Earlier this week, several customers who filled their cars up with unleaded fuel at a BP garage on the East Lancashire Road in Liverpool claimed that their fuel tanks had been contaminated with water. All three drivers affected saw their cars break down less than a mile away from the forecourt.
Not only did this impact the drivers financially, as they could not go to work, it also hit them in the wallet with the cost of breakdown recovery and repair. One driver took their nearly new car to Vauxhall and was shocked to discover that fixing the car due to contaminated fuel was not covered by its new car warranty.
Not covered under warranty or car insurance
The £300 bill from Vauxhall to drain the fuel tank and replace the fuel lines was not covered by the driver’s car insurance either. Insurers regard this as being the fault of the driver, along the same lines as putting diesel into an unleaded vehicle. The Liverpool Echo reported that the garage has provided refunds, but this claim has not been confirmed by the affected drivers.
The garage itself has apologised for causing the issues but has not specifically explained why water was mixed in with the unleaded fuel reservoir . All other forms of fuel sold at the station were unaffected.
While this could be regarded as an isolated incident, a similar issue occurred at two fuel stations using the brand name Clean Energy on Merseyside in March earlier this year. Several drivers were affected and in one instance a BMW driver was unable to claim insurance for a repair bill totalling £1,400 (for draining the fuel tank and replacing the entire fuel system in the engine).
Contaminated fuel: trend or isolated incident?
One of the mechanics who repaired an affected car took a picture to illustrate what was in the fuel tank (see image) and posted it on Facebook. He was then inundated with comments from other drivers also affected by water-diluted petrol. This made us think at PetrolPrices – are we seeing a new trend here or is this isolated to Merseyside?
Liverpool City Council confirmed that Citizens Advice was dealing with six complaints in relation to contaminated fuel in that month alone, so there does appear to be something happening here. It is unclear whether mixing water with petrol is legal and whether there is any form of legal redress to get compensation back from any garages that do this, especially if it is not covered by warranty or insurance.
Can you protect against contaminated fuel?
Worryingly, there is no way to tell if the pump you are using is contaminated by water. The only way to guard against it is by checking out Facebook or local media sources to ensure that you are aware of stations that have been cited as having contaminated fuel locally and steering well clear of them.
If you are affected by contaminated fuel in your car, it seems that the only way to get financially compensated is to raise it with the local Citizens Advice Bureau and seek compensation from the garage you think has provided the contaminated fuel. They are not obligated to provide a refund but given the impact this could have on their sales, one would expect they would see reason and pay to keep their reputation intact.
Have you been affected by fuel being diluted with water? Is this a new form of scam or just an honest mistake by the garages in question? Are you happy that this is not covered under vehicle warranty or that you cannot claim on your insurance for it? Let us know in the comments below.
Surely legal action can be taken by Trading Standards against this garage?
If the petrol station provided the contaminated fuel and you have kept the receipts to prove you bought petrol at that particular forecourt then they are liable for repair on your car. It’s up to fuel station to make sure their fuel is ok.
Thats difficult as you have to prove that all the fuel in your tank came from that exact garage and not a mix from elsewhere.
one of the very reasons why I get a receipt when I fill up…
Hasn’t your area just started fracking for shale gas?
Fracking causes fractures in water pipes and could obviously run into fuel storage tanks.
D!on’t just blame the garage where the contaminated fuel is happening, BLAME THE FRACKERS WHO ARE CAUSING THE DAMAGE TO WATER PIPES in the first place.
I think that when the situation is fully investigated, you will find that this is due to the FRACKING.
have you had your meds today Colin?
Yes this is a matter for Trading Standards but whether Liverpool City Council TS has sufficient resources to investigate is another matter. The water is likely to be either ground water or rainwater getting into the storage tank and this should also be a matter of concern to the Petroleum Licensing Authority, in this case Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service.
There’s a lot of misinformation in this article.
Of course it is the responsibility of the garage! If the fuel they sell is causing cars to break down, then they are not selling goods or merchantable quality and are under a strict liability to compensate. If they don’t offer immediate compensation, then the small claims track of the County Court system is the way to go.
