Forecourt petrol pump over charging - what would you do?
Discussion
I had a weird situation the other day.
Went to fill up one of my cars at the normal Supermarket fuel station I've used for years, plugged in the nozzle, dispensed fuel and watched as the litres and cost went up.... normal so far...
BUT I'm one of those habitual / statistically obsessive people that fill up the same way every time - I never run a tank to empty, always to about the same level and then fill to brim, with a motorway commute that uses largely the same amount of fuel week in, week out.
Being 'statistically obsessive' I keep a spreadsheet of all fuel fill ups and mileages on all my cars (yeah, yeah, I know!!) so I already know roughly how many litres and how much it's going to cost to fill up before I pull up.
On this day the dispensed litres and cost climbed until it got to the point where I was mentally preparing for the pump to stop and get on my way.... but it just kept going up and up ... and up.
For this particular car I'd normally get a maximum of 35 litres in the tank with a calculated mpg between 38-42 at every fill up. That's been the same on every fill over thousands of miles.
So I was pretty surprised when the forecourt fuel pump ticked over 35, 36, 37 and into 38 litres and beyond....
It eventually stopped with the tank brimmed (to my normal level) at 46.3 litres.... at a calculated 33mpg...
I was staggered I'd got so much in and it was so far off my normal fill.
So staggered that I felt it wasn't possible.
A quick Google on the forecourt showed this car only has a 45 litre tank capacity as declared by the manufacturer..... and I know it had approximately 10 litres of fuel in it when I stopped to fill up... so there was simply no way it could have taken 46.3 litres. Yet, that's what the pump showed and that's what I was charged.
I brought it up with the cashier who probably thought I was a mentalist (just as I would have done in their shoes!), grabbed a piece of paper and took my number, clipped a copy of my receipt to it and said she'd get someone to check the pump and they'd call me. Surprise, surprise, I've heard nothing....
Question is what to do now? I couldn't be more certain that the pump overcharged as it was impossible to get that much fuel in my tank. This particular supermarket forecourt is always extremely busy, so there will be hundreds of people being overcharged by this pump every day. I know all petrol pumps are checked regularly for weights and measures, so this situation is statistically extremely unlikely, but it happened here. What's the best way of raising this so it's looked into properly? Anyone here with experience of the petrol pump industry?
Went to fill up one of my cars at the normal Supermarket fuel station I've used for years, plugged in the nozzle, dispensed fuel and watched as the litres and cost went up.... normal so far...
BUT I'm one of those habitual / statistically obsessive people that fill up the same way every time - I never run a tank to empty, always to about the same level and then fill to brim, with a motorway commute that uses largely the same amount of fuel week in, week out.
Being 'statistically obsessive' I keep a spreadsheet of all fuel fill ups and mileages on all my cars (yeah, yeah, I know!!) so I already know roughly how many litres and how much it's going to cost to fill up before I pull up.
On this day the dispensed litres and cost climbed until it got to the point where I was mentally preparing for the pump to stop and get on my way.... but it just kept going up and up ... and up.
For this particular car I'd normally get a maximum of 35 litres in the tank with a calculated mpg between 38-42 at every fill up. That's been the same on every fill over thousands of miles.
So I was pretty surprised when the forecourt fuel pump ticked over 35, 36, 37 and into 38 litres and beyond....
It eventually stopped with the tank brimmed (to my normal level) at 46.3 litres.... at a calculated 33mpg...
I was staggered I'd got so much in and it was so far off my normal fill.
So staggered that I felt it wasn't possible.
A quick Google on the forecourt showed this car only has a 45 litre tank capacity as declared by the manufacturer..... and I know it had approximately 10 litres of fuel in it when I stopped to fill up... so there was simply no way it could have taken 46.3 litres. Yet, that's what the pump showed and that's what I was charged.
I brought it up with the cashier who probably thought I was a mentalist (just as I would have done in their shoes!), grabbed a piece of paper and took my number, clipped a copy of my receipt to it and said she'd get someone to check the pump and they'd call me. Surprise, surprise, I've heard nothing....
Question is what to do now? I couldn't be more certain that the pump overcharged as it was impossible to get that much fuel in my tank. This particular supermarket forecourt is always extremely busy, so there will be hundreds of people being overcharged by this pump every day. I know all petrol pumps are checked regularly for weights and measures, so this situation is statistically extremely unlikely, but it happened here. What's the best way of raising this so it's looked into properly? Anyone here with experience of the petrol pump industry?
Exactly the same thing happened to me at a Tesco garage once, five or six years ago. I filled up when the car was only just on the red light and apparently managed to put in more than the tank's official capacity - the pump had seemed unusually slow and felt a bit off. They took my details when I complained, then did eventually contact me (took a few days) and denied there could possibly be anything wrong with the measuring equipment, regularly checked etc., but gave me a 20 quid voucher anyway.
The only thing I can say is that I had a similar sort of experience some years back. Filled up Mrs F's car, one I didn't drive regularly and was in a bit of a rush. Amount of fuel was very similar to the quantity I generally put in my own so nothing registered in my mind.
Afterwards realised that it had taken a lot of fuel equivalent to the total capacity of the tank, and gauge was indicating about a quarter full when I started it up on the drive a few miles earlier.
Cashier not interested, fair enough I'd driven away by then. Trading standards informed, they went to check, found nothing wrong. Their advice was always check the pump has reset to zero before pulling the trigger.
