Outrage as Asda among petrol stations ripping off motorists

Résumé détaillé

A new report has claimed petrol stations are "ripping off” drivers, dispensing less fuel than road users have paid for in a major blow. An investigation from The Telegraph has…

A new report has claimed petrol stations are "ripping off” drivers, dispensing less fuel than road users have paid for in a major blow. An investigation from The Telegraph has found a series of pump failures, with major retailer Asda among those said to be affected. Short measures refer to a petrol or diesel pump dispensing a lesser quantity of fuel than what the customer has initially paid for or what is recorded on the meter. It comes as motorists are already battling high petrol and diesel prices due to disruption in the Middle East.

Fuel dispensers are allowed a small margin of error, around 0.5% less than the billed amount. However, when a pump exceeds this limit, there could be trouble. The issue is that pumps can malfunction or fall out of calibration, meaning drivers could be being short-changed.

According to the Telegraph, many cases are feared to have been missed, with council trading standards offices admitting they are not keeping up regular forecourt inspections, The report claims that an unleaded dispenser delivered 76ml less than the indicated 10 litres during a slow-flow test at an Asda Express in Tynemouth. North Tyneside council has since said that the dispenser was disqualified from use.

Meanwhile, two pumps at Welcome Break's Charnock Richard services located on the M6 in Lancashire were also disqualified after a shortfall of 170ml and 120ml were found on a 20-litre measure. This would mean road users were receiving 0.85% less fuel than the pump had claimed.

Welcome Break said the faulty pumps identified were an “isolated incident, with those found to be under-dispensing “immediately taken out of service and the issue was corrected.” Meanwhile, a spokesman for Asda said the issue was “most likely due to normal meter drift over time rather than a physical pump failure”.

A spokesperson told The Express: “All our pumps are monitored and tested regularly. If it is found to be faulty then it is immediately taken out of service and repaired.

However…

Début de l'article, extrait de Daily Express. Pour lire la suite, ouvrez l'article chez le média.