I finally succumbed to the marketing blurb and pulled my A6 TDI 2.5 Quattro alongside the BP Ultimate fuel pumps, 14 litres into the transaction I smelt petrol! The first time in 19 years of driving had I made the mistake of mixing fuels.
A tow, £200 later and two days later I was refueled with the correct diesel grade and on my way, then I began chatting to friends etc. it seems there is a growing army of poor unfortunates like myself that have made an error at the BP Ultimate pump.
BP Customer service maintain that their pumps are correctly branded, my contention is that the pump head was obscured almost entirely by an advert which was identical to the diesel pump head, they use shades of blue to differentiate diesel from petrol and the hanging tag was missing from the unleaded pump handle the grip of which incidentally was black. I have said to them I think pump head advertising is completely pointless and in this case I think directly contributed to me making the error.
BP has written me two letters now and has basically said sorry but they will not pay for any repair concerning fuel mix ups, I think they have too many to deal with.
Is there anybody else out there who has made the same error or thinks that the pumps are too similar?
|
For this very reason I have taken to avoiding BP stations. The last one I went to had so many pumps in so many different colours I ended up checking every one to make sure it was diesel and then I checked the display to ensure the indicator was showing diesel. I now generally use a local Shell station who have all petrol in green (with a relevant pump clip on the optimax) and diesel in black - nice and simple.
As for pump clip adverts - talk about advertising overkill (this applies to all fuel staitions not just BP).
|
|
|
BP have paid up in the past. Push them hard.
--
RF - currently 1 Renault short of a family
|
Try here:
www.lizlynne.org.uk/news/296.html
There a BP helpline number to call.
I think the MEP was getting involved herself in pushing some people's claims through BP.
BBC Watchdog were also involved (late 2003) in getting poeple refunded.
The above were mainly to with confusing colour coding, but if BP are confusing things again with adverts, then maybe this could be re-opened?
|
|
|
|
Is there anybody else out there who has made the same error or thinks that the pumps are too similar?
I avoid BP stations, i just want green for petrol and black for diesel.
Dear Oil companies, why is it so difficult to standardise colours of pumps?
|
Time to change the nozzles like in the old lead/leadfree days.
Round for petrol, square for dielsel or somesuch, with restrictors on the filler.
|
|
Thing with that kind of mistake is because it can cost so much,you only do it once.
|
|
As a diesel nozzle won't fit in a post 1994 petrol filler pipe that's no problem, but there is now a device which stops the smaller petrol nozzle going into a diesel filler pipe, it is fitted into the filler pipe during production and requires the fatter nozzle to spread the restrictor latches. It is due on new cars in the next year or so.
|
|
|
|
I avoid BP stations, i just want green for petrol and black for diesel.
The USA uses the opposite convention - had to concentrate very hard when over there, and on my return
|
>> >> I avoid BP stations, i just want green for petrol and >> black for diesel. >> The USA uses the opposite convention - had to concentrate very hard when over there, and on my return
Which part of the US was that - I can't recall ever seeing diesel and petrol sold from the same pumps in the US, as we do here? They do offer several grades of petrol though, and it always seems a bit random which one you end up with.
|
Where I lived in Ft Lauderdale there were a few stations that sold diesel and petrol. You wouldn't get them mixed up though as the diesel side of the pump always had a nasty oil slick all over it and the hose/nozzle.
I recently filled up with Ultimate diesel and was filled with paranoia before actually dispensing the fuel. I checked the marking on the pump 3 times, checked and double checked that the nozzle I was holding really lead back to the diesel pump and I actually sniffed the nozzle to make sure before actually placing it into the filler.
I am sure I looked odd constantly checking and rechecking, but it only took a minute of my time and I would rather look strange and waste a minute of my life than make a costly mistake.
|
|
Most diesel in the States goes into lorries.Not many diesel cars about but there is some very poor diesel available(low cetane)but if you're talking about engines of about 20 litres they can get away with it;you need a better diesel for cars.
|
I have a diesel and a petrol car.
Just sniff the end of the pump nozzle before putting it into your tank. Never fails.
659.
|
Good advice!