Since then have always done that, be interesting to know if there is some sort of trick that a dodgy individual could pull.
Afterwards realised that it had taken a lot of fuel equivalent to the total capacity of the tank, and gauge was indicating about a quarter full when I started it up on the drive a few miles earlier.
Cashier not interested, fair enough I'd driven away by then. Trading standards informed, they went to check, found nothing wrong. Their advice was always check the pump has reset to zero before pulling the trigger.
Since then have always done that, be interesting to know if there is some sort of trick that a dodgy individual could pull.
Something to bear in mind is that the density of fuel changes slightly with temperature.
Filling up on a colder day should give you marginally more energy/mpg for the same price per litre as the pumps are most likely calibrated at 15 deg C.
Having said that, cold air is also more dense so more fuel is required to push the car through the air.
Meaning the consumption might actually worsen if you also then drive the car in cold weather.
Filling up on a colder day should give you marginally more energy/mpg for the same price per litre as the pumps are most likely calibrated at 15 deg C.
Having said that, cold air is also more dense so more fuel is required to push the car through the air.
Meaning the consumption might actually worsen if you also then drive the car in cold weather.
Edited by GT9 on Saturday 22 March 09:55
For most automakers, the tank capacity is measured by:
Level road run-dry, fill to second click-stop.
So the vehicle is driven until it runs out on a level test track site. Then it is transported back and refilled from a standard pump until the pump ‘clicks out’, then after a second or so wait, refilled until the next ‘click-stop’. In general the capacity would be declared to some whole number of litres less than that.
I ran my BMW 335d almost dry, and got 54 litres in (57 litre tank). If I recall the ‘miles remaining’ showing corresponded pretty much to the fuel left.
(Another requirement for diesel or petrol, was a level-road run-dry; then capable of a restart with 4 litres, with the vehicle parked at an angle -both sides tested - that was equivalent to an 8” high kerb. The 4 litre amount ensures that both a US gallon can, or a 5 litre European can will enable a refill and restart)
Level road run-dry, fill to second click-stop.
So the vehicle is driven until it runs out on a level test track site. Then it is transported back and refilled from a standard pump until the pump ‘clicks out’, then after a second or so wait, refilled until the next ‘click-stop’. In general the capacity would be declared to some whole number of litres less than that.
I ran my BMW 335d almost dry, and got 54 litres in (57 litre tank). If I recall the ‘miles remaining’ showing corresponded pretty much to the fuel left.
(Another requirement for diesel or petrol, was a level-road run-dry; then capable of a restart with 4 litres, with the vehicle parked at an angle -both sides tested - that was equivalent to an 8” high kerb. The 4 litre amount ensures that both a US gallon can, or a 5 litre European can will enable a refill and restart)
Edited by Pica-Pica on Saturday 22 March 10:01
LeoSayer said:
How can you be sure you already had 10 litres in your tank?
Because I keep records of how much fuel I use, follow the same pattern of use day in, day out and routinely fill up in the same cycle. I never run a tank to empty on the gauge and always fill when the 'range' is between 100 - 150 miles remaining. The range that day showed 120 miles remaining, typical of a 'normal' fuel stop for my pattern of use. That remaining range equates to around 10 litres at the typical consumption this car uses. The fuel gauge was not showing empty, nor was the low fuel light on, because I don't run it down that far.Filling a jerry can from empty is a good suggestion for verifying the pump is dispensing what it says it is - good thinking, thank you.
richhead said:
As said, fuel does change in volume with temp, thats why race teams weigh it instead of measure it.
Also you may have used more fuel than you think. Or you car may have been running richer than normal,
It is very unlikely that a fuel pump is much out.
But nowhere near enough to account for the OP's calculations. Maybe the OP had never really filled it up fully beforehand?Also you may have used more fuel than you think. Or you car may have been running richer than normal,
It is very unlikely that a fuel pump is much out.
In very general terms, as the quality of fuel also affects the % change slightly, petrol increases in volume by <1CC per litre per 1ºC temp increase. So <0.1% per 1ºC increase. So it would have exceeded it's flashpoint way before 35 litres became 45 litres.
You need to lift your boot carpet and have a in the spare wheel well. It's more than possible that putting too much petrol in has ruptured the top of the fuel tank and resulted in an overflow into the boot. You were lucky you stopped when you did; extreme cases have resulted in entire interiors being filled with petrol, which is ruinously expensive for starters and requires several weeks' driving about in wetsuit and snorkel to allow the excess fuel to be used up.
I used to work in a petrol station. We'd get people coming in all the time like this.
We had a litre container (calibrated) from the weights and measures department of somewhere.
We'd dispense 1 litre from the pump and measure it. Everything i did it, it showed 1 litre on the pump and over on the container.
I was doing it three/four times a week for four years.
We had a litre container (calibrated) from the weights and measures department of somewhere.
We'd dispense 1 litre from the pump and measure it. Everything i did it, it showed 1 litre on the pump and over on the container.
I was doing it three/four times a week for four years.
I thought I had the same happen to me once before. 1/4 tank remaining, thought I'd pull in so I didn't have to bother in the morning. 55 litre tank, put 54.xx in. Thought it was suspicious, mentioned to cashier blah blah, fill out a form for them to check etc etc. Went back to car, turned ignition on, wouldnt start. So had to re prime the diesel pump it was that low when I pulled in and was ready to conk out any second 
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