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customer unable to pay for petrol

notacrackpot

Hello,
Yesterday, I had a customer come into the petrol station to pay for petrol and another product. Only had the contactless phone app no money otherwise (the store doesn't have contactless). Got him to fill out the drive off form (he didn't get the other product) after finding out when he can come back in to pay it. customer left before I could inform the manager.
However, I got in trouble for doing this, as it "wasn't a charity, if you don't have the money don't give him the product." Ended up paying for the petrol (said I'll get it back if he comes back in to pay it and if I didn't I'd lose my job).
I can't see what else I could've done. This is petrol not bread, not like we can siphon it out. Other co-workers have done what I've done in similar situations and it's mixed results sometimes pay, other times no. What else could I have done or was I bull****ted out of money (which I suspect)? I plan to get the manager each time a scenario like this occurs whenever possible

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Guffy

Lyle Lanley wrote: »

You can't call the guards if you allowed them to leave, only if they drove off without paying.

OP always get the manager. If they're not around the customer will have to wait for them. Don't give the customer any sympathy either, he went and filled up his car when he had no money on him..

That's not true.

You can't call the guards if you forget to ask them for fuel and they dont pay. But believe me whether you did or didn't you have always asked them for fuel.

Mickeroo

Drive off/no means to pay are pretty standard procedures on forecourts,if it's not the shop's policy to do them then the tills shouldn't have the functionality configured.

kev1.3s

RossieMan wrote: »

It's not mandatory to take contactless.

Customer should always check first.

Its not unreasonable to assume a reasonably modern petrol station will have contactless payment. It happened to me lately in a tesco petrol sration, teller was very polite but refused to allow me to leave until someone payed for the fuel, I told him I could read him the numbers and he could put it in manually which he refused I also told him I'd leave collateral which he refused, in the end I had to get a friend drive the 25 miles to pay the bill.
I know rhat technically it was my fault but surely some of the blame must lie on tescos shoulders, if this is a common occurrence then surely it would be easier to put up a sign stating that there is no contactless available.

Glass fused light

kev1.3s wrote: »

Its not unreasonable to assume a reasonably modern petrol station will have contactless payment. It happened to me lately in a tesco petrol sration, teller was very polite but refused to allow me to leave until someone payed for the fuel, I told him I could read him the numbers and he could put it in manually which he refused I also told him I'd leave collateral which he refused, in the end I had to get a friend drive the 25 miles to pay the bill.
I know rhat technically it was my fault but surely some of the blame must lie on tescos shoulders, if this is a common occurrence then surely it would be easier to put up a sign stating that there is no contactless available.

I have been in places which did not take credit cards mostly down the county but if it's new tech the onus is on the buyer to check the payment method.

kev1.3s

Glass fused light wrote: »

I have been in places which did not take credit cards mostly down the county but if it's new tech the onus is on the buyer to check the payment method.

Contactless is hardly considered new tech. I know petrol stations that dont take cards for sure But I would almost expect modern ones to take them. Its not very difficult for stations that dont offer this service to display it on top of the pumps.

drunkmonkey

Reati wrote: »

This thread comes up a bit doesn't it?

As long as people think it's ok to give away other people's things for for free without asking permission it won't be the last.

I'd be charging op for the fuel and yes it's perfect legal. They didn't ask permission or advice. It's now his debt.

yabadabado

A lesson learned OP but next day you are working get the manager to put it in writing what the correct procedure is.

Hopefully the customer returns and you arent out of pocket.

TheChizler

drunkmonkey wrote: »

As long as people think it's ok to give away other people's things for for free without asking permission it won't be the last.

I'd be charging op for the fuel and yes it's perfect legal. They didn't ask permission or advice. It's now his debt.

Strange logic, are you saying the OP accepted the customer's debt as they didn't apprehend the customer until the manager arrived. The OP would have been acting illegally by preventing them from leaving. Pumped petrol is a debt owed once the customer provided their details, not a criminal matter like stealing.

An Ri rua

They can't legally take a deduction from your wages. Payment of Wages Act.
They could fire you, for gross negligence, if they treat your error the same as they have treated other similar errors. If not, they haven't a leg to stand on.

TheChizler

Am I the only person missing where the OP made an error, or what it was? The customer left before they could, for whatever reason, get the manager. How is this negligence?

CeilingFly

An Ri rua wrote: »

They can't legally take a deduction from your wages. Payment of Wages Act.
They could fire you, for gross negligence, if they treat your error the same as they have treated other similar errors. If not, they haven't a leg to stand on.

They didn't deduct it. OP was given option to pay voluntarily or the other option was that the job was finished. If he'she paid and the customer returned, they'd get the money back.

Assuming the OP is working there less than a year, he/she can be let go without reason.

At the end of the day, if in doubt you call your manager.

Jimbob1977

Take collateral..... like a watch

Something they have to return for

drunkmonkey

TheChizler wrote: »

Strange logic, are you saying the OP accepted the customer's debt as they didn't apprehend the customer until the manager arrived. The OP would have been acting illegally by preventing them from leaving. Pumped petrol is a debt owed once the customer provided their details, not a criminal matter like stealing.

I'm saying he gave away goods for free without asking anyone, if he has an issue paying for it just fire his ass. Company will probably take it in the chin the first time, any more dumb moves and he's gone though.
If in doubt ask and you'll always be ok.
It is a criminal matter if the customer doesn't pay. He's just been scammed.

TheChizler

drunkmonkey wrote: »

I'm saying he gave away goods for free without asking anyone, if he has an issue paying for it just fire his ass. Company will probably take it in the chin the first time, any more dumb moves and he's gone though.
If in doubt ask and you'll always be ok.
It is a criminal matter if the customer doesn't pay. He's just been scammed.