Why is it when we make a mistake, we always try to "blame" someone else. Even worse is our claim culture, where someone else has to pay for our mistakes.
|
"Why is it when we make a mistake, we always try to "blame" someone else. Even worse is our claim culture, where someone else has to pay for our mistakes."
Agree with you 100% and I normally throw scorn and derision on anyone else who tries to shift blame
BP Ultimate is different.
Wre are used to a well proven and simple colour standard re types of fuel. For purely marketing reasons BP come along and pee around with this, and make a complete pigs ear of it.
For this reason, BP should be brought to book each time this happens until they fix the root cause of the problem
Ultimate may be super diesel but its still diesel so it should come out of a BLACK HOSE
Ultimate petrol maybe pure nectar but its still unleaded petrol so comes out of a GREEN hose.
--
RF - currently 1 Renault short of a family
|
Not quite right, colour of nozzles have reached agreement with respect to colour, colour of hoses is purely a recommendation and not a madatory "standard" yet. See this exert from the Dept of Transport website
"There is currently no legal requirement in the UK to label any vehicle fuel at the point of sale. However, the oil companies in the UK do of course generally market fuels which comply with the relevant British Standard for a particular fuel. These Standards mandate and/or recommend marking requirements for each fuel. They have recently reached agreement to standardise nozzle colours, to recommend hose colours and to improve the clarity of labels for the main retailed fuels which are advertised as meeting BS 228 (premium unleaded) BS 780 (super) or BS 590 (diesel including bio up to 5 percent FAME) as shown in the following table:
Fuel Type
Pump Colour
Unleaded Petrol
Green
Diesel (including up to 5 percent FAME)
Black"
While things are improving, there is still a long way to go!
|
In reply to Perturbed :-
So, if I read it correctly, from your extract they could just have all their pumps in the same colour if they wished? And no legal requirement to label the pumps at all?
We live in a crazy world where we haves rules for the most stupid of things and nothing meaningful for something as basic as labelling fuel types, aaaaah!!!
|
|
Ultimate may be super diesel but its still diesel so it should come out of a BLACK HOSE
It certainly seems that BP have a case to answer in respect of this thread.
Slightly off thread, but, out of interest, I filled with Diesel ultimate once, and noticed no difference whatsoever (except in my wallet). Ultimately (no pun intended) we only have BP's word that there's anything super about this stuff...
Splodgeface
|
|
|
|
|
Just check which price has been highlighted in the display. Never fails :-)
--------------
Mike Farrow
|
|
|
|
|
You aren't the only one Trancer I still do this every tine even after 15 years with only diesel cars.
And my SIL who has recently gone back to fuel tankers on night work tells me he is paranoid about this also when delivering to fuel stations.
He checks and rechecks that he has connected to the right tank as its really big time stuff if they get it wrong
And even so incidents do happen.
Incidentally he had to retrain and now a fuel tanker will only stop for an obvious Police painted patrol car and has a special card to hold up to the window to say he will drive to a Police Station.
Sign of the times....
|
he had to retrain and now a fuel tanker will only stop
>>
security rule no 1 - never publicise the precautions you are taking.
|
BP have paid up in the past. Push them hard.
In the past I had an argument with BP, resulting from the fact that their price/litre placarded in big type on the garage pylon differed from the price in small print on the pump, the latter being significantly higher - a fact I hadn't noticed when filling. In this case BP dug their heels in and refused to budge.
There's a moral here somewhere.
Oz (as was)
|
|
Should have gone straight to Trading Standards or were you after compensation.Having said that,some years back,went into a Texaco garage to fill my car,pump was extremely slow but I persevered,next I noticed petrol over my shoe,pump had not cut off.I went into the office paid and complained.The cashier said that that pump had had complaints before but nothing had been done but he gave me the address of Texaco's head office.I complained and almost by return of post got my money back,apology and a statement that they would look into it.I thought that would be the end of it but a few weeks later,another letter to say the pump had been checked,problems had been found and a cheque for my money back all over again.
|
|
|
|
>>> And my SIL who has recently gone back to fuel tankerson night work tells me he is paranoid about this also
Have we changed the meaning of acronyms on this forum?
"my SIL...... he is paranoid"
Your SIL is your SISTER -in-law and not a bloke!!
