trading standards office.

Do we still have one. I filled the car on Sunday and when I got home worked out that I had put 67 litres in the tank. Unfortunately it only holds 55 litres. I presume he had fiddled the till cos the receipt only showed the price. £71.51. He can change the unit costs on the till at will. I suppose he moves it up and down as he wants.
MORAL. Only fill up at supermarkets and avoid small traders.

 

£71.51 sounds about right for 67 litres. So you've either been ripped off or your car holds 67l.

 

I worked out the 67 litres by dividing the cost £71.51 by the advertised price £1.06 per Litre. I have definitley been ripped off but how do I rectify the matter. The receipt only shows total cost and not the amount of fuel put in the tank.QUOTE=Ponty72;1624456]£71.51 sounds about right for 67 litres. So you've either been ripped off or your car holds 67l.[/QUOTE]

 

I would think that the CAB would be able to point you in the right direction. There is a website for trading standards too.

 

Could it be a honest mistake and you have paid for the wrong pump?

 

Ah right, misunderstood your post. Why don't you go back to the garage and confront him about it? See what he says. Tell him you're gonna go to trading standards.

 

Question though. Why didn't you notice you were being charged too much at the time if you know your tank only holds 55l?

 

Didn't know till I got home and checked the hand book. I checked because i'd been filling up for about £55 or 60.

 

Check that your tank is indeed a 55 litre one.
If it is and assuming it wasn't completely empty when you went to the garage and you filled it to its max including filler neck and pipes then there is something not right.
I'd go back and challenge the owner in the nicest possible way - you'll know immediately from his demeanour if he's on a fiddle.

 

Just a thought but while you were filling up what did it say on the display on the pump? Doesn't it always display the total cost, amount dispensed and also the cost per litre? Did any of these show anything indicating such a large bill? I believe that the pumps display and flow rate is heavily regulated and monitored and even the slightest descrepency lands them in very hot water.

 

See if the pump you use has a calibration sticker on it.

Most pumps these days dispaly when they were last checked.

 

Another thought. Is it possible you've filled with premium or super unleaded by mistake? Would the difference in price per litre account for the extra charge?

 

Good point.

 

Would it be such a big difference in price though. Sounds dodgy to me.

 

It's about 118 for super so not quite enough difference to explain it. Unless his tank actually holds 60l.

 

I've a fool proof way. I only ever put £20.00 exactly in, then no one can fleece you. Stay one step ahead. Pm me for further details. It's fool proof.

 

My dad ran petrol stations for many years,pre electronic days, I would be very surprised if you have been ripped off even today though...although I can't explain the tank capacity issue tbh.Garages were extremely strictly controlled and as an exisable product I would think the scrutiny would be even closer today with the electronic packages they will use than it was then. I cannot imagine it would be possible to change the price of the fuel whilst in the process of delivery, but I could be wrong. We had regular visits by weights and measures as they were then called (trading standards today?) making test purchases and I cannot recall even one failing the test measure. What the answer is I cannot say, but a deliberate rip off would not be my first thought, having said that the lack of quantity on the invoice seems strange.

 

Get a mate to drive to the garage and fill up. Take photos of the pump display and work out the figures. Then confront the manager about both bills, assuming your mate's is also dodgy.

 

I too allers put £20 in at a time. So I can safely say that all this talk of petrol prices coming down is a load of crap.

 

My vehicle takes 56 litres according to the manual. I am one of those who traditionally plays the silly game of how much further I can go once the light has come on. Many a time I have run on fumes. When I have been REALLY silly I have filled up and got 57 litres in.

At the end of last summer I filled up in Bradford - thought it was pricy and checked; I had got 63 litres in. It wasn't even one of those occassions I had run it close to empty. I took it to Trading Standards (who redirected me to CAB IIRC) and they asked for a copy of the till receipt and pump number. I got an email from them to say they had followed it up and taken action. Not sure what action that was though, and I couldn't be arsed getting any recompense, just a mental note never to shop there again. It was over a gallon difference, in old money ! !

On a seperate note, why do some (Asian predominantly) petrol stations keep your VAT receipt unless you prompt them for it ? Is there an ulterior motive ? Is it some sort of scam ? Do they sell them on to taxi drivers etc for tax purposes ? Or is it all perfectly innocent ?