petrol pump was pulled out of the ground!!!

huggy15

yesterday i went to a local petrol station, pulled up at the pump put down the window and told the attendant to put a fiver in. i then hopped out and went over to him to give him the 5 euro, he was inserting the nozzle into the car at this stage. it was about a minute or so before he was finished or so i assumed, i looked over my left shoulder and watched him leave the pump and he then went into to the shop. i thought ok job done away we go. so i take off and as i get to the end of the next pump (which was in front of me) i hear this noise which i thought was just my wheel clipping the kerb so i drove on but the noise continued so i stopped and got out. next thing i turn around and there is the pump pulled out of the ground lying on its side with petrol spurting out!! the attendant had left the nozzle in the car when he went into the shop because he then said "i needed to turn the pump on", which i was obviously unaware of. at this stage the boss comes out and starts putting all the blame on me. he said not one word to the fella who was supposed to be putting the petrol in. i tried to tell him what had happened but he was having none of it and kept saying i have it on camera, more or less being a complete wanker. i have since become aware that the fella who was putting the petrol in doesnt actually work there at all, which kind of clicked into place because when it had all happened he went over and sat on a wall the whole time the i was there until after i left. he is meant to just hang about the station so the man who owns him lets him put the petrol in when ever he is about, bit of a strange arrangement if you ask me! the boss has now made a complaint to the guards and they called to my house today for a statement. he is looking me to pay the bill for repairs to the pump which i would think will be quite costly. any opinions would be welcomed.

Stheno

You drove off without checking the pump was disconnected and think you are not at fault?

My car won't even let me open the cap to put petrol in unless the engine is off, I suspect you are at fault here?

166man

bmw535d?

I mean what are you on at?

Jimbob 83

Fill your own petrol next time maybe ?

If someone pulled up looking for a fiver of petrol and looking to get it filled i would laugh in there face tbh, also your car does come with wing mirrors right ?

Anan1

I left a nozzle in a car years ago when working on a forecourt - the hose broke at the nozzle (luckily it was off), the car stopped, I apologized, retreived the nozzle, and that was the end of that. That one was clearly my fault, though, as I was a garage employee - i'm not sure about your guy.

huggy15

could the lad who was putting the petrol in (or at least trying) not have come to the window and said hang on i need to get the pump turned on?
i know any time i put petrol in i stand by the pump and wait until the person in the shop turns the pump on. why did he even put it into the car if the pump was not on in the first place?? he is at fault in my opinion, seemed he didnt have a clue what he was at

MugMugs

Took the pump out of the ground? What do you drive? A JCB?

MugMugs

huggy15 wrote: »

could the lad who was putting the petrol in (or at least trying) not have come to the window and said hang on i need to get the pump turned on?
i know any time i put petrol in i stand by the pump and wait until the person in the shop turns the pump on. why did he even put it into the car if the pump was not on in the first place?? he is at fault in my opinion, seemed he didnt have a clue what he was at

You're to blame. You drove away and damaged this property. Call your insurer.

plasteritup

lads give him a break,person who is not working at the garage,hangs around and puts petrol in peoples cars when he feels like it,come on,go to your solictor buddy,the garage owner has loads to answer for here mate.;)

huggy15

haha nissan almera as good as

i dont think it was secured to the ground very well at all because the nozzle stayed in the car

huggy15

yeah he seems to be a bit of a crook alright, he was lifted already for selling dodgy diesel!! i think he is just looking some one to fit the bill. like its not my fault he has a lad putting petrol into his customers cars who doesnt know his arse from his elbow and any one i have spoken to has agreed with me. id rather go to court than lie down and just let him claim

plasteritup

ny damage to your car,i would have fun with that fella believe me.

If the lad doesn't even work there, and he was the one the owner allowed to "operate" the pumps, then I'd say they could be at fault in the eyes of the law. There's procedures for things like this in most customer service related jobs and I'd agree with the OP that there was no need to put the pump into the car while it was turned off. Also if he is a pump attendant (payed or not) he really shouldn't be leaving a pump unattended while it was still in a customers car, kinda defeats the purpose of the job...

Also why are people whinging at the OP for buying 5 euro of petrol? He can buy whatever amount of it he likes surely? I can see how he was buying such a small amount that when he saw the attendant put the pump in the car that by the time he'd gone into the shop and come back it'd be done. Though why he didn't bother to check the pump wasn't still in the car before he set off is beyond me tbh.

