Diesel Car Filled with Petrol by Garage

tanka006

Guys,

Some advice please....... Christmas week my friend stopped at a fuel station. The attendant came over to the car & my friend asked him to fill it up with diesel. The car took €48 friend gave €50 & carried on home.

He got about 5 miles when the car stopped & would not start again. He had to leave it by the side of the road & make alternative arrangements to get himself , wife & daughter home (30 miles away)

The following morning he had his garage collect the car & take it home. Upon investigation they found that the attendant had filled it with Petrol not diesel.

He has been in contact with the manager of the station since. Initially she was very helpfull - would look at her CCTV & get back to him immediately.

However, after 2 weeks having heard nothing he called in again - he was speaking to her husband who informed him that it has happened 2 or 3 other times & that he would remind his wife to contact my friend.

Another 2 weeks passed & as he had heard nothing he called in again to be told that she had spoken to her solicitor & as the tapes were overwritten there was nothing she could do for him......??

He is out of pocket €220 to have the car towed & repaired & also the hassle of getting his family home.

He has now written to the station explaining how unhappy he is with the runaround & requesting to be given what the repair cost him.

Anything else he should do? or any advice I can offer him.

Many thanks

yayamark

Friend ha?

Advice- Dont let a woman near your car again.:)

Sam Vimes

go to the garage and speak to the manager. if he asks you to give him some time, make a definite arrangement as to when you want the matter sorted. if he doesn't meet the deadline or if he generally fobs you off, start small claims court procedures. costs €9

Gillo

I may well be wrong but aren't most garages franchise's of the large petrol companies eg, shell or texaco?

You could try taking it up with them, they'd most likely put a lot of pressure on the garage in question to sort it.

blackbelt

Happened my father one time when in one petrol station they had the diesel and petrol next to each other and the filling attendent was basically deaf.He put petrol in the diesel engine.

Needless to say,my father got his car drained and the station paid all the cost.

Random

If it's CCTV you're looking for then get onto it pronto as a lot of places might only keep this for a couple of days!

Oryx

random wrote: »

If it's CCTV you're looking for then get onto it pronto as a lot of places might only keep this for a couple of days!

Its already been mentioned above that they were overwritten. Sounds like the garage are trying to brush this one off. See if SCC will make them get their act together?

Cabaal

Commander Vimes wrote: »

go to the garage and speak to the manager. if he asks you to give him some time, make a definite arrangement as to when you want the matter sorted. if he doesn't meet the deadline or if he generally fobs you off, start small claims court procedures. costs €9

this is your best advice,

banchang

Suggest that in parallel to dealing with the dealer (as I expect he is) you also call the Head Office of the major oil company chain, & log a call with their Customer Service Centre.

Make sure you get a case/ticket number or a name, & ask for the Retail Sales Manager to contact you to agree the way forward before you initiate legal proceedings. As you have already waited some time, suggest you give a deadline by which you expect a reply.

After this I agree with previous poster, to begin a case in the Small Claims Court.

waster81

maybe you should get out and fill it yourself, people are getting very lazy!!

mikemac

waster81 wrote: »

maybe you should get out and fill it yourself, people are getting very lazy!!

That's not very helpful. Some places (getting fewer by the day) have this service so of course they will use it. It's often the only summer job a student can get and noone wants to see all them lose their jobs

The same thing happened my parents OP but they copped what happened before leaving the forecourt. The car was wheeled to the garage across the road and drained. And then it can a full free tank. Score!

banchang's advice is good, follow that

Dj320

mikemac wrote: »

That's not very helpful. Some places (getting fewer by the day) have this service so of course they will use it. It's often the only summer job a student can get and noone wants to see all them lose their jobs

The same thing happened my parents OP but they copped what happened before leaving the forecourt. The car was wheeled to the garage across the road and drained. And then it can a full free tank. Score!

banchang's advice is good, follow that

I own a filling station and it really gets up my back that people still expect to be served, don't get me wrong I will serve OAPs and disabled people no problem but it's women in their 30s onwards and the occasional guy who will sit and wait (which they can do all day) to be served. Are these people stuck in a time warp in the 50s where the attendant filled your car , washed your windows and checked your oil.
I have actually had a woman in her early 30s and abled bodied tear strips off me one day about not serving her, sighting something about her kids in the car as an excuse ( as a young dad I serve myself and my kids don't drive off or wreak my car when I go to pay for it).
People should think of really just how impractable it is nowadays with profits on a litre of petrol @3cent maybe 4 on a good week, also the risk that the attendant puts in the wrong fuel which would cost the station huge money and also a lot more mistakes being made , money being lost from being paid outside and carrying cash around. Maybe an idea if you want service is you pay an extra cent or 2 to be served to cover an attendants wages???

AlfaZen

Old thread is old.

dudara

Zombie thread - closed

dudara