Shorely shome mishtake?
Ah.... Do you mean son-in-law?
Penny drops and scales are removed from eyes.
|
|
One small positive for BP, they've changed the message from the "talking" pumps here in Spain to "Diesel Plus" - previously they said "Gasóleo" for diesel and "Gasolina" for petrol. Still don't speak until the trigger is pulled though!
|
|
|
|
>my SIL who has recently gone back to fuel tankers on night work<
Imagine having a sister-in-law doing nights on tankers .. :o)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I did exactly the same, filled up with ultimate thinking it was diesel and it was unleaded! The AA towed me to a repair place on the M3 and £164.00 lighter and several hours later I was a wiser man... I hope. Surely it would be easy to make nozzels fit only petrol or diesel. The guy who drained my tank said he did about 50 a week!
|
I did exactly the same, filled up with ultimate thinking it was diesel and it was unleaded! The AA towed me to a repair place on the M3 and £164.00 lighter and several hours later I was a wiser man... I hope. Surely it would be easy to make nozzels fit only petrol or diesel. The guy who drained my tank said he did about 50 a week!
>>
Shorely Shome Mishtake?!
50 a week =let's say a 5 day week,
= 1 an hour, without any time for travelling, breaks etc.
= Can't be done - I suggest - otherwise why did he charge you £164 for an hours work?
Pedants Corner. I hope nobody minds me changing the Americanised spelling of FUELLING to the English version.
|
|
|
Did you get anywhere with BP?
Interestingly on the four head pumps, BP put the petrol Ultimate and Diesel Ultimate heads at opposite ends with the non ultimate pumps between, it transpires that the garage in question is non BP owned with just the two Ultimate Pump heads together, with older kit, certainly not the shiny white clearer pump I used today.
I did get a tankful of the correct stuff today but too early to tell if it works though. BP are still denying the claim, have a new name to write to though.
Will keep you posted.
Cheers
|
|
|
|
Thanks for all the posts.
Want to set the record straight, I am not a blame / compensation culture type, I have a string of receipts for losses , breakages etc. all circa £200 all insured, cannot be bothered with claiming.
This BP problem however has got my goat I have taken a few people back to the pump in question they all said they were confused.
Sniffing to see if it is Petrol, nice try but not recommended.
Three things are aggrevating me:
1) Forecourt manager who thought it funny.
2) BP customer care failing to respond to my exact points re pump handle advertising and missing tags on the pump handle.
3) BP pay millions to the media giants, to make teh forecourts pretty and yet they mess up the basics.
Your comments are helpful and will add to my case.
Best
|
Sniffing: The body is equipped with well developed senses, so why not use them in order to assist with a trouble free existence? After all, that's why we evolved them.
As for problems with a sensibly small sniff of petrol or diesel - words fail!
659.
|
I wouldn't sniff fuel pumps because it looks dodgy! Always best to look at the ppl displays where available.
--------------
Mike Farrow
|
But that provides no protection from the tanker driver discharging his load into the wrong tank. I don't care if it looks dodgy - I like simple ways to avoid trouble (and in this case possible huge expense).
659.
|
|
"...I wouldn't sniff fuel pumps because it looks dodgy.." - not just dodgy-looking - try a Google search on "petrol+diesel+ carcinogenic".
|
petrol+diesel+ carcinogenic
And so is eating sugar if you eat enough! Time to worry about something important, people.
|
|
|
"...I wouldn't sniff fuel pumps because it looks dodgy.." - not just dodgy-looking - try a Google search on "petrol+diesel+ carcinogenic".
Now that is real scaremongering. I bet you wouldn't hesitate to smell a bottle to know whether it contained alcohol or vinegar? Just about as dangerous - unless you have a fag in the mouth maybe.
|
|
Smelling alcohol or vinegar is dangerous? Since when? Unless there is reason to believe in the bottle may contain some hazardous substance. Otherwise we might all be well advised to stay away from drunks and local fish and chip shop.
|
|
sorry, machika - you got the wrong end of my stick :-) . I was trying to say that sniffing petrol or diesel was as dangerous as sniffing vinegar - as long as you don't do it 24/7, of course.
|
|
|
|
|
|
