 

And you don't think there's any blood pressure involved in those scenarios?

One thing's for sure, there will be more fees coming if the OP doesn't pay in the near future. By the time it comes to a potential court case, it won't be £30.

And they almost certainly won't be simply threatening, if they think there's a chance of the OP having any worthwhile assets and the slightest concern for their future credit rating...

jimjames

Dazzlecat said:

Thanks for all the helpful comments. Now it's just turned into bashing me because I didn't check the receipt I'll call it quits.  Remember - if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all! And remember your comments next time you are in a rush and don't check your receipt11

I can see exactly the situation you're in, I've done it a few times myself albeit that items were all included in my bill. Pay contactless it's very easy to just tap and not get a receipt and not check the amount. Not very MSE, but very easy to do.

ontheroad1970

jimjames said:

Dazzlecat said:

Thanks for all the helpful comments. Now it's just turned into bashing me because I didn't check the receipt I'll call it quits.  Remember - if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all! And remember your comments next time you are in a rush and don't check your receipt11

I can see exactly the situation you're in, I've done it a few times myself albeit that items were all included in my bill. Pay contactless it's very easy to just tap and not get a receipt and not check the amount. Not very MSE, but very easy to do.

Indeed, but the OP also made an error, and they have some responsibility for the situation they are in.  The garage or their agents have had to incur costs in establishing where the OP lives in order to chase the debt - costs they won't get back in any other way  - like the fee that DVLA charge for the OP's details.  If the OP doesn't pay it then other customers will through increased prices. Perhaps there is a compromise that can be made to take account the joint blame involved further down the line.

Money_Grabber13579

ontheroad1970 said:

jimjames said:

Dazzlecat said:

Thanks for all the helpful comments. Now it's just turned into bashing me because I didn't check the receipt I'll call it quits.  Remember - if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all! And remember your comments next time you are in a rush and don't check your receipt11

I can see exactly the situation you're in, I've done it a few times myself albeit that items were all included in my bill. Pay contactless it's very easy to just tap and not get a receipt and not check the amount. Not very MSE, but very easy to do.

Indeed, but the OP also made an error, and they have some responsibility for the situation they are in.  The garage or their agents have had to incur costs in establishing where the OP lives in order to chase the debt - costs they won't get back in any other way  - like the fee that DVLA charge for the OP's details.  If the OP doesn't pay it then other customers will through increased prices. Perhaps there is a compromise that can be made to take account the joint blame involved further down the line.

I don’t see why the OP is at fault here. They have clearly stated that the garage have admitted that it was their fault so that can only mean that they were told about the fuel at the time and still didn’t charge for it.  How reasonable is it that the OP didn’t notice when being asked to pay? Totally. Buying £20 of other stuff and £5 of fuel is a situation where a total bill of either £20 or £25 could be reasonable, unless you’ve added up the price of the store items as you’ve collected them (and very few people do that and I don’t think it is reasonable to expect everyone to do that).

It would be completely different if it was £60 of fuel and a packet of chewing gum, as that would be obvious to everyone. Plus, with the reluctance of shops to provide receipts unless you ask, it’s not going to be particularly easy to check afterwards either.

I’ve said it before, too many people on this board seem to take great enjoyment in just telling posters they are in the wrong, even if it isn’t anywhere near as clear cut as that.

user1977

Send a cheque, keep evidence of having done so. Not that I expect it would ever go to court anyway, but a court isn't likely to be impressed if the retailer hasn't even banked the cheque for the original debt.