£30 of fuel - "That will be £30.09 please sir..."
Discussion
Filled up this morning at Tesco, using a pre-set amount pump (you can choose a pre-set volume or value of fuel to be dispensed and the pump cuts off at the set amount).
Entered £30 using the buttons, fueled and went to pay.
Inside I was asked for £30.09.
The pump had dispensed an extra 9 pence worth of fuel before cutting off.
Now, I was paying by card and in a hurry so only told the staff I was unhappy with the situation and would contact their management later for an explanation, BUT:
1. Have they bent/broken any laws?
2. What if I had refused to pay the extra that I didn't "ask" for?
3. What if I couldn't pay the extra (say I only had £30 in cash and no cards)?
4. What if the pump had continued fuelling until my tank was full and situation 2 or 3 above?
I also wonder just how frequently this happens and if it is a "sneaky" way of getting you to buy more?
Entered £30 using the buttons, fueled and went to pay.
Inside I was asked for £30.09.
The pump had dispensed an extra 9 pence worth of fuel before cutting off.
Now, I was paying by card and in a hurry so only told the staff I was unhappy with the situation and would contact their management later for an explanation, BUT:
1. Have they bent/broken any laws?
2. What if I had refused to pay the extra that I didn't "ask" for?
3. What if I couldn't pay the extra (say I only had £30 in cash and no cards)?
4. What if the pump had continued fuelling until my tank was full and situation 2 or 3 above?
I also wonder just how frequently this happens and if it is a "sneaky" way of getting you to buy more?
Given the rate at which fuel comes out of those things, I'm hardly surprised it misses the mark occasionally.
I suspect that if you tried to refuse to pay for it, you would be asked to return it
but I know some petrol stations keep a pot of small change by the till for this purpose. Someone throws, say, £49.97 in, they'll leave the 3p for the pot. You end up with £30.09 and only have thirty quid on you, the 9p comes out of the pot.
I suspect that if you tried to refuse to pay for it, you would be asked to return it
but I know some petrol stations keep a pot of small change by the till for this purpose. Someone throws, say, £49.97 in, they'll leave the 3p for the pot. You end up with £30.09 and only have thirty quid on you, the 9p comes out of the pot.
The Asda one near me slows down to about 10p/second when it gets about £1 away from the limit, and gradually slows down to about 1p/second for the last 10p or so.
Only ever use it when I've got a courtesy car and need to put in enough of the cheapest stuff I can find to get it back to the level I collected it with.
For my own car I fill it when it's empty and pay what's shown on the pump - a penny here and there is of no consequence.
Only ever use it when I've got a courtesy car and need to put in enough of the cheapest stuff I can find to get it back to the level I collected it with.
For my own car I fill it when it's empty and pay what's shown on the pump - a penny here and there is of no consequence.
Edited by mmm-five on Wednesday 8th February 11:10
and less time 
waiting at the petrol stations. 
Rubin215 said:
Filled up this morning at Tesco, using a pre-set amount pump (you can choose a pre-set volume or value of fuel to be dispensed and the pump cuts off at the set amount).
Entered £30 using the buttons, fueled and went to pay.
Inside I was asked for £30.09.
The pump had dispensed an extra 9 pence worth of fuel before cutting off.
Now, I was paying by card and in a hurry so only told the staff I was unhappy with the situation and would contact their management later for an explanation, BUT:
1. Have they bent/broken any laws?
2. What if I had refused to pay the extra that I didn't "ask" for?
3. What if I couldn't pay the extra (say I only had £30 in cash and no cards)?
4. What if the pump had continued fuelling until my tank was full and situation 2 or 3 above?
I also wonder just how frequently this happens and if it is a "sneaky" way of getting you to buy more?
another none pay at pump user Entered £30 using the buttons, fueled and went to pay.
Inside I was asked for £30.09.
The pump had dispensed an extra 9 pence worth of fuel before cutting off.
Now, I was paying by card and in a hurry so only told the staff I was unhappy with the situation and would contact their management later for an explanation, BUT:
1. Have they bent/broken any laws?
2. What if I had refused to pay the extra that I didn't "ask" for?
3. What if I couldn't pay the extra (say I only had £30 in cash and no cards)?
4. What if the pump had continued fuelling until my tank was full and situation 2 or 3 above?
I also wonder just how frequently this happens and if it is a "sneaky" way of getting you to buy more?
gunners100 said:
another none pay at pump user
I quite often don't use pay at pump as:A. They're quite often out of receipt roll (my local Tesco is terrible for this).
B. There are a few garages around where its quicker to pay at the till than authorise on the card, full to the authorised limit (£59 at one garage near me), put the nozzle back, wait for the receipt, put the card back in to authorise a second time, fill the tank, wait for the receipt...
These pumps exist a lot on the continent... that have a 1€ button and a €10 button on the pump.
So for example if you want €30 of fuel, you press the €10 button three times. This then sets a limit, and the pump stops dispensing fuel at €30. You pay your money and leave.
Very useful for those who carry cash, and use cash to pay for things. Means we can spend what we want to without aiming for €30, going slightly over, then ending up sticking in €40 worth of fuel - just to round it off to a nice number.
The Tesco one obviously has a dodgy cut of switch, taking too long to shut off the pump. The ones in Portugal I use slow down the fuel flow for the last 1€ worth, and then always stop bang on the money.
So for example if you want €30 of fuel, you press the €10 button three times. This then sets a limit, and the pump stops dispensing fuel at €30. You pay your money and leave.
Very useful for those who carry cash, and use cash to pay for things. Means we can spend what we want to without aiming for €30, going slightly over, then ending up sticking in €40 worth of fuel - just to round it off to a nice number.
The Tesco one obviously has a dodgy cut of switch, taking too long to shut off the pump. The ones in Portugal I use slow down the fuel flow for the last 1€ worth, and then always stop bang on the money.
oyster said:
What if you want to fuel a certain amount of litres rather than money? Way more relevant if you are returning a rental car.
Rubin215 said:
a pre-set amount pump (you can choose a pre-set volume or value of fuel to be dispensed and the pump cuts off at the set amount).
HTH 
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