If there is any suspicion at all that something like this is happening in the area, then an easy way to check is simply to put the fist half-litre of fuel into a plastic bottle and see if it separates out like the picture above. If it doesn’t, there’s no problem. You can always pour it into the tank before you carry on filling.
And as for the ludicrous comment of Colin Hunt, this is just the kind of pseudo-scientific claptrap that is holding this country back in exploiting our natural resources. He has not one shred of evidence for making such an outrageous suggestion, and I recommend people to ignore his nonsense.
Doesn’t it qualify as causing damage to the property? Even unwitting forberance leading to the water getting into storage tanks should qualify. The owner of the damaged car has to have right to claim in court. Negligence in such aspect shouldn’t escape “unpunished”. Customers of petrol stations have trust they buy product meeting ISO and other standards related to tag on the pump.
Actually, under same circumstances insurers shouldn’t refuse claims, but then claim back to petrol station or go to court. Fuelling the car with petrol full of water isn’t mistake of a driver and no where in the insurance conditions states the driver is obligated to verify the quality of the fuel before pumping. If such obligation would appear I’m sure it’s going to create business of some kind of testing devices drivers can use to check the fuel before pumping. But wouldn’t it be quite weird?
insurance companies couldn’t insure against misfuelling, the abuse of such a thing would be at absurd levels.
Not sure this is cosha? If BP staff deliberately added water, it would separate from petrol to bottom of tank, so pump would either pump out petrol or water, depending on where the take up is? And usually BP are found adding oil to seawater anyway……..
Unless, perhaps, the water is actually getting into the supply pipes to the pump, rather than the tank?
If nothing else, Trading Standards should be involved as the goods are misdescribed (unless the pumps are labelled “Unleaded Petrol with added H2O”, of course)
Philip Tilson says ‘If there is any suspicion at all that something like this is happening in the area, then an easy way to check is simply to put the fist half-litre of fuel into a plastic bottle and see if it separates out like the picture above. If it doesn’t, there’s no problem. You can always pour it into the tank before you carry on filling.’
If you try to put fuel into a plastic bottle you will find that you will greeted by a rather stern voice over the intercom , at least you would at any of the forecourts that I manage. Fuel can only be dispensed into approved containers and plastic bottles are not such a container.
Colin Hunt says’Fracking causes fractures in water pipes and could obviously run into fuel storage tanks’
Utter nonsense, underground tanks are sealed units and the only way for liquid to get in through the fill points and hence any water present would have to have come in from the tanker that delivered the fuel.
All petrol stations are also equipped with tank gauges that will alert the owner when there is any water detected in the tanks.
Oh and its Greenergy (Esso) not Green Energy
This has to one of the most misinformed articles I have read in a while and the comments aren’t much better
EDIT: Apologies Andy we made a mistake, the additional stations in question were under the Clean Energy brand, not Greenergy (Esso) as mentioned.
Hi Andy.
interesting comment.
Surely there would have to be a substantial amount of water introduced into the forecourt’s holding tanks for it to be drawn up by the individual pumps? I mean a LOT, given I doubt the pickups scavenge the tank floor for fuel and the water would sit beneath the fuel.
Is it at all likely that that much water could be introduced by a delivery truck? I’m struggling to see this happening other than via a long cumulative process of many fills. Do you see gauges detecting water very often?
Is there an opportunity for water to get in to the individual pumps? Again, hard to imagine how.
Highly unlikely it was added deliberately; Water can get into fuel in a number of ways, fuel is pumped around the the huge pipelines that run between refineries and storage plants and to keep different fuels apart they used to separate them with a slug of water … the water is usually removed in its entirety when it gets to its destination but occasionally some gets missed and ends up getting out in the road tankers and delivered to a site. In this scenario you can get a number of incidents within the area supplied by the offending refinery. The other option is that the underground tank has sprung a leak and ground water is seeping in. This is obviously more prevalent on old sites. The most modern Service Stations usually have gauging systems that have water detectors and leak detectors and can pick it up, but many old ones that have not seen much investment have systems that cannot do this and then there is the risk of dispensing it. I worked for a company that supplied gauges to BP for years and it was a rare occurrence.