Aren't you supposed to check your mirrors before you pull away anyway? :P

Jimbob 83

huggy15 wrote: »

yeah he seems to be a bit of a crook alright, he was lifted already for selling dodgy diesel!! i think he is just looking some one to fit the bill. like its not my fault he has a lad putting petrol into his customers cars who doesnt know his arse from his elbow and any one i have spoken to has agreed with me. id rather go to court than lie down and just let him claim

You didn't check hose was disconnected
You didn't hear the fuel filling yet assumed it did

Im afraid you are clearly at fault here.

huggy15

huggy15 wrote: »

could the lad who was putting the petrol in (or at least trying) not have come to the window and said hang on i need to get the pump turned on?
i know any time i put petrol in i stand by the pump and wait until the person in the shop turns the pump on. why did he even put it into the car if the pump was not on in the first place?? he is at fault in my opinion, seemed he didnt have a clue what he was at

.... you can't turn on the pumps unless the nozzle is off the switch, they're interlocked, no where else to put the nozzle really other than in the car.

andyseadog

i hear this noise which i thought was just my wheel clipping the kerb so i drove on but the noise continued so i stopped and got out. next thing i turn around and there is the pump pulled out of the ground lying on its side with petrol spurting out!!

sorry but am i the only one still giggling :pac:

i don't like making light of these things though, i mean one spark generated from pulling that big lump of electricity and metal and KABOOM!!

how this was situation was not much worse is merely the grace of God.

huggy15

Jimbob 83 wrote: »

Fill your own petrol next time maybe ?

If someone pulled up looking for a fiver of petrol and looking to get it filled i would laugh in there face tbh, also your car does come with wing mirrors right ?[/QUOT

he was the one who came out to me looking how much i wanted, wish i had of put it in myself it would have spared alot of hassle!

Jimbob 83

RoverJames wrote: »

.... you can't turn on the pumps unless the nozzle is off the switch, they're interlocked, no where else to put the nozzle really other than in the car.

Take your filthy logic and begone !

Next you will be saying that the pump had to be authorised by means of some electromechanical wizardry instead of teleporting to the tank !

Your sick, SICK man

Jimbob 83

huggy15 wrote: »

Jimbob 83 wrote: »

Fill your own petrol next time maybe ?

If someone pulled up looking for a fiver of petrol and looking to get it filled i would laugh in there face tbh, also your car does come with wing mirrors right ?[/QUOT

he was the one who came out to me looking how much i wanted, wish i had of put it in myself it would have spared alot of hassle!

Im sorry if my first post came across as abit harsh but imo you are at fault, however you probably have a leg to stand on as the attendant(wannabe?) shouldn't have been there as it presents all kinds of insurance/health and safety issues.

I would fight my case, but i would also try and be more careful/observant in future for your own health if nothing else

Atlantic Dawn

A fiver in, jaysus, after costs wouldn't even pay minimum wage of the guy putting the fuel in.

Matt Simis

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

A fiver in, jaysus, after costs wouldn't even pay minimum wage of the guy putting the fuel in.

Christ this has to be a joke, some tool wants 3.5litres of fuel and somehow in the process destroys a fuel pump, then posts about it as the "victim" on the internets.. The OP is either mentally handicapped or this is a troll.

Jimbob 83

I used to be a manager in a statoil years ago and we used to make more almost 10 times more profit on a Coffee than on a tenner of petrol and that was 10 years ago, it's almost all tax and it's even worse now.

Stheno

Forget the amount lads, but attendant or not, would you ever drive away without checking that a. the fuel pump was disengaged, or b. the fuel cap was closed?

Or have years of driving a diesel in the past influenced me?

carbon nanotube

huggy15 wrote: »

yesterday i went to a local petrol station, pulled up at the pump put down the window and told the attendant to put a fiver in. i then hopped out and went over to him to give him the 5 euro, he was inserting the nozzle into the car at this stage. it was about a minute or so before he was finished or so i assumed, i looked over my left shoulder and watched him leave the pump and he then went into to the shop. i thought ok job done away we go. so i take off and as i get to the end of the next pump (which was in front of me) i hear this noise which i thought was just my wheel clipping the kerb so i drove on but the noise continued so i stopped and got out. next thing i turn around and there is the pump pulled out of the ground lying on its side with petrol spurting out!! the attendant had left the nozzle in the car when he went into the shop because he then said "i needed to turn the pump on", which i was obviously unaware of. at this stage the boss comes out and starts putting all the blame on me. he said not one word to the fella who was supposed to be putting the petrol in. i tried to tell him what had happened but he was having none of it and kept saying i have it on camera, more or less being a complete wanker. i have since become aware that the fella who was putting the petrol in doesnt actually work there at all, which kind of clicked into place because when it had all happened he went over and sat on a wall the whole time the i was there until after i left. he is meant to just hang about the station so the man who owns him lets him put the petrol in when ever he is about, bit of a strange arrangement if you ask me! the boss has now made a complaint to the guards and they called to my house today for a statement. he is looking me to pay the bill for repairs to the pump which i would think will be quite costly. any opinions would be welcomed.

