Can petrol pumps be rigged to overcharge?
Discussion
Earlier tonight I refuelled my car. It wasn’t empty but around 1/4 full.
From the start the petrol pump didn’t feel right, it was flowing much noticeably much slower. Then when the pump cut off, the amount on the display showed more litres than I expected. Apparently it dispensed just over 40 litres when my car only has a 50 litre tank. From previous experience, if my car has just 10 litres left then the petrol gauge would be well within the red with the low fuel warning light illuminated.
Am I imagining things and other thinking this or is it possible for petrol pumps to be out of calibration, either accidentally or deliberately? Has anyone else had similar experiences?
From the start the petrol pump didn’t feel right, it was flowing much noticeably much slower. Then when the pump cut off, the amount on the display showed more litres than I expected. Apparently it dispensed just over 40 litres when my car only has a 50 litre tank. From previous experience, if my car has just 10 litres left then the petrol gauge would be well within the red with the low fuel warning light illuminated.
Am I imagining things and other thinking this or is it possible for petrol pumps to be out of calibration, either accidentally or deliberately? Has anyone else had similar experiences?
Mr Miata said:
Earlier tonight I refuelled my car. It wasn’t empty but around 1/4 full.
From the start the petrol pump didn’t feel right, it was flowing much noticeably much slower. Then when the pump cut off, the amount on the display showed more litres than I expected. Apparently it dispensed just over 40 litres when my car only has a 50 litre tank. From previous experience, if my car has just 10 litres left then the petrol gauge would be well within the red with the low fuel warning light illuminated.
Am I imagining things and other thinking this or is it possible for petrol pumps to be out of calibration, either accidentally or deliberately? Has anyone else had similar experiences?
Did your fuel gauge show the tank as full after filling up?From the start the petrol pump didn’t feel right, it was flowing much noticeably much slower. Then when the pump cut off, the amount on the display showed more litres than I expected. Apparently it dispensed just over 40 litres when my car only has a 50 litre tank. From previous experience, if my car has just 10 litres left then the petrol gauge would be well within the red with the low fuel warning light illuminated.
Am I imagining things and other thinking this or is it possible for petrol pumps to be out of calibration, either accidentally or deliberately? Has anyone else had similar experiences?
A 50 litre tank @ 1/4 full would have 12.5 litres in it; but you say that if there are only 10 litres left then your car is well into the red & a low fuel warning light is on.
That's only a 2.5 litre difference between a 1/4 full tank and "well into the red" - doesn't seems a lot?
LosingGrip said:
Worked in a petrol station for four years. Countless people a week would say 'I've put x in and it was more/my gauge hasn't moved'.
Always did a test (basically put 20 litres in a tank that had the litres measured. Always showed over (0.5 of a litre). Never once did it show less.
Just for clarity, you're saying you put 20l into a calibrated tank, and the pump measured 20.5l?Always did a test (basically put 20 litres in a tank that had the litres measured. Always showed over (0.5 of a litre). Never once did it show less.
With 10 litres left on a 50 litre tank you are at 20% capacity and you thought you were at 25% so doesn't sound not hugely out. But if you are still concerned, or have suspicions of adulterated fuel, that's the sort of thing your local council Trading Standards team will want to know about, they do inspect pumps periodically and it's the sort of thing they would be interested to investigate if suspicious were raised. Most people never bother complaining, and most times people get away with it because of that.
Seems trading standards are pretty slack on enforcement, with minimal checks and low margins on huge volumes the temptation is there. This came to me from the director of an independent fuel station established many decades.
Tesco sold 10 million litres on 4% under volume, fined a tiny little 18k...crime pays! (several hundred thousand profit there,even in 2007/2008?)
https://www.southwalesargus.co.uk/news/4248887.tes...
Tesco sold 10 million litres on 4% under volume, fined a tiny little 18k...crime pays! (several hundred thousand profit there,even in 2007/2008?)
https://www.southwalesargus.co.uk/news/4248887.tes...
LosingGrip said:
Super Sonic said:
Just for clarity, you're saying you put 20l into a calibrated tank, and the pump measured 20.5l?
Yeah give or take (it was a while ago that I worked there but never once had it under deliver). If the pump says 20.5l, but your calibrated tank only contains 20l, surely it has under delivered?
Super Sonic said:
LosingGrip said:
Super Sonic said:
Just for clarity, you're saying you put 20l into a calibrated tank, and the pump measured 20.5l?
Yeah give or take (it was a while ago that I worked there but never once had it under deliver). If the pump says 20.5l, but your calibrated tank only contains 20l, surely it has under delivered?
Dingu said:
Super Sonic said:
LosingGrip said:
Super Sonic said:
Just for clarity, you're saying you put 20l into a calibrated tank, and the pump measured 20.5l?
Yeah give or take (it was a while ago that I worked there but never once had it under deliver). If the pump says 20.5l, but your calibrated tank only contains 20l, surely it has under delivered?
Super Sonic said:
Care to
elaborate?
I was laughing at (with?) you at noticing the problem with LGs statement, just as I had. I'm sure it was just badly worded on his part, but it reads like an unintentional admission the pumps were under-dispensing.elaborate?
Having also worked as a petrol station manager, the Weights & Measures guys used to show up around every 6 months from memory although tbh I've no idea what the tolerance levels are/were. Mine was an ancient site with manual everything. I think our pumps were some of the first Veeder Root digital ones that didn't have the winding handle at the side to reset the display.
r3g said:
I was laughing at (with?) you at noticing the problem with LGs statement, just as I had. I'm sure it was just badly worded on his part, but it reads like an unintentional admission the pumps were under-dispensing.
Having also worked as a petrol station manager, the Weights & Measures guys used to show up around every 6 months from memory although tbh I've no idea what the tolerance levels are/were. Mine was an ancient site with manual everything. I think our pumps were some of the first Veeder Root digital ones that didn't have the winding handle at the side to reset the display.
Oh ok. Thanks for clearing that up. I thought LG's original statement was ambiguous and tried to get him to clarify, but he just made it worse lol. Having also worked as a petrol station manager, the Weights & Measures guys used to show up around every 6 months from memory although tbh I've no idea what the tolerance levels are/were. Mine was an ancient site with manual everything. I think our pumps were some of the first Veeder Root digital ones that didn't have the winding handle at the side to reset the display.
Something similar happened to me a few years ago. Was filling up at Tesco's, not even on the red light, and the pump sounded and felt odd and measured almost the whole tank capacity. I told the people in the shop, they took my details, then contacted me a few days later, said they'd checked the pump and it was fine, and sent me a 20 quid voucher.
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