A supermarket chain is facing demands for payouts to be given to motorists after a fuel pump mix-up left them with potential repair bills of up to £3,000.
Many drivers have experienced serious issues at the Morrisons petrol station in Tiverton, Devon, after inadvertently filling up their vehicles with the incorrect fuel.
After numerous motorists had filled up, it was discovered that the petrol pump was dispensing diesel – and vice versa.
As a result, motorists left the service station completely oblivious that they had the wrong fuel in their engines, which led to some experiencing breakdowns soon afterwards.
Many drivers are now responsible for paying for costly repairs.
Among them, forklift driver Graham Stevens was given a repair bill of £2,800 after he filled the tank in his Vauxhall Insignia estate with unleaded petrol, instead of diesel.
He told BBC News: ‘I put in £50 of what I thought was diesel. I live just a minute away, so I didn’t notice anything wrong at first. But when I set off for work early the next morning, the car started spluttering and eventually died.’
He was then told that the fuel injectors in the car’s engine were blocked due to contamination from the petrol after his visit there on September 26.
Motor Fuel Group (MFG), which owns the petrol station, admitted to Graham that the mistake was their fault.
However, Graham said he was told not to contact them again and has yet to hear from their insurance company, despite promises from MFG.
Graham said he cannot afford the repairs needed.
Now the supermarket chain is facing demands to compensate the motorists who have been affected.
Taking to Facebook, one person wrote: ‘Customers should be compensated for their error.’
Another commented the incident was ‘shocking’, adding: ‘I wonder how much it will cost them to put right!’
Another wrote: ‘Give the supermarket the bill. They will have to pay.’
And another said: ‘Drivers not facing any bill. Morrisons are.’
But on a local Facebook page, numerous people pointed out that MFG now owns the station and not Morrisons.
More motorists took to the same Facebook group to share their experiences after filling up at the petrol station.
One mother said both her car and her daughter’s car were affected.
Susan Trudgill wrote: ‘Both my Daughter and my car broke down, have had to hire a rental and just got 1 car back from garage repairs costing £108. Plus rental £220, still one car to go. Not happy.’
Another wrote: ‘Happened to my car, had to abandon it at the side of a road, and it cannot start up. Filled up a whole tank pretty much…’
One driver claimed it is not the first time the mix-up has happened at the garage.
They said: ‘Happened to me October last year. I put 30 quids’ worth of diesel in and got home, and my car was running rough. Took it to the garage and was told there was petrol in the tank.. It cost me over 3k to fix.’
Morrisons and MFG have been approached for comment.
The company should have the appropriate insurance to cover this, and if they don’t, they will likely go into liquidation.
Motor Fuel Group (MFG) owns the former Morrisons petrol stations after a £2.5 billion deal was finalised in April 2024.
Morrisons has a minority 20 per cent stake in MFG, and both companies have a strategic partnership, meaning you can still see the Morrisons brand at many of the sites.
The deal also included more than 400 associated sites for developing ultra-rapid EV charging infrastructure.
There is no question about it. MFG own the petrol station, it was their error, so they need to compensate these people that have been affected without hesitation – they messed up, so just pay up!
Multiple checks are done at petrol stations when fuel is delivered by tankers. Clearly, in this case, they failed miserably, and the drivers should bear no responsibility.
It was MFG’s responsibility to ensure the pumps were dispensing the correct fuel, and as a consumer, you have the right to the product you paid for; otherwise, this is a clear misrepresentation from the seller.
This is a consumer rights issue. Goods sold must be of merchantable quality and as described, and the vendor is responsible if they’re not and cause loss for the consumer.
In this case, diesel was sold as petrol and vice versa, so not as described, and it did cause damage because it was not of merchantable quality, and as such, those affected should be compensated by the vendor.
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