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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Or is the petrol station owner?

279 replies

Cloudstasteofmash · 23/04/2016 14:21

About four weeks ago I called in to my local PS to put some petrol in my car, I rarely use this PS as it's very expensive. I normally fill up at my local Asda.

I bought £10 worth of petrol - just to see me through till I could get to my normal filling up place. I also bought a packet of crisps.

Came up to £10.39, I paid on my card.

The following day I went in to asda and half filled the tank up.

My Dh used the car and didn't bother to replace the petrol so one week later when I got in the car it was basically running off fumes so I called in local PS and put another £10 in. When I went in to the PS shop the owner went in to the back and came out with a receipt of my last transaction. He said that last time I was in the card machine was broke for one hour and did not register the petrol amount/cost and I only paid for the crisps. The recept he had shown 0.39p he was quite relaxed and said he was just showing me. I offered to pay it back. I only had £10 note on me so said I will Bob in soon and pay it. He never once asked for it. Seemed relaxed about it.

Went home checked my online banking - yep the 39p from the PS was there.

I totally forgot to go to the PS the next day or for the rest of the week. It's not in the direction I normally go and I'd been asda and put petrol in so I didn't need to go local PS.

Anyway - today I went in as me and Dh have been sharing again and not replaced so had to call in local PS to put a little in just to get me out of the village. When I went to the pump it wasn't working. I went in to the PS shop and Bobbed my head in and said ' is the pump not working?'

The owner said 'I turned it off as you owe me £10'

I said ' oh god yes, I'll pay it now'
He said ' yes but you let me down. You said you would pay next day' (I never)

I said ' Ok, I forgot, but will pay now'

He carried on saying "yes but let me down, where was my money'

I said " hang on, I tried paying buy your machine was broke, I never stole it, like I said I'll pay now'

He said ' but you let me down, you said you would pay ...

At which point I walked out of the shop.

There were people in the shop and I felt he was trying to act as if I had purposely stole petrol or tried to get out of paying.

Not sure what to do know tbh.

Should I expect the police to come? Blush

OP posts:
TaliZorahVasNormandy · 23/04/2016 16:59

So to sum up, here because some replies are making my teeth itch.

OP buys fuel, pays by card, as far as she knows, its all paid.
Goes back another time, owner makes her aware of HIS mistake, she offers to pay anyway soon but cant because she only has £10 on her and has already put in £10 of fuel.
Op goes another again, having forgotten to pay the money. Goes into shop, tries to pay 3 times in that visit, man tries to embarrass her, she gets annoyed and leaves (I would after 3 times)

YANBU OP. You only knew about it when he alerted you to it, he didnt demand the money then but you still offered to pay even though you didnt have to. He tried to embarrass you when you tried to pay, he refused.

SuperFlyHigh · 23/04/2016 17:02

Ah your trump card op that you are pregnant and forgetful wonder when that'd come out dripfeeding

Sorry but as soon as you'd realised there was an error you're obliged to go back ring them even. As far as he's aware you swanned off. I did say it was neither of your faults the card machine not working if anything it's the card company's (yes have used them as a business) when you were in last and he pointed out mistake you should have immediately paid him. You didn't hence theft. That's how the police would see it second time round so you're lucky they haven't been called.

I wouldn't bother trying to use that Petrol station again (not that you will anyway).

EverySongbirdSays · 23/04/2016 17:02

To me pay "soon" is 'I'll be by tomorrow" or "in a couple of hours" not ages later

IceMaiden73 · 23/04/2016 17:03

To all those saying she doesn't owe the money - of course she does. She bought services that weren't paid for (due to a mistake / error)

When you went back to the petrol station, you should have gone in and paid before trying to buy more petrol

revealall · 23/04/2016 17:03

I think the PS owner is very lucky she offered to pay at all. He must have realised pretty soon after his mistake of not putting the fuel on the bill to note her car.
His mistake not hers.

fascicle · 23/04/2016 17:03

I wonder how many people who think OP wasn't being unreasonable, would be happy to wait 3 weeks, after notifying a retailer, for an overpayment to be corrected? I'm guessing very few.

Sounddofsilence · 23/04/2016 17:04

but I doubt bigger businesses would show any flexibility in the matter

But more than likely they would?

In the same situation where the OP paid but was not charged it would probably be forgotten about.

They would hardly recognise her and chase her for the money.

NadiaWadia · 23/04/2016 17:04

FGS

NadiaWadia · 23/04/2016 17:05

That was to SuperFly and EverySongbird BTW

EverySongbirdSays · 23/04/2016 17:10

Hey NadiaWadia this is a forum which crowdsources opinion - everyone's got an opinion of how they would react in this scenario, it doesn't have to match yours.