At the end of the day, a fuel station is providing a service! If it doesn’t provide a service that is expected and it is substandard and causes financial loss and damage then it should be liable to prosecution and compensation!!! How would it be viewed if this was a food subject? (Excuse) Oh I’m sorry the refrigeration sytem I had in place failed and that’s why your nearest and dearest died from food poisoning! (WAKE UP AND PROSECUTE THESE COWBOY FUEL SUPPLIERS ) I WASNT AWARE, IT’S NOT MY FAULT, I DIDN’T DO THIS, NONE OF THESE EXCUSES WASH! DO THEY!!!!!
If I ever get contaminated fuel, I’ll sue! It’s the garages responsibility to ensure that you get what you pay for!
How about the sale of goods act. Goods must be as described and fit for purpose. also goods must be of merchantable quality. Failure to comply can and will lead to legal action- of the said sales of goods act.
All underground, filling station tanks contain a certain amount of rainwater. There is absolutely no way of preventing it getting in. The water, being heavier than fuel, sinks to the bottom and the pump pick-ups are set well above the bottom of the tank in order not to reach the level of the water.
Water and fuel do not mix and so there is no danger of dilution, as wrongly claimed above. It is the responsibility of the garage operators to have the water pumped out before the level reaches the pump pick-up strainers.
If they are remiss in this task then it is possible for water to be delivered to the customer’s vehicles.
It has happened to me, just the once. It is always inconvenient but never ‘the end of the world.’ If you have ‘get you home’ roadside cover, the problem can be easily rectified by a local garage or even by a reasonably competent home mechanic. Draining a tank and purging fuel lines is a pretty simpe business. The only requisite is enough suitable vessels to collect the contents of the vehicle’s tank.
The huge song and dance, along with resulting high bills, is completely overblown.
In my case, many years ago, I was a regular customer of the filling station involved, and to retain my custom they happily refunded the costs, including my next fill-up of fuel.
‘diluted with water’ is complete rubbish as can be clearly seen in the photo water and petro do not mixe. the hole article is very badly written. The word you want is contaminated not diluted!
Always ask for and keep your fuel receipts so that you can prove that you put in fuel in at a particular garage. Report to trading standards if you have a problem with the fuel. As petrol is hydroscopic (it absorbs water from the atmosphere) a certain amount of water is allowed but if excessive trading standards could prosecute.
There may be legitimate reasons for water to get into fuel before sale, but I’m sure many are tempted to add water to the tanks which can then be sold at the same price as the fuel!
this can also be used to provide incorect tank dips ? thus fiddling the vat or even fiddling the garage owner as to how much fuel has been sold thus lowering the till takings and pocketing the excess cash, ??????????
I had a similar incident about 15-17 years ago. I filled up at the Shell service station on Bath Road, Marlow, and got as far as Maidenhead Bridge before spluttering to a halt. I went back to the filling station to alert the attendant that Pump 13 (it had to be!) Was pumping water, but the attendant continued to allow the pump to be used. I noticed a police patrol car had just filled up, so I warmed them of the potential problem, and sure enough, they broke down slightly further along the road from where I did.
I called out the RAC, and their patrol man confirmed that it was indeed fuel contamination. I had to have my car taken to the Seat dealership in Slough to have the fuel tank drained, lines cleaned, and engine checked for damage. A call to Shell’s Customer services got the wheels in motion – they paid the entire cost of the dealership’s time and any parts, they paid to completely refill my tank with fresh fuel, and most importantly, they paid the cost of a hire car while my own car was being fixed.
No company wants their reputation sullied, so it’s worth seeking recompense from the fuel company, or if the service station is privately owned, raise a claim via the small claims procedure. No person knowingly or willingly fills their car up with contaminated fuel, so it’s difficult for the service station to deny blame in this instance.
It is completely counter-intuitive that any garage DELIBERATELY contaminate petrol with water, as every single client would break down and kick up a fuss, it would be in the paper in no time and the garage wouldn’t have any customers. The air admitted to replace the petrol should go through a drying filter medium that is occasionally replaced as the cartridge becomes damp, to ensure the air is dry so moisture doesn’t condense on the inside of the tank and sink; probably careless garages don’t do this and at times of high RH ….. yes they should pay all bills, the leverage is the small claims court
Trouble is Paul is proving the case, a big company versus the little man, if you like, have a read of my post above.
