Today at petrol station

[jayjay]

Ive never had any issues with staff at petrol stations. But was very surprised to hear some pretty offensive and humiliating tones today so wanted to say,
If ever your at a petrol station and for whatever reason realise you cannot pay there and then. Do not allow yourself to be instantly humiliated by the staff at the petrol station. They may claim. "you pay now or you'll get arrested"
"your car cannot move"
" you must get someone to come here and pay for you"
"not our problem, read the signs, if you leave without paying for fuel you'll be arrested"
Now I'm skint at the mo, so I feel for the guy in front of me. And annoyed by the intimidating tone being directed at this very apologetic customer, I intervene. I say to this guy. It's ok, there trying to intimidate you. There is no truth in what there saying. I ask the guy when he can pay. He says next week when he gets paid. So I tell him to offer them that. Manager realising I know a little says to me, "no he has to pay by tomorrow at the latest. It even says so on our forms look" and shows me a form. So I tell him that's his problem what it says on his form. I tell the guy to fill the form in. Write on it you'll the pay the outstanding amount next week. And then drive away. Come back here next week and pay.
I remind manager, those signs at petrol stations are directed at thieves. manager agrees with repayment, Tells bloke to reattend the next week and pay for his fuel. Bloke agrees and drives off.
Rubbish story but hey. One up for the little man.

[BigG]

Had s similar problem once, told them id be able to pay later that afternoon when the mrs finished work, was told no your van connot leave the forecourt til its payed, im not going to go into what was said but suffice to say one lost ones temper and my van DID leave said forecourt, they were paid later that evening knowing full well they had no right whatsoever to hold my vehicle.
Boils my piss when places like these decide to make there own rules and laws up, almost as much as a lot of emp`loyers do nowadays because people are so scared to loise their jobs.

[jayjay]

They went for this guys jugular from the word go. He started to go down the ok ill leave my car here route because he couldn't pay. I understand loads of petrol gets nicked, but threatening to get someone arrested repeatedly when there is zero foundation was beyond me.

[Anne (fuzzy)]

Employers, they really put my back up. They treat their staff however they flaming well please as there's so little employment around, they know the chance of you finding another job is practically zero. They really take advantage of it too, treat everyone like skivvy's expecting twice the work for the same rate of pay.
If you leave because you can't take any more, there's a queue of unemployed who can't wait to take your place and the employer can choose the cream of the crop. Makes my blood boil.
/Rant.

[boo]

Am I missing something?

Why did the guy get petrol if he couldn't pay for it?

[farzooks]

So, this guy went into the petrol station KNOWING he couldn't pay?
Desperate, just desperate, and he must have known the likely shote he was about to get fired at him.
I'm on both sides - I feel sorry for the guy (assuming he's not just a chancer) and sorry for the petrol station owners. They get ripped off several times a week.

A similar thing happened to me - once by accident when I filled up and to my horror realised that I'd left my wallet and chequebook at home (this was back in the days when cheques were normal). The PS owner asked me to leave my newly-acquired wristwatch as some sort of security.
Years later, at the other end of the country, my employer asked me to carry on a journey and collect an item to bring back to base. I had no money on me at all and was running out of fuel two hundred miles from home. Luckily, a PS owner listened to my story, allowed me to phone my employer who used his credit card over the phone and paid for a tankful.
So, they're not all bastards, but they do get sick of being ripped off.

[nicky]

I was about to say that Boo.

Quite agree there is a way of speaking to people and there was no need to talk down to the guy, but he was wrong going to the petrol station knowing full well he couldn't pay.

[lunerdog]

Unless he'd overspent using his card and hadn't realised

[boo]

But im assuming that'd only be a few pence at the most surely?

I just got the impression that the guy filled his car knowing full well he couldn't pay for it, which just aint on! And I can sort of understand why the employee got shirty, it'd be their arses that'd get verbally kicked by the petrol station's owner if the takings don't tally!

[lunerdog]

If he'd filled up knowing full well that he couldn't pay for it he deserved a kick in the you know where's.

But if he's overspent elsewhere without realising it or a payment hadn't gone into his account he could have been left high and dry without realising it.

I've had to bail a mate out for making the same mistake before.

[boo]

Dunno, not sure whether it's cause im particularly hardfaced or what, but I'm finding it hard to have sympathy. There's many a time we've been uncertain whether we've money in our account before we fill up with petrol, and we've withdrawn the money beforehand to make sure we have it.

Like I said ,there could be a simple honest mistake im just not getting or I really am a cow, but I'm just not getting why this guy deserves sympathy - sorry.

[lynwlt]

This is strange....

He fills up with petrol that he can't afford to pay for until next week?

Policy locally is that one has 24 hours to return and pay. Failure to do so is reported to the police for possible prosecution.

[lunerdog]

Its a mistake I wouldn't make myself as I've seen people stood at checkouts etc when their card has been refused and I never want to be in that position.

I usually still go and grab cash out of a machine as I'm always happier knowing theres a few quid in my pocket.

And now Barclays are trying to push a dratted mobile phone app at me that means I can pay people by using their phone number, no thanks.

[jayjay]

Had he known he had no money in the first place, then that would have been different. An offence may have occured. However, from standing behind this guy, it was like a lamb to the slaughter and as far as I was concerned no need to bully and intimidate the guy and speak to him in such manner. Its the way they spoke to him that got my back up. Everyone has there own thoughts, but the manner they spoke to him was in my opinion, completely over the top. He says he was unaware his cash had gone down so much. I've been in that situation too, so I could understand him. But regardless, I personally wouldn't speak to anyone like they spoke to him.
The 24 hour thing is probably true. The petrol station probably will call police after 24 hours, police will see their comments in that reporting form that they will pay in a week, police will then say, call us again in a week IF HE DONT TURN UP.

[Malibu]

Most petrol stations also take a record of every registration mark that goes through, so they ( the police) also have the address of the registered owner.

If the vehicle is a stolen one they don't usually go in to pay, it's just a drive off. It's amazing how the same people every month realise they can't pay though and use it like a ticky sheet, names in book every month