Imagine you were a small business owner. Lets say a burger joint. A customer owes you £10 due to an error with your machine. You notify them. They say 'I'll come by' they don't. They turn up a week later and expect to be served another burger having not paid for the last.

As a business owner, how would you respond?

emotionsecho · 23/04/2016 17:12

Every some posters really dislike others disagreeing with their opinionGrin.

WordGetsAround · 23/04/2016 17:13

Hi giraffe - don't worry, I'm too infested in this thread!

I agree with you - I'd pay up so I didn't have to avoid the PS forever!

fascicle · 23/04/2016 17:20

EverySongbird
They turn up a week later and expect to be served another burger having not paid for the last.

I think the OP took approx 3 weeks to turn up after saying she'd pay.

Original poster
Cloudstasteofmash · 23/04/2016 17:21

Why is stating that I'm pregnant drip feeding? It's a non issue. Well actually it's relevant in me being able to be civil when going back in Grin

I will pay, I have stated I will but only so I don't get caught out with no petrol. He was hopping mad because I wasn't crawling in apologising.

fas it's not the same. You seem to think I did this on purpose to get out of paying for petrol. I didn't. I paid. He didn't do it correctly. I genuinly forgot to go back in, when I did I offerd three times. He just wanted me to grovel. That wasn't going to happen. I did not fuck up - he did.

I tried to put petrol in the third time because I genuinly forgot. That's why I asked if the pump wasn't working.

Tbh I can see why he did that. But it also grates on me a little because he is acting as in a thief and im bloody not. I went through the transaction to pay for that petrol, it wasn't my fault he balls up.

its winding me up thinking about it again

OP posts:
Debinaround · 23/04/2016 17:22

The card machine was working, it charged the op 30 odd pence for her crisps. The guy typed the wrong amount into the machine, that's why she didn't pay the correct amount. It was his mistake. He just didn't tell the op he had cocked up, just blamed the card machine.

Sparklingbrook · 23/04/2016 17:22

Not worth getting wound up about now. Pay him, and never go in again.

Original poster
Cloudstasteofmash · 23/04/2016 17:23

No fas it was two weeks (just under actually) but your so intent on making me out to have tried to swindle him your now making your own stuff up.

Here have Wine

OP posts:
y0rkier0se · 23/04/2016 17:24

It's all about intention - you had every intention to pay OP, in fact as far as you were concerned you did pay - it was his mistake keying in the wrong amount by the sounds of it. I would have gone back to pay as you did but if I'd have been spoken to like that I too would've left. YANBU in my opinion.

Original poster
Cloudstasteofmash · 23/04/2016 17:25

deb love the sky writing Grin

sparkling your right. I just probably need a bit of sugar Chocolate

OP posts:
Ameliablue · 23/04/2016 17:26

Everysongbird, if I made an error and under charged I would write it off as my error and not even mention it to the customer.

SuperFlyHigh · 23/04/2016 17:28

Yeah Nadia FGS having to wait a week for payment and not knowing when OP would pay.

I think the owner of the garage expected OP to pay next time (most garages have cash points outside) she was there or even to have gone home and got some money and come back not left it again.

I think first time mistake on his side but most likely card company fault eg the machine. Second time he quite reasonably expects her to pay and does not make a scene. In my mind this is where OP is BU because she should have paid second time round and not assumed on the owner being quiet that he was ok to wait. If he'd told her "no bother I will wait for the payment" or even offered him £10 she had on her as part payment that would rectify things somewhat. But she didn't do this.

Therefore third time round he was within his rights, he's allowed to ban her from his garage and I wouldn't be surprised if the police turned up at her door.

I have never forgotten to pay for anything especially not petrol one of my friends did say once she forgot to pay and either got a letter or police car following her (i forget which) she was mortified though and paid up immediately.

SuperFlyHigh · 23/04/2016 17:32

OP you could've checked on your receipt re petrol and being charged for it.

Also perhaps the transaction for 39p what happened there why did that go throughout not for the petrol amount? I'd be asking him about this and maybe querying with his machine supplier (Barclaycard or whoever it is).

As I said before it was your actions after when you knew hou owed him money.

Debinaround · 23/04/2016 17:32

Don't let him get your blood pressure up Cloud. Wine

MaddyHatter · 23/04/2016 17:36

it was a bit off to turn the pump off, surely the thing to have done would have been to pop out to you and check if you were ok with him charging you for the £10 you owed him when you went to pay?

Original poster
Cloudstasteofmash · 23/04/2016 17:39

Thanks deb I am really missing a nice glass of fizz .

OP posts:
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