Check to see if the water is salty ! the ship tankers use salt water to chase the petrol up the pipe line from the terminal to the storage tanks. If you could imagin the cost of the petrol lying in a six inch pipe half a mile long !
the mixture is supposed to be allowed to settle in the holding tanks and the water drained off, this may have not been and hence water gets into the tanker delivering the fuel to the petrol station and into the cars.
Tesco was done for the same thing a few years back. One of my colleagues had an engine replaced when it was proved.
Most garages are just using the name ie BP, franchises. The fuel they sell is basic fuel. There are 2 garages on the A47 at Thorney near Peterborough. They were Gulf stations, but has recently re-branded to BP. One of the staff told me before the rebranding, and when I said that the fuel would become more expensive as BP are always so, the reply was no, it would remain the same, but people trusted BP more.
When the Gulf stations opened a few years ago I wrote off to Gulf as I encountered a problem with my car after starting to use their fuel. It turned out to be unrelated, but the reply I got was that it was a franchise and they could use any fuel.
When I was living in South Africa in a flat overlooking a 24 hour filling station forecourt, I was often disturbed during the night by the sound of the big metal manhole covers being moved from the underground fuel tanks. I soon realised what was happening when I saw forecourt attendants filling cans from the pumps and then pouring the same amount of water into the storage tank. I don’t know what they did about the pump readings, but the tanks were checked every day with dip sticks, obviously giving correct readings.
I think folks are over estimating the resources available to Trading Standards offices (are there any left?). They were a nasty invention created by the looney left and so must be got rid of PRONTO!!
Personally, even if someone is adding say 40 litres of water to a holding tank (nicking the fuel presumably) I’d be surprised if that would even get picked up by the individual pumps. I have to guess that water buildup is cumulative and takes some time.
Quite how the garage detects it is harry potter stuff to me, but what do they do even if they do detect it? Do they have some equipment hidden away that somehow can scavenge the water out of a large holding tank?
Lastly, the common rail diesel engines of today (and common too!) work at ludicrously high pressures – not far off the pressure required to break down diesel. They rely on diesel being an oil to lubricate the high pressure pump (petrol quickly damages them and the injectors). I can imagine water in fuel may also damage these pumps depending on how much goes through them before more diesel is pumped through, so it might not be just a flush through of the fuel lines.
Comments/thoughts l&g?
Do we not have a mod on this site? Clap trap like the ill-informed pseudo scientific gobbledegook posted by Colin hunt should never be given space to grow. Back to the real world and I speak as one who has spent 40 years either pumping or supervising the pumping of fuel into RAF aircraft. Each and every time a RAF aircraft receives fuel a water sediment check is carried out, samples are taken from the bottom of every tank and if water is found the tank is purged (through a drain on the bottom of the tank) until neat fuel flows. Every time the fuel level goes down in the tank it is replaced with air and this carries moisture in with it. Little tanks on aircraft means that we don’t bother about it we just remove it. However, (and I am NO expert on filling station procedures) blooming big tanks dispensing thousands of gallons each day will take in huge amounts of damp air to replace the dispensed fuel. I would hope that normal housekeeping means that the water propagated is drained off according to a schedule and not left to accumulate. Sloppy housekeeping and ignoring the rules (if there are any) would surely account for a build up of water in the tanks. No local fuel station would want it’s reputation wrecked by deliberate contamination. All say “Hail to sites like this, Facebook and Twitter”.
Sounds like not only is the petrol station trying to make money out of this but so are the garages, the is no reason what so ever for the fuel system to be replaced, all fuel has a small percentage of water in it any why, all that is required is to drain the complete system and fill up with fresh diesel or petrol depending on your vehicle preference.
It wouldn’t be difficult for the fuel distributors to install a water sensor on each pump, they are electronic now and require little maintenance…..whats that? Oh yea, they don’t want to invest as it costs money and the risk level wont warrant it. Not only that its very difficult to claim against the fuel distributor or garage as its nigh on impossible to prove the case.
Only thing I can think of is to campaign to your insurers or breakdown service to have this feature covered.
