Unable to pay at petrol station

[edjama]

Ok, different scenario, you collect £100 of shopping at supermarket and can't pay. Would they let you take goods and come back later?

 

Now, shell maybe a billion pound company but the franchisee's and staff aren't. That £8.44 is over an hours wage for the cashier, who, like yourself probably has a tight budget. If he allows you to fill a form and you walk away then don't return, shell would not pay it.

They can refuse to let you leave and call police if you try.

This is the silly bit: the police would stop you and, as long as you went back and paid when you said, no further action. If you didn't your arrested. If cashier accepts your promise to pay and you didn't, not a police matter.

The problem is the amount of people who do this thinking for such small amounts they don't have to go back, and it isn't woth pursuing a civil claim.

As for your complaint:

Shell customer services will phone franchisee. he being the one out of pocket if you don't pay, will back his staff. Usually with the line, I'll let people take my fuel without payment, when shell start reimbursing me for the ones who don't come back. i have actually known people say that having their name/address/car details put in the book was accussing them of being dis-honest about coming back and on that basis they then wouldn't return. And once form is signed it's civil!

 

I know you feel mad, but spare a thought for the franchisee/attendant who, will often lose money as people feel it's ok to take from "shell" as they are a big company. Garage sites make less than 1p per litre so to reover the 5/6 litres you had would mean the next 844 litres would be no profit. Add that to 1-2 weekly drive offs in the region of 50quid, something similar on non-returning people and you've got a couple of thousand litres of no profit.

 

You're intentions may have been honest but unfortunately most aren't and again, it isn't shell who foot the bill

[edjama]

Ganymede, that was my point about the silly bit. if the cashier gets the police and you promise them to pay, then donb't it's treatred as theft. But if you fill a form in it never becomes theft, even if you have no intention of paying.

And where would the line be drawn in your case law example? If I went and helped myself to a 60' plasma tv etc etc and a 60k car, and left my details, with a promise to pay, would that be ok? I think not, even if you could prove that over a set period the payment could be made. I know the OP only owed 8 quid but that is a lot to the cashier who would be hit with it.

I'm not saying the OP should be hung for a genuine mistake, simply that you can hardly be angry at someone else not wanting a loss.

 

as an aside i remember working on a shell site when a customer complained over rising fuel prices. He was referred to shell who told him they set the max price and it was up to individual sites if they wished to sell lower. What they didn't explain was max price was within a penny of the price the retailer had to pay shell. They left him with the impression that after the duty and vat the reatiler took the rest and was making the fortune.

Needless to say i was on duty when he returned and was screamed at for being a "thieving little liar" before he knocked a display stand over and walked out. At the time I earned around 5.50 an hour!

[edjama]

Squaddie: The drive-offs are only taken when caused by a breach in procedure, such as not getting reg number, not watching forecourt even though your cleaning duties must be complet so you must spend time on shop floor. And I'd suggest most Franchisee's aren't particularily rich.

[edjama]

I see the point, what I am saying is the law must be more complex. if i was refused credit, but took the 60k car and started making the payments that I would be expected to make had I been granted credit, then I have shown intention to pay and not permantly deprive the seller. Surely, that wouldn't make my actions legal. i know its an extreme when compared to OP, but at what point can you prove/disprove if the OP intended to return with the 8pound. Unfortunately, the worst ones are the regulars who put less than 20quid in. Then you get, you know me, I'm here veryday etc and never see them again....

[edjama]

Scarlettuk, the grocery point was more a debate over the point of law. The thing is from the cashiers point of view, you blocking a pump wont cost him. You not returning may.

I had one situation when a customer couldn't pay, had no mobile on him so that I could check the number he wanted to leave was valid. said he lived local and left money at home but couldn't return home for it as he'd be late to work and lose job. i refused to allow him to leave stating I would phone police if he tried. He sat on the pump for 4 hours until the manager arrived. the manager agreed with me he should return home for the money. He then produced the phone he claimed not to have had on him and phoned police himself., very loudly explainig situation in front of a, by now full, shop.

He passed the police onto me and i explained I would prefer him to return home for the money he had and return within a reasonable time. i said half hour for a less than 2 mile round trip. the police then informed him that unless I agreed for him to come back later that he would have to do this or leave his car at the site. He then, not so loudly now, started pleading with the police about losing his job he would be late for (four hours after filling up?). He then stormed in the shop, pulled out his wallet, paid cash and said he would never use shell again. Hence he had money all along??

[edjama]

The thing is squaddie, more people leave their details and never return, than actually drive off. as the person dealing with customer, it is your decision to decide if the intentions are likely to be pay or not. It's easy to think it isn't that common when you are an honest person, and I'm sure the OP is, and I'm sure her circle of friends are also honest, hence so rare would stories of these sorts of tricks be heard of. unfortunately, when your facing customers , and they believe you work for a huge, corporate brand (you dont, you work for retailer) then there are people who habitually aim to cost you money.

 

as for leaving an item as security, again stopped becase of the people who claim things were broke, not the same as they left etc, etc.

[edjama]

I think we've exhausted this now.

 

in summary:

There are laws (both civil and criminal) to cover these matters

what happens in life isn't always the lawful way.

there are bad people (who deliberately intend not to pay)

there are people who get caught out (OP, by caught out I mean make a mistake not caught trying be bad)

And there are nice people ( people who pay peoples fuel bills to help them)

 

as a nice ending I once had some one unable to pay a fiver, before we even got to debating how to resolve the matter the next customer stepped in to pay for him. He offered to give them fiver back if they took his number and they refused saying, " I'd much prefer you to remember what I've done for you, and do the same for some one else if you ever are in the opposite situation. If we all do that no one should go stuck"

If only we all did eh?....