<S P A C B A R s> I N V E N T E D L O N G A G O.

I'd let the insurance company deal with it.

huggy15

any time i ever went to this station before the attendants always stayed by the car until the petrol was put in, they didnt go runnning into the shop "to turn the pump on". there was some one else there to do that. a fiver only takes seconds to put in so once i seen him leave the pump i assumed the petrol was in and done, as im sure most people would agree. i know i should have checked my side mirror but i didnt so theres not much i can do about that!

huggy15

Matt Simis wrote: »

Christ this has to be a joke, some tool wants 3.5litres of fuel and somehow in the process destroys a fuel pump, then posts about it as the "victim" on the internets.. The OP is either mentally handicapped or this is a troll.

bit of a prat arent ya

Terrontress

I thought that the petrol nozzle was made of some light alloy which was designed to snap in such an occasion.

Before you accept any responsibility make sure the pump meets all relevant standards.

The whole episode sounds ridiculously funny to me. The simpleton whose sole joy in life is to hang around putting the petrol in to cars, the guy driving along with the whole mechanism dragging behind him. It sounds like something from One Foot In The Grave.

andyseadog

Matt Simis wrote: »

Christ this has to be a joke, some tool wants 3.5litres of fuel and somehow in the process destroys a fuel pump, then posts about it as the "victim" on the internets.. The OP is either mentally handicapped or this is a troll.

or broke.

i definitely see the hilarity to putting a fiver in, in fact i laughed out loud to your comment

we must remember times are bad for some, when i was became unemployed in 2009 i got €70 a week from "the dole". making ends meet was difficult. i never put a fiver of fuel alone into my car, but there were plenty of times i would have if it wasn't for the embarrasment of doing so.

i feel the quantity of fuel is irrelevant, the situation would have been the same whether the OP ordered €5 or €50, he thought the car was full and he could move off is his point.

Guy:Incognito

huggy15 wrote: »

bit of a prat arent ya

Are you in a position to be calling people names? You just claimed to have recreated a scene from a bad Hollywood comedy.

Kenny Logins

huggy15 wrote: »

bit of a prat arent ya

Ask for a copy the CCTV footage and put it up on Youtube, with a bit of luck it'll cover the costs.

lau1247

huggy15 wrote: »

i know i should have checked my side mirror but i didnt so theres not much i can do about that!

that kinda answer the part about who is at fault, no??

huggy15

what difference does it make if it was only a fiver, if you are in town and need fuel and thats all you have on you would you not put it in? or would it be too much of an "embarrassment" for you? bit of an egotistical prat den so

huggy15

i was only looking for advice not a full scale lecture lol

andyseadog

Kenny Logins wrote: »

Ask for a copy the CCTV footage and put it up on Youtube, with a bit of luck it'll cover the costs.

do you know i think this is actually sound advice :pac: its so crazy it just might work!

Terrontress

huggy15 wrote: »

i was only looking for advice not a full scale lecture lol

There is plenty of advice here!

Contact your insurer
Make sure the petrol pump was designed to accepted standards
Try to make money off YouTube.

andyseadog

huggy15 wrote: »

i was only looking for advice not a full scale lecture lol

to be fair i really think your lucky to not be on the 6.01 news in the form of a mushroom cloud or some such!

Jimbob 83

The image of a woman driving a Nissan Almera down the road with a fuel pump trailing behind it and some random guy chasing the car with a 2c coin yelling "Your Change, Your Change!!!" just entered my head, oh god i would love that CCTV footage

huggy15

Kenny Logins wrote: »

Ask for a copy the CCTV footage and put it up on Youtube, with a bit of luck it'll cover the costs.

not a bad plan actually haha i would imagine it would be quite entertaining hmmmmmmm

huggy15

yeah thats what the guard said, definitely gona get in contact with the solicitor but.