There was a lot to be said for the old style pumps with the little glass bowl with the impellor in it.
Sensor would involve a contact in Petrol, the risk of a spark, would increase. Older pumps used a teltale glass.
This has been happening for years. When independants ran their own stations their house keeping skimmed the water off. Red x was added to fuel to make it more of an emulsion. Back in the eighties we had a modification from one manufacturer to say their cars were sipposed to run on petrol not steam
Ian I’m intigued to know how garages would skim water off petrol in underground tanks? Water is heavier than petrol and settles at the bottom as can clearly be seen in the image above.
Petrol is far from being hygroscopic. Water is immiscible with petrol and has a solubility of ca 0.02% in petrol. Its presence as indicated in the 2-layer mix suggests deliberate and malicious addition to the tank, possibly by someone bearing a grudge! Nevertheless, the garage can be taken to court to claim full, out-of-pocket losses for selling a product not fit for purpose. It is unacceptable for an insurance company not to take on this action, assuming time of engine failure and receipt that tallies, on behalf of their clients. Such a black and white claim almost certainly would be settled out of court.
Readers may be interested to know that the same station has been in the news before. At that time, they were committing fraud by illegally swiping customers’ credit cards in order to clone them.
Water gets into the storage tanks when a tanker driver fills them. On top of the tanks is a bund that keeps rain water. The filling station is supposed to drain these and maintain their rain water drain offs. because of the nature of the contaminated water it cannot go into the ground or sewers. But the cost of treatment is often excessive and the water isn’t drained. So cost of repairs, the modern engines with all their injection systems, were designed to cope with the minimum amount of water in all fuel. changing fuel lines seems a bit excessive. But they can seriously big up any repairs. I was surprised to see that a Fiesta was over £100. The new connections can be a problem and the makers manual states that they need to be replaced as a whole to save any chance of leaks. As a RAC Patrol I encountered several cases of water in fuel, most were due to vandals. But one was due to fuel from the pump. If you suspect a garage, then collect some fuel in a can. Phone the trading standards department of the local council nearest to the garage and report the problem. Tell them you have a sample. They will take it from you to compare to the sample they have collected. The photo is clearly a massive amount of water in the tank at the garage. But it can be a small amount that creates the problem. We used a centrifuge device. basically a bottle in a sling, that swings in a circular manner. it shows, on examination the amount in the sample. Very useful in diesel-petrol diagnosis. There was a device like a football rattle that worked well. Perhaps our friends in China can make them again ?
This could happen accidentally, it could even be that the garage was supplied with contaminated fuel. The pump doesn’t know whether it’s sending diesel, petrol, water or gin & tonic! Didn’t realise petrol was hydroscopic it’s probably true that all fuels contain water. Even aircraft fuel has water in it.
In some cases, alcohol (obtained by fermenting grain) is now added to petrol to make it “cleaner” or “greener”.
Alcohol is “hygoscopic”, which means that it absorbs water from the air in the tank, and this is often the cause of increasing levels of water accumulating in garage tanks. Good housekeeping should keep the level down, but it can get to the pumps if the tanks are getting empty. More often the problem occurs if there has recently been a delivery and the contents of the tank that feeds “your” pump have been churned up into an emulsion and have not yet settled. It is always a good idea not to fill up at a garage that has just had a delivery, as you are very liable to get water and particulate matter in your delivery. However, you don’t know how recently one or more tanks have been refilled if you are just a passing motorist – unless you see a tanker there or pulling away.
A propos of mention (Ravi Shankar) of common rail diesel pumps being dependant upon the lubricating effect of diesel fuel, this is very true, BUT do people realise that it is mandatory (under some EU regulation, I’d bet) for water to be added to diesel fuel in this country? It’s supposed to be an emissions-related measure, but I’ve always been suspicious of two things. Firstly, this clearly means that we are being ripped off (even more) for ‘fuel’ that is partly water. Secondly i’ve heard and read repeatedly that one should never allow one’s car diesel fuel tank to run very low for the precise reason that the adulterating water collects in the bottom of the fuel tank and it will ruin the fuel injectors. I’m surprised that this wilful administrative vandalism of people’s cars hasn’t generated a massive outcry – and even more surprised that it’s legal at all.
