Fine for driving off without paying for fuel

[Sparklesea]

I filled my car up with fuel (£50) in July, went into the shop and used my phone to pay. It didn't go through but neither I nor the attendant noticed and I drove away.

I have received a letter from a company called VARS technology asking for £90, then a few weeks later another letter asking for £120. Now I've received a letter from a different company called Direct Collection Bailiffs Ltd asking for £200. I was away from home and so didn't receive these letters until recently.

While I fully accept it is my responsibility to ensure payment is made properly, I did attempt to pay and assumed that I had. Obviously I didn't intend to drive away on purpose. I have been into the garage, spoken with the manager and offered to make the payment. He said he wasn't able to take any money because the fuel had gone from their log and the matter had been passed on to VARS.

It seems such a huge amount for one tank of fuel. Can I challenge the amount that DCBL is asking for, and should I do this with them directly, or with VARS? I can't afford to pay £200 but I don't want the heavies coming round and ending up with a CCJ against me. What can I do?

You must have some proof you were away from your house for that long.
If you don't then you just have to pay. You admit you took the fuel without paying.

Your only slim hope would be to prove you couldn't have actioned the escalated warning letters as you weren't there.

I mean you can say you spoke to the manager of the garage and tried to pay him but I doubt that'll make them reduce it.

Sympathy. I stopped off to fill up at my regular petrol station on my way back home. Looked at pump number. Forgot when I walked in. (I iz old.) Said "oh it's the silver Toyota there". Paid for petrol. Drove away.

Subsequently got a fine (plus photo of my car at the pump) saying I hadn't paid. Only explanation was that I'd paid for some silver car that might have been a Toyota on the other side of the pump. The attendant clearly screwed up. Who knew?

I paid the first fine that arrived and never went back.

PS I do not check my fuel payments on my credit card. Or much else.

I would definitely go to my bank, explain the situation and see if they have a record. Depending on the reason for the failed attempt to remove money from your account they may well have recorded the attempt even though it doesn’t show on your statement or app.

Strange the cashier didn’t notice… about once a week I’m told my card hasn’t worked and I need to present it again. I can absolutely imagine being as shocked as the OP if chased for a payment I thought I’d made.

What I don’t understand and what you’d need to explain is why you have only just opened these letters.

This is why I ALWAYS get a receipt. I cringe every time I am behind someone paying by card/phone who says no to a receipt.

How long ago did the first letter arrive?

How long were you away and was the last letter once you got back?

You should have proof of an attempt to pay though @Sparklesea? Also do you have a dash cam?

Your In-App transaction history should show a chronological log.

A failed attempt will typically appear, marked as "Declined", "Failed", or "Cancelled" with the exact timestamp and merchant name.

Or, if the banking app or the creditor's website crashed mid-payment, it should display a specific error code (e.g., "Timeout Error," "Gateway Failure," or "Transaction Decided")

Take a screenshot, this is your proof to show VARS who are a UK-based company that provides automated number plate recognition (ANPR) and debt recovery systems for petrol station forecourts and private parking operators.

You must contact them; [email protected] and it has to be made within 56 days of the incident taking place.

Possibly. I'm guessing they didn't do anything like include the correct amount in their letter that I could have compared with my online banking records.

Plus, I have no faith at all that this wouldn't have turned into a 'he said, she said' unpleasant waste of time. I've had things like this happen where I've been accused of parking illegally in a S London car park (where I've never been) with a picture of a car that clearly wasn't mine. They were prepared to admit "as a gesture of goodwill" that they'd stop harassing me.

I will give them the money (they're not the courts) and never use their services again.

'I was away from home and so didn't receive these letters until recently.'

You can see of course why this sounds suspicious. I am sure they hear it every day. Just arrange a payment plan or else you'll owe more.

Don't pay for fuel with your phone in future- if it isn't 100% reliable don't use it.

Newsflash: not everyone is the same.
Of course some people don't review their accounts.

What a lazy, stupid, tragic person I am.

The poster said that because reading the OP makes it clear why the policy weren't called. No crime was committed.

Seems to be a thing atm https://news.sky.com/story/money-problem-im-falsely-accused-of-stealing-fuel-and-im-not-the-only-one-13580418

I’ve dealt with something similar before. Garage won’t be able to do anything as the situation has been taken out of their hands. They also won’t have cctv footage any longer (other than the images sent to the debt collectors). The debt collectors don’t care what the reasoning is, they just need the money. The longer you wait the more money you will have added onto the debt. I went round and round and round in circles trying to prove that no fuel was put in the vehicle and they couldn’t show a single photo of the fuel even being put into the vehicle. We were just there for shopping.

Newsflash: not everyone is the same, but suggesting not checking your current account is normal is weird. Most people keep track of their finances surely? Or am I just the outlier and people are just tappy tapping their cards/phones without ever checking the account?

This is why I only ever pay cash.