Undercharged petrol - now being fined

[ToPaytheFine]

Hi - I was undercharged for fuel and didnt notice, just tapped and left. I have received a letter and cctv footage which shows me paying. On checking bank statement it turns out I only paid 1p. I didnt check the amount and am 100% OK with paying the full amount, but don't see why I should pay the debt collectors "admin fee" which stood at £30.

I have rung them and they've offered to drop the fine to £10. But should I even pay that? Anyone know consumer law and if it's different for garages as they have told me?

Before I get told, yes I will certainly be more careful checking amounts in future!

This would really annoy me!

Yes it is an easy mistake to make but it was the cashier’s fault and they should be the one paying the find if anyone does.

I would ring the petrol station and say you’ll pay what you owe but you won’t pay the fine.

Loving the concept that garage forecourts have different laws to the rest of the country. I'd be tempted to ask him to cite chapter and verse of the Act and/or regulations involved.

I have rung them and they've offered to drop the fine to £10. But should I even pay that? Anyone know consumer law and if it's different for garages as they have told me?

Honestly, pay the £10. You have a lot to lose but little to gain.

Yep, I’m puzzled by this too. I regularly use our local Morrisons petrol station. Insert the card, enter pin and it pre authorises up to £120. Remove card, fill up, and as soon as you replace the nozzle the transaction ends and the right amount is charged. I’ve never ‘tapped’ anything to end the transaction.

I don't notice the amount I have to pay - I know roughly, since I know it's a full tank's worth, but I don't pay a lot of attention TBH - I know I have the money in the bank, I know I need a tank of petrol, I don't bother taking much more notice than that!

Perhaps I should start.

In your case OP, I'd decide how busy I was. If I had free time, I'd contest it, but in my situation my time is at a premium, so I'd pay the tenner to get it over and done with (yes, I would feel morally weak for doing so, but needs must) and never use that garage again.

Jeez I can't believe in this day and age when police don't turn up for assaults and burglaries that they would pursue this on behalf of a private company. Priorities eh...

One of my former bosses was an ex copper. He said that wherever possible they'd try to deal with "naice" criminals rather than risking a punch in the face on a Friday night. This was when a colleague had been stopped and held for over an hour (nothing was ever found wrong) at 10pm on a Friday.

Another tip he gave was to never tell the police there were still burglars in a house if you wanted them there quickly. As he said "why would I want to turn up to a fight ?"

As I said, an ex copper. He couldn't stand the culture.

I've had something similar where I went in to pay and they tried to charge me for my fuel, and also the person before me who had not paid. An argument ensued as they said I had to pay the outstanding amount due. I maintained the pump was at £0 when I began, so I would only be paying the amount shown on the pump.

Yep, money wins out every time !!

It’s not a fine. Only the courts and legal authorities have the power to issue fines. It’s just an amount of money they are trying to charge you.

Pay what you owe and tell them to Foxtrot Oscar regarding their charge.

I would have thought the onus was on the cashier, because they have to release the pump to the next customer, at which point the readout resets to zero. It sounds as though at that point the cashier has realised the previous customer hasn’t paid and has tried to recover the amount from you to avoid discovery.

I can't think of a single time I've filled up any of my vehicles over the last 40 years and not taken notice of how much I'd spent. I

I never look. I don't think I have checked since the kids were small and we lived payday to payday. Now I just authorise my card at pay at pump and fill it up, or fill it then go in to pay; then leave.

Just threaten to report the garage to trading standards for having defective equipment - if the pump did not send correct information through that would be contrary to the weights and measures legislation.

Almost all of the petrol pumps I use are self serve and there aren't any employees around, so not sure how you were supposed to pay, even if you did notice the alleged discrepancy?

hello, same happened to me, it's the VARS or whoever the camera people are who chase for it for their commission. Mine was literally £10 something. I went directly to the petrol owner (Shell) but didn't say it was petrol, apparently they won't accept payment after. Am still waiting to hear back from them. Also went onto Resolver the online dispute free website. Hasn't been resolved yet, I hope yours does x

I meant that I didn't mention the petrol, I said I had underpaid in the shop

Your contract with the seller is to pay for the petrol. You didn't so just pay the reduce fee and check next time.

I love Pay at Pump, but hate how they do it. I hate putting my card pin in while someone else’s price is still displayed. I hate having to complete the payment transaction before taking any fuel: you have no control over how much leaves your card and no opportunity to check whether the amount matches the displayed amount.

I'd try very hard to avoid paying a "fine" to someone alleging I was a "drive off". I wouldn't like the idea of that being on my records in some capacity. As per a previous poster I think I'd approach the garage and ask them to recall the debt so you can settle it directly with them. Presumably they use a third party debt collection service because it saves them hassle, but if you're there ready to pay, they'd surely be happy with that.

In terms of whether or not to pay the £10 fine that has been offered, that's ultimately up to you. If you feel strongly that you shouldn't have to pay any additional fees beyond the cost of the fuel, then it might be worth pushing back and seeing if there's any room for negotiation. On the other hand, if you're willing to pay the fine just to put the matter to rest, then that's also a valid option.

..I could do that I guess....the photo of me paying is actually quite flattering ....

😂

I can see how this can happen. Person A fills up with £10 on pump 3 , moves car to outside the shop, wanders in tries to decide what they are going to eat tonight, spends 10 minutes deciding. Meanwhile Person B and C drive to pump 3, cashier presses button, person B fills up while person C dashes in to get coffee and pay for fuel without knowing how much person B is putting in. They say Pump 3 and a coffee please, cashier assumes it is Person A paying, so person C pays £10 plus coffee not realising person B has put in £20. Person A then turns up to pay their £10. For this reason I don't move my car until I have paid then other than bikes/ cans I am unlikely to be person A.

@ToPaytheFine problem sounds different and I would definitely challenge it.

He said he understood forecourt law was different from consumer law

Ha ha, I'd ask for his legal authority on that one !

Happened to my husband he went in to pay for his fuel was only £20 customer before him had stuck £60 in paid my husbands £20 walked off the cashier tried to get my husband to pay £60 which he then pointed out wasn't his bill pointed to the pump he was at but cheeky Bugger wanted my husband to for fuel that wasn't his and was a lot more he paid his £20 and told them they better call the police to chase the other customer.
So there are some people that are either chancers or just don't pay attention.

Also just to add my husband hadn't moved his van left it at pump to go in and pay the person was on a different pump that walked away only paid £20 instead of £60 don't know how they did it whether they pulled a fast one and clocked what my husband had put in and used his number haven't a clue.

@FunkyMonks what a nightmare! I feel I'm being tarnished by this sort of behaviour here.
I'm waiting for dh to send a screenshot of the 1p I did pay from our joint account, then I will send them a strongly worded email, offering to pay the amount but not rhe admin charge.

I may mention where I work (CAB) and maybe the local press. The garage is part of a new and quite unpopular industrial development.