Re insurers refusing to cover: I suggest trying the insurance ombudsman, since whatever it says in the policy, this may be deemed unreasonable in the circumstances. It’s not like putting in diesel by mistake, there’s no way a driver could know.
btw why does Ravi Shankar think Trading Standards is an invention of the loony left? They may (or may not) be inefficient or understaffed, but we need somebody to keep check on what we’re sold! I’m old enough to remember Weights and Measures, and surely TS is just the updated version.
My car was one of the vehicles that was effected by this and there service at first was shocking I spoke the there area manager who finally paid for the damage but I will not be using there service ever again as they tried to say I was lying about my car
Anyone experience contaminated petrol at Morrisons Number one pump in Tavistock recently, in particular with water?
If so, the over riding factor would be your car would have stopped very quickly indeed as the water would have settled to the bottom of your fuel tank, as it did with mine?
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Well, I have finally lost patience with Morrisons garage in Tavistock.
The picture shows a sample of their ‘petrol’ contaminated with water.
Morrisons invited me to make a claim and then informed me I had no claim.
They refused to give me their tank storage data, they refused to give me CCTV evidence of my filling at their number one pump.
I informed them I have a witness to the event, explained fully how my car drove into their garage working and then stopped promptly after leaving their garage, as you can see, the water has a greater density than petrol, hence it has sunk to bottom
of the jar (and my fuel tank).
I made a very reasonable claim for fuel and labour to get the car running again, I even offered to accept shopping vouchers, but now I am met with silence.
If you care to google ‘morrisons, water, petrol’ you will see this event is not new to morrisons and folk seem to have real problems dealing with the company on such matters.
Fortunately, there is choice as to where I can purchase fuel in Tavistock and that will cost morrisons approximately £2000 per annum in lost revenue.
2 points:
1) I read it that Ravi Shankar is saying that the government want rid of Trading Standards as they protect consumers at the expense of charlatans abd rip-off merchants.
2) I have heard some crap about the EU over the years, but the compulsary addition of water to diesel fuel is up there with the most outrageous. Like straight bananas and geometrical carrots, this is nonsense. It is possible to reduce emissions by mixing water with diesel, but not in fuel storage tanks!
Surely legal action can be taken by Trading Standards against this garage?
If the petrol station provided the contaminated fuel and you have kept the receipts to prove you bought petrol at that particular forecourt then they are liable for repair on your car. It’s up to fuel station to make sure their fuel is ok.
Thats difficult as you have to prove that all the fuel in your tank came from that exact garage and not a mix from elsewhere.
one of the very reasons why I get a receipt when I fill up…
Hasn’t your area just started fracking for shale gas?
Fracking causes fractures in water pipes and could obviously run into fuel storage tanks.
D!on’t just blame the garage where the contaminated fuel is happening, BLAME THE FRACKERS WHO ARE CAUSING THE DAMAGE TO WATER PIPES in the first place.
I think that when the situation is fully investigated, you will find that this is due to the FRACKING.
have you had your meds today Colin?
Yes this is a matter for Trading Standards but whether Liverpool City Council TS has sufficient resources to investigate is another matter. The water is likely to be either ground water or rainwater getting into the storage tank and this should also be a matter of concern to the Petroleum Licensing Authority, in this case Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service.
There’s a lot of misinformation in this article.
Of course it is the responsibility of the garage! If the fuel they sell is causing cars to break down, then they are not selling goods or merchantable quality and are under a strict liability to compensate. If they don’t offer immediate compensation, then the small claims track of the County Court system is the way to go.
If there is any suspicion at all that something like this is happening in the area, then an easy way to check is simply to put the fist half-litre of fuel into a plastic bottle and see if it separates out like the picture above. If it doesn’t, there’s no problem. You can always pour it into the tank before you carry on filling.
And as for the ludicrous comment of Colin Hunt, this is just the kind of pseudo-scientific claptrap that is holding this country back in exploiting our natural resources. He has not one shred of evidence for making such an outrageous suggestion, and I recommend people to ignore his nonsense.