Senna

The young fella dispensing the fuel is an employee, he probably takes less than minimum wage so he doesn't go through the books, if anything happens, the owner tell him to pretend he doesn't work there and stand beside the wall.

The OP is in the wrong but the garage owner should take some of the responsibility.

huggy15

plasteritup wrote: »

ny damage to your car,i would have fun with that fella believe me.

yeah around the filler cap, it pulled it out a fair bit and now it wont close. i went to the guards after it happened but they said it was nothing to do with them, civil case or something?
might play the same game as him and lodge a complaint about damage to my car!!

Pkiernan

huggy15 wrote: »

yeah thats what the guard said, definitely gona get in contact with the solicitor but.

It can be unwise to speak to the Gardai without a solicitor present.

You should have refused to make any statement - you are not obliged to, and let the garage owner sue you. He has to prove you did the damage. You do not have to prove you did not.

huggy15

Sacramento wrote: »

If the lad doesn't even work there, and he was the one the owner allowed to "operate" the pumps, then I'd say they could be at fault in the eyes of the law. There's procedures for things like this in most customer service related jobs and I'd agree with the OP that there was no need to put the pump into the car while it was turned off. Also if he is a pump attendant (payed or not) he really shouldn't be leaving a pump unattended while it was still in a customers car, kinda defeats the purpose of the job...

Also why are people whinging at the OP for buying 5 euro of petrol? He can buy whatever amount of it he likes surely? I can see how he was buying such a small amount that when he saw the attendant put the pump in the car that by the time he'd gone into the shop and come back it'd be done. Though why he didn't bother to check the pump wasn't still in the car before he set off is beyond me tbh.

Aren't you supposed to check your mirrors before you pull away anyway? :P

any person i have talked to about it reckons he shouldnt have put the nozzle into the car until the pump turns on and even though he did, that he shouldnt have left the car unattended if the nozzle was still in the car and he wasnt finished. the guy is a known simpleton, i know i drove off fair enough but what does a reputable garage in the middle of letterkenny have some clown filling its customers cars

huggy15

Pkiernan wrote: »

It can be unwise to speak to the Gardai without a solicitor present.

You should have refused to make any statement - you are not obliged to, and let the garage owner sue you. He has to prove you did the damage. You do not have to prove you did not.

he has camera footage, i still gave the statement cos i feel i did nothing wrong

andyseadog

huggy15 wrote: »

any person i have talked to about it reckons he shouldnt have put the nozzle into the car until the pump turns on and even though he did, that he shouldnt have left the car unattended if the nozzle was still in the car and he wasnt finished. the guy is a known simpleton, i know i drove off fair enough but what does a reputable garage in the middle of letterkenny have some clown filling its customers cars

you are in no position to make those statments, you could have left a smouldering crater in Letterkenny today!

He was no more wrong or right than you are.

andyseadog

Stheno

huggy15 wrote: »

any person i have talked to about it reckons he shouldnt have put the nozzle into the car until the pump turns on and even though he did, that he shouldnt have left the car unattended if the nozzle was still in the car and he wasnt finished. the guy is a known simpleton, i know i drove off fair enough but what does a reputable garage in the middle of letterkenny have some clown filling its customers cars

What sort of clown drives off without checking the pump was disengaged from the car?

Pottler

Matt Simis wrote: »

Christ this has to be a joke, some tool wants 3.5litres of fuel and somehow in the process destroys a fuel pump, then posts about it as the "victim" on the internets.. The OP is either mentally handicapped or this is a troll.

Matt, you took the words out of my mouth! OOh Betty! is the only thing that comes to mind!:D And he calls you a prat!!!! I'm actually rolling on the floor laughing, no really, I am. Best laugh in years!:D

andyseadog

Pottler wrote: »

Matt, you took the words out of my mouth! OOh Betty! is the only thing that comes to mind!:D And he calls you a prat!!!! I'm actually rolling on the floor laughing, no really, I am. Best laugh in years!:D

you'r certainly not alone

Pottler

huggy15 wrote: »

any person i have talked to about it reckons he shouldnt have put the nozzle into the car until the pump turns on and even though he did, that he shouldnt have left the car unattended if the nozzle was still in the car and he wasnt finished. the guy is a known simpleton, i know i drove off fair enough but what does a reputable garage in the middle of letterkenny have some clown filling its customers cars

He's across on After hours posting about the madser that drove off with his pump after buying a fiver:D Known simpleton, stop, please stop, my ribs can't take it.:D