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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think its outrageous to be charged £250 to have my fuel tank drained?

45 replies

WotchOotErAPolis · 17/08/2014 08:25

DH managed to fill my diesel up with petrol & subsequently broke down. We have been with a certain recovery company since the year dot & have every avaiable service under the sun with them.

The car was in an unsafe place, so all they would offer is a tow to a safe location. They refused to take the car home as DH mentioned during the call that he & a mate would drain the car themselves rather than pay £250 to have it done. The RC (recovery company) we're refusing to tow home as it's illegal to drain it yourself so they would only fulfil their legal obligations. Therefore they had us over a (fuel!!) barrel. Even after DH then said he'd take it to a garage then, as he didn't know that it was illegal, they refused as "but you have said during this call, (which is recorded of course) that you would drain it yourself".

Eventually they were persuaded to take the car home on a low loader, as DH then pointed out that he had also just said "I'll take it to a garage then".

AIBU to be furious that having spent ££ with the RC over the years, we should then lose so much money over a silly error, which is easily done and easily rectified.

(Especially, since having been told diesel is so much better but the petrol companies not having provided a foolproof mechanism to stop Joe Public making such a mistake? I know loads of people who have done just this and it seems a great money making scheme to me? You could equally say if I broke down it's my fault for not taking a full training course in vehicle maintenance!)

OP posts:
TestingTestingWonTooFree · 17/08/2014 08:32

I think your annoyance lies with your DP for his mistake rather than the recovery company.

Ronmione · 17/08/2014 08:35

What did you want them to do through, did you want them to drain it or tow you?

But yes yanbu, I was driving my car and the suspension went. I called them and they asked me how I thought it had happened. I said I thought it was a pot hole. Aha she's says well that's not our responsibility as it's a road traffic accident and you need to call your insurance they might help you.

After 50 mins on the phone arguing my case for misleading questions, me not being g a fucking mechanic so I dont really know why it happened, they sent me a row truck on the proviso I would PAY them £150 for a tow if it was anything other than wear and tear.

I used them once since then and now give as little information as possible and state I'm not a mechanic a lot.

They take your money but try and weasle out of
actually doing anything for your money.

ilovepowerhoop · 17/08/2014 08:36

I'd be blaming your dh not the recovery company tbh

todayiamfat · 17/08/2014 08:36

Mmmmmm. Not sure. I didn't know it was illegal to do it yourself either. Maybe they are worried what you would do with the fuel?

That said. I have never known anyone do this. Maybe I am a bit sheltered! I'm pretty sure that the nozzel is quite hard to put into the fuel tank if it ia the wrong fuel (vague memory). I'm also surprised that it has not been mentioned that the fact you broke down suggests that you have damaged the engine (or DH has). I know that if you do make the mistake of putting thw wrong fuwl in, you are supposed to NOT turn the engine on. Otherwise the mistake gets more expensive! Maybe the £250 quote took this into account.

Overall. I think YABU.

Sirzy · 17/08/2014 08:39

Yabu.

Your husband told them he wanted to do something illegal and you expect them to go along with it? What was he planning on doing with the drained fuel?

The problem lies with his inability to read and look at the colour difference between the pumps before putting fuel in surely?

Spurtle · 17/08/2014 08:40

It's not just the tank they need to drain though, they need
To flush the whole system. Because the car was driven, the wrong fuel has travelled through the system.

ilovepowerhoop · 17/08/2014 08:41

the fuel nozzle of the diesel pump is wider than the nozzle on the petrol pump to prevent you putting diesel into a petrol engine. It does mean that it is easier to put the petrol pump nozzle into the diesel fuel cap on the car. I have to re,ind mysle fevery time I fill up that I need petrol as my newest car has a petrol engine whereas every other one I have had has had a diesel engine

ilovepowerhoop · 17/08/2014 08:41

should say 'remind myself every time' rather than the gibberish I just wrote!

diddl · 17/08/2014 08:44

I was just thinking that £250 isn't a bad price for putting that right!

BikeRunSki · 17/08/2014 08:44

The fuel would need to be drained into a container with a bund.
Handling fuel needs to be carried out, or supervised by, someone with an appropriate licence.
It is unlikely that a domestic property had either if these to hand.

revealall · 17/08/2014 08:48

That's a fairly standard price especially as they had to tow it as well. Lot's of people I know have done it including me. Although they did take mine home (where I drained it but not much had gone in, 15 years ago).

You are right and it is a massive pain but cars are a complete money pit. Just write it off like chips in the windscreen and pothole damage.