Doesn’t it qualify as causing damage to the property? Even unwitting forberance leading to the water getting into storage tanks should qualify. The owner of the damaged car has to have right to claim in court. Negligence in such aspect shouldn’t escape “unpunished”. Customers of petrol stations have trust they buy product meeting ISO and other standards related to tag on the pump.
Actually, under same circumstances insurers shouldn’t refuse claims, but then claim back to petrol station or go to court. Fuelling the car with petrol full of water isn’t mistake of a driver and no where in the insurance conditions states the driver is obligated to verify the quality of the fuel before pumping. If such obligation would appear I’m sure it’s going to create business of some kind of testing devices drivers can use to check the fuel before pumping. But wouldn’t it be quite weird?
insurance companies couldn’t insure against misfuelling, the abuse of such a thing would be at absurd levels.
Not sure this is cosha? If BP staff deliberately added water, it would separate from petrol to bottom of tank, so pump would either pump out petrol or water, depending on where the take up is? And usually BP are found adding oil to seawater anyway……..
Unless, perhaps, the water is actually getting into the supply pipes to the pump, rather than the tank?
If nothing else, Trading Standards should be involved as the goods are misdescribed (unless the pumps are labelled “Unleaded Petrol with added H2O”, of course)
Philip Tilson says ‘If there is any suspicion at all that something like this is happening in the area, then an easy way to check is simply to put the fist half-litre of fuel into a plastic bottle and see if it separates out like the picture above. If it doesn’t, there’s no problem. You can always pour it into the tank before you carry on filling.’
If you try to put fuel into a plastic bottle you will find that you will greeted by a rather stern voice over the intercom , at least you would at any of the forecourts that I manage. Fuel can only be dispensed into approved containers and plastic bottles are not such a container.
Colin Hunt says’Fracking causes fractures in water pipes and could obviously run into fuel storage tanks’
Utter nonsense, underground tanks are sealed units and the only way for liquid to get in through the fill points and hence any water present would have to have come in from the tanker that delivered the fuel.
All petrol stations are also equipped with tank gauges that will alert the owner when there is any water detected in the tanks.
Oh and its Greenergy (Esso) not Green Energy
This has to one of the most misinformed articles I have read in a while and the comments aren’t much better
EDIT: Apologies Andy we made a mistake, the additional stations in question were under the Clean Energy brand, not Greenergy (Esso) as mentioned.
Hi Andy.
interesting comment.
Surely there would have to be a substantial amount of water introduced into the forecourt’s holding tanks for it to be drawn up by the individual pumps? I mean a LOT, given I doubt the pickups scavenge the tank floor for fuel and the water would sit beneath the fuel.
Is it at all likely that that much water could be introduced by a delivery truck? I’m struggling to see this happening other than via a long cumulative process of many fills. Do you see gauges detecting water very often?
Is there an opportunity for water to get in to the individual pumps? Again, hard to imagine how.
Highly unlikely it was added deliberately; Water can get into fuel in a number of ways, fuel is pumped around the the huge pipelines that run between refineries and storage plants and to keep different fuels apart they used to separate them with a slug of water … the water is usually removed in its entirety when it gets to its destination but occasionally some gets missed and ends up getting out in the road tankers and delivered to a site. In this scenario you can get a number of incidents within the area supplied by the offending refinery. The other option is that the underground tank has sprung a leak and ground water is seeping in. This is obviously more prevalent on old sites. The most modern Service Stations usually have gauging systems that have water detectors and leak detectors and can pick it up, but many old ones that have not seen much investment have systems that cannot do this and then there is the risk of dispensing it. I worked for a company that supplied gauges to BP for years and it was a rare occurrence.
At the end of the day, a fuel station is providing a service! If it doesn’t provide a service that is expected and it is substandard and causes financial loss and damage then it should be liable to prosecution and compensation!!! How would it be viewed if this was a food subject? (Excuse) Oh I’m sorry the refrigeration sytem I had in place failed and that’s why your nearest and dearest died from food poisoning! (WAKE UP AND PROSECUTE THESE COWBOY FUEL SUPPLIERS ) I WASNT AWARE, IT’S NOT MY FAULT, I DIDN’T DO THIS, NONE OF THESE EXCUSES WASH! DO THEY!!!!!