Where did they give goods away for free? And they were asking, the customer left before they could get in contact with the manager.

It's a criminal matter if the customer had no intent of paying. They came in to pay, realized they couldn't then left their details. Unless those details were fake then I don't know how you can prove they had no intent to pay.

drunkmonkey

Jimbob1977 wrote: »

Take collateral..... like a watch

Something they have to return for

Or get them to do an online transfer on their phone, rubbish excuse to say they only had their phone so can't pay.
They also have their card details on the app and could manually give the details. Customer knew exactly what they were doing. Easy fool fresh staff.

dixiefly

Question for the OP...

What details of the customer did you get, i.e. name, address etc?
Did you get any confirmation (cards etc) as to the correctness of those details?
Did you get the licence plate of the car?

If you haven't got some pretty decent details then put this down as a life lesson and hope that the customer is honest and returns with the money.

Either way ask / insist on the manager providing a procedure for this and similar cases.

An Ri rua

drunkmonkey wrote:

I'd be charging op for the fuel and yes it's perfect legal. They didn't ask permission or advice. It's now his debt.

CeilingFly wrote:

They didn't deduct it. OP was given option to pay voluntarily or the other option was that the job was finished. If he'she paid and the customer returned, they'd get the money back.

CeilingFly wrote:

Assuming the OP is working there less than a year, he/she can be let go without reason.

CeilingFly wrote:

At the end of the day, if in doubt you call your manager.

I think a WRC would find differently. That's a deduction of wages in the servant master relationship. And you are 100% incorrect.

Mikenesson

Just don't take the watch..

That can be part of the scam too

drunkmonkey

TheChizler wrote: »

Where did they give goods away for free? And they were asking, the customer left before they could get in contact with the manager.

They didn't take any means of payment, did they ring the phone number to verify they got a real number before they left.
The customer should have staid until someone was contacted. End of story one ok let them out without paying it's on his head. That's the number 1 part of his job.

TheChizler

drunkmonkey wrote: »

They also have their card details on the app and could manually give the details.

Google Pay certainly doesn't, and I don't think Apple Pay does either, provide the card details of the virtual card used. Any Irish bank I know either doesn't provide card details in app. Revolut and N26 do but it's a stretch to assume what the customer was using.

Customer knew exactly what they were doing. Easy fool fresh staff.

I really hope the OP updates us soon when the situation has been resolved! You've made a fairly solid prediction there!

drunkmonkey

An Ri rua wrote: »

I think a WRC would find differently. That's a deduction of wages in the servant master relationship. And you are 100% incorrect.

It's ok as long as you tell them. If they have a problem fire them, feck all the wrc can do then. This is typical of what happens to new staff and scammers. OP won't be fooled again as easily.

drunkmonkey

TheChizler wrote: »

Google Pay certainly doesn't, and I don't think Apple Pay does either, provide the card details of the virtual card used. Any Irish bank I know either doesn't provide card details in app. Revolut and N26 do but it's a stretch to assume what the customer was using.

I really hope the OP updates us soon when the situation has been resolved! You've made a fairly solid prediction there!

I can see a picture of my card in the app, well I used to be able to haven't used it in a while.
He'd be able to do an online transfer regardless.

TheChizler

drunkmonkey wrote: »

End of story one ok let them out without paying it's on his head. That's the number 1 part of his job.

Again what (legal thing) could they have done to prevent them leaving?

TheChizler

drunkmonkey wrote: »

I can see a picture of my card in the app, well I used to be able to haven't used it in a while.
He'd be able to do an online transfer regardless.

Google Pay has pictures of the background but no card details. Think Apple is the same.

nikkibikki

mloc123 wrote:

If I only have contactless payment method on me... I would stick my head in to the shop first and ask if they accept it before I filled up...

RossieMan wrote:

It's not mandatory to take contactless.

Customer should always check first.

What if you don't realise til after you've put the fuel in the car? Happened me collecting a take away the other day. I had my wallet but my husband had used my card the day before and not put it back in. Only for I had the phone on me to pay, it would've been awkward.

We are mere humans, we make mistakes.

drunkmonkey

TheChizler wrote: »

Again what (legal thing) could they have done to prevent them leaving?

Call the guards when he leaves without paying or make a citizen's arrest when he walks out the door.

DEFTLEFTHAND

Customer should of had cash are a card on him. Or least asked inside before he began filling his tank.

Most stores at present don't cater for this app.

deletthis

drunkmonkey wrote: »

Call the guards when he leaves without paying or make a citizen's arrest when he walks out the door.

You seem like the type to take a flamethrower to a spider. The guy/girl is a forecourt attendant not a security guard. God forbid anyone was so condescending to you for a simple mistake through lack of training...

With litigation culture in this country there's absolutely 0 chance I'd be making a citizens arrest to protect €30 of someone else's petrol.

wonski

I have a habit of checking if I have a cash or card with me before filling up.

Not because I am so well organized, but because I once had to come back and pay. Luckily it was a petrol station I used all the time and they knew me, did let me pay later without any hassle.

There should be procedures in place, asking employee to pay for it is ridiculous, even if he/she made an error.

Either a warning, or nothing if there is no procedure, or wasn't covered in training.

scamalert

worked in station for a while and it wasnt unusual to get customers old people etc, forgetting to pay or not having cash, thou manager was fine with that in most cases, what would happen is that driver would either leave license or some form of ID, rest is kept and noted on CCTV,and never really presented any issues.

but either speak to your manager whats the exact policy or if total jerk maybe time to move on, some people are like that will pass someone and give $hit to you for same.