Petallic · 17/08/2014 08:53

Tabu that's the standard price and it's classed as a driver error not a mechanical breakdown which is why you didn't get anything more than a local tow without paying extra . I see green flag are now offering fuel drains as part of their cover so maybe switch to them although you'll be recovered home all the time as their patrols don't fix as many mechanical faults as the AA/RAC

londonrach · 17/08/2014 08:54

Yabu. My pil were charged £300 twice for their car. Your dh is who you ned to be cross with not rac who were just helping you out, for future reference pil were told by aa if you only put a very small amount in fill the tank with diesel. However they were told this was at their own risk and for the smallest amount of petrol. They done it once and it was ok. The other two times they had to have the tank drained. Now Everytime they fill up everyone shouts diesel at them. Fingers crossed as now been a couple of years. It's one of the reasons I prefer my petrol car

londonrach · 17/08/2014 08:56

Petallic we always found green flag better than aa at fixing dh old banger. At least the local garage that came knew what they were doing. How do you know they don't fix as many faults?

Petallic · 17/08/2014 08:57

Also fuel drains where your system has to be flushed require specialist equipment - not just a few odds and sods from the back of a patrol van. They used to subcontract the fuel drains out and customers just paid the contractor directly. I don't know if the big breakdown companies now have any fuel drain vehicles themselves now. It's ridiculously common despite hire cars etc all having big stickers now.

WaywardOn3 · 17/08/2014 08:57

If he drove it after filling with the wrong fuel then £250 is a perfectly acceptable amount esp after he made the mistake of saying he'd do it himself.

If he hadn't driven it then Fuel Doctor could have drained the tank at a lot cheaper price.

londonrach · 17/08/2014 08:59

Op my dad always said diesel was worse for the environment. Not sure why he said that.

Petallic · 17/08/2014 09:00

I know the repair rate because there are industry surveys that are released each year. Because your vehicle is older that probably helped. Newer vehicles have so many electronics and some fault codes can only be read/cleared by manufacturer devices - which if the breakdown company does the warranty jobs (eg AA used to to Ford) then Ford will give the patrols access to that info.

That said, even though I used to work for a breakdown co. I've had my cover with all 3 main providers over the years. I swap depending on my needs

Tinkerball · 17/08/2014 09:00

My DH did this, put unleaded in our diesel car and drove home 10 miles. Then we went to leave for a wedding and not surprisingly it wouldn't start - and it cost us £250 to. We now have diesel stickers all over the car and in the cap to remind him!!

londonrach · 17/08/2014 09:03

Pet that makes sense. Thanks for explaining x

Original poster
WotchOotErAPolis · 17/08/2014 09:03

Blimey! I probably ABU, but just think it's a heck of a charge for a drain down!

I'm not angry at DH as it could just as easily have been me - just lucky that it's taken us 9 years to make this mistake and it's come at an unfortunate time as DH has been oow for 2 out of the last 3 years, having been made redundant in April & I'm recovering from major surgery so have been off work without pay for a couple of weeks.

Never rains but it pours eh???

OP posts:
kelda · 17/08/2014 09:15

YABU. My dh did the same, petrol in a diesel car, and we were very relieved that it was sorted out so quickly and we thought 250 pounds was a fairly good price - we were on holiday and had to get back home for work. I wasn't cross with my dh either - it was just a mistake.

littleducks · 17/08/2014 09:22

It is easily done.

I did it at BP. Put their premium fancy petrol in a diesel car as the nozzle was dark blue with a green stripe. We got it towed to a cheap garage and fixed.

chicaguapa · 17/08/2014 09:39

I don't know if the big breakdown companies now have any fuel drain vehicles themselves now.

The AA has Fuel Assist and a special fleet with all the equipment. Don't know about the RAC. In fact the AA also has a dedicated fleet of vans for cutting car keys, which I think is pretty cool.

All costs extra as classed as user error. I guess if you didn't have a RC that offered this service though, even for an extra cost, you'd have to sort it out yourself. Easier to get the RC to do it at the side of the road IMO.

rookiemater · 17/08/2014 09:42

I did it - easily done. It was 9 years ago and cost £150 to drain - I was bloody grateful, I don't know if you know, but there's quite a high likelihood that the whole car can become unusable if the incorrect petrol gets into the wrong place ( not mechanical so don't know the details).

£250 is not bad vs the cost of losing the car - oh and insurance doesn't cover it, although I can appreciate that it's never good having to fork out that sort of money and at a bad time.

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