Esso petrol pumps

[rowdy]

Just wondered if it is a regional thing or whether there is a national 'problem' with esso fuel pumps. A couple of months ago there was a 'problem' with the pumps around the area I live where I (and many other people) would put in the desired amount, go to pay for the fuel and find that it had gone over a couple of pence. It happened again today (funny that, the price of fuel just been reduced). I put 15 quid in the bike, it clicked at 14.80something and I squeezed the last few pence in. On reaching the till it had miraculously jumped up by tuppence. I've also been passenger in my mates car and witnessed the fuel pump jump up about 3 pence when my friend had already put the nozzle back on the pump and turned to walk to the kiosk. Now I know it's only a few pence but there is 60 million people in the country and god knows how many million cars. If 1 million people put fuel in thier car on any one day and they all encounter said 'problem' then thats 10 grand Esso have made for free for one day, or 3.65 million pounds a year! and that is on a 1p over charge.

has happened to me many times. put the nozzle back in the holster with the price on "x", got to the til and it had jumped. only by a penny each time but it needs investigating!!

That's happened to me before. On one occasion I got back to the pump and the value was as I left it, i.e. a round £10 and I'd just paid £10.02. it was a Total garage. Needless to say I avoided that petrol station for a good while.

[rowdy]

Originally Posted by keithd

has happened to me many times. put the nozzle back in the holster with the price on "x", got to the til and it had jumped. only by a penny each time but it needs investigating!!

Yes but by who, the government won't give a f*** as they are profiting from it also. It only seems to be Esso around my locality, and it's the pump display that changes. Funny thing is a year or two ago Esso came up with the idea of having a pot with clods in it that you could use if you went a penny or two over, anybody remember that one (although I never actually saw it materialize)

[northwind]

The meter is probably mechanical and tracking flow through the hose, so when you put it back a wee bit more could flow, I suppose. Trading Standards would be the people to talk to if you want to complain, they deal with over-reading pumps as well.

[rowdy]

Originally Posted by northwind

The meter is probably mechanical and tracking flow through the hose, so when you put it back a wee bit more could flow, I suppose. Trading Standards would be the people to talk to if you want to complain, they deal with over-reading pumps as well.

Call me a cynic but I think there's more to it than that, I have taken to waiting a short while and making sure flow has stopped before putting the nozzle back and making sure the meter has read what I have put in also, but it still seems to jump while I'm on my way to the kiosk. It seemed to stop in my local garage after several complaints but since the price of fuel has gone down the problem has seemed to of risen again

Hasn't happened to me...

My car doesnt seem to like Esso petrol. I could me imagining it but it always seems to run better on Shell, Texaco or Jet petrol.

Last time I worked in a petrol station was 15 years ago, things may have changed somewhat since then. However, if it's still the same then.....

Most petrol stations are franchises. The margin on petrol that actually goes to the franchise owner is neglibile, the only way they stay afloat is on shop sales, they'd operate at a loss on fuel sales alone. If the pump says 20 pounds and 3 pence then that's what gets automatically entered into the accounting as a fuel sale. As such, if this was a nefarious scheme then it's either operated at a head office level or the individual franchise owner is prepared to risk a criminal record for a tiny fraction of two or three pence every sale.

Put it another way - if it's the individual garage owner doing this; what's both much easier and much more profitable - adding a couple pence to fuel sales or fiddling with their chip & pin reader and selling your card details? Or, alternatively, if it's a giant scheme run by head office just how long will this massive operation, of which a vast number of people must be aware of to operate it, last before some underpayed admin assistant spills the beans? The board of directors of Esso are hardly likely to risk lengthy jail sentences and rack and ruin for their company for the sake of a poxy couple of million.

Far more likely is knackered/old/ill maintained pumps causing errors. Incidentally, a few months back I got a full 70 litre tank of diesel for less than a tenner for this very reason The fuel came out at normal speed but the price dial ticked over at a snail's pace

[embee]

Trading Standards................................

[BanannaMan]

From a Petrol Station owner...

The pumps are knackered...call trading standards.








Yet another reason to buy Chevron/Texaco!


Esso:
Every Sucker Stops Once