Motoring Discussion > No money for petrol - car as collateral?	Miscellaneous
Thread Author: Dr Prunesqualler	Replies: 42

Thu 28 Oct 10 13:45   No money for petrol - car as collateral? - Dr Prunesqualler

I was in a petrol station at Manchester Airport the other day filling up with fuel. There was a fairly prominently displayed sign to the effect that if you did not have the money to pay for the fuel you would be 'required' to leave your car and come back with the money. Apart from the obvious question about how, if you have no car and no wallet, you are expected to get the cash i did wonder if they couold actually do this. My gut feeling is that would have no right to do this and that if it came to it and the police became invloved the word 'extortion' or similar may be used. It does seem unreasonable to be expected to leave an asset worth many thousands of pounds as surity for £70 worth of petrol. Any views? Reply to this message | Report message

Thu 28 Oct 10 14:04   No money for petrol - car as collateral? - kb

Well I suppose you'd get on the phone to call someone to help you out, or call a taxi to take you to whever you need to go. If none of this is an option then you'd have plenty time to reflect upon your mistake. I, for one, whilst not being perfect, don't want the cost of my petrol bill increased by people who don't / can't / won't pay for their petrol. How do other petrol stations manage this? The chance of trusting to the customers honesty and promising to return to pay for the fuel is....open to debate, I'd say. Reply to this message | Report message

Thu 28 Oct 10 14:11   No money for petrol - car as collateral? - Dwight Van Driver

Errrmmmmmmmm Shirley this is a civil debt and Garage no right to detain car......... But 999 and there is a burgher here who is making off without payment.????? E-aw e-aw -eaw...... DVD remedy: Always check your wallet before operating pump. Even I fell foul one day and left wallet at home. Explained to cashier who accepted my explanation, allowed me to return home and within 10 mins I was back and monies paid. dvd Reply to this message | Report message

Thu 28 Oct 10 19:13   No money for petrol - car as collateral? - Dr Prunesqualler

A few weeks ago my boss drove off from the local supermarket without paying for her fuel. A total mistake - she was pre-occupoed with something. & just drove off. First she heard about it was when the poice called her the following day to ask if she had filled up her car etc. Totally mortified she beetled off to the petrol station and paid up promptly. No further action. Now, if I had forgotten my wallet and they tried to impound my car it would indeed be a phone call to 999 but it would not be them making it. If was trying to evade payment i would not go into the office to explain but would be off asap. Reply to this message | Report message

Thu 28 Oct 10 22:15   No money for petrol - car as collateral? - FotheringtonTomas

That's nice. Reply to this message | Report message

Thu 28 Oct 10 14:14   No money for petrol - car as collateral? - Bromptonaut

Theft requires intent to permanently deprive. I think in most cases a combination of CCTV/ANPR and proof of id from the apologetic driver would buy one the opportunity to go home and get a card etc. They can still report it to the police later and will be no worse position than with a 'drive off'. There was a thread on HJ on this subject and I think somebody had got it sorted as above. In the OP's case I suspect the location at MIA is a factor. They'll get far more than their fair share of both the genuine 'mugged in malaga' cases and the feckless skint who spent their caash & maxed out their cards on hols. Last edited by: Bromptonaut on Thu 28 Oct 10 at 14:16 Reply to this message | Report message

Thu 28 Oct 10 14:24   No money for petrol - car as collateral? - Iffy

...Theft requires intent to permanently deprive... Yes, the average drive-off - or bilker - will not enter into discussions with the cashier about how the fuel can be paid for. I suppose it's possible the cashier will call the police after you leave, but even if you are stopped, I can't see it going very far. You are who you say you are, the car is legal, and you are trying to sort out an understandable problem in a sensible way. Reply to this message | Report message

Thu 28 Oct 10 14:25   No money for petrol - car as collateral? - bathtub tom

I did the same as DVD. I offered to leave my watch/wedding ring as a deposit, but they declined. They explained that if I'd intended to drive off, then I was unlikely to explain first and they'd got my registration number and ugly mug on CCTV anyway! Reply to this message | Report message

Thu 28 Oct 10 14:34   No money for petrol - car as collateral? - Dwight Van Driver

Agreed Iffy and Brompton - Not theft and making off under Theft Act has been replaced with section 11 Fraud Act 2006... dvd Reply to this message | Report message

Thu 28 Oct 10 16:25   No money for petrol - car as collateral? - Tigger

Having done this once, I now leave a little money hidden in the car. Reply to this message | Report message

Thu 28 Oct 10 16:35   No money for petrol - car as collateral? - R.P.

Iffy - given your parking charge experience we won't expect you to go and test this ! Reply to this message | Report message

Thu 28 Oct 10 17:21   No money for petrol - car as collateral? - FotheringtonTomas

I have seen on notices at the pump: "Leaving without paying is a criminal offence". It isn't (although it could be). Reply to this message | Report message

Thu 28 Oct 10 23:15   No money for petrol - car as collateral? - hawkeye

During our French hols this year I started filling up at the Super-U outside Contres while trying to read a lengthy notice on the pump. It said (in French) roughly that they would only accept Visa cards, making my new Post Office Mastercard useless. Owing to my slow progress through the French text, I had put about €20 in, so I moved the car out of the way and went to explain to the young lady at the till that Mrs H was in the shop with some cash; would mademoiselle like to hang on to my car keys until I got back? No she wouldn't; she would look forward to seeing me and some € in a very few minutes. Phew! No gendarmes involved and not a word of English spoken. Bon! Reply to this message | Report message

Thu 28 Oct 10 23:18   No money for petrol - car as collateral? - R.P.

The French are far more laid back than we are about money stuff... Reply to this message | Report message

Thu 28 Oct 10 17:19   No money for petrol - car as collateral? - FotheringtonTomas

Correct. Reply to this message | Report message

Thu 28 Oct 10 17:24   No money for petrol - car as collateral? - Stuu

I have a time honoured practice of having both the cash to the value of a fill up and my card on me whenever I fill up and I physically check both before I pick up the nozzle. If I cant manage that much, they can look after my car while I sort my mess out and get the money. Seems like a good way to make sure somebody makes the effort to pay their dues. Morally Im in agreement. Legally, thats someone elses area. Reply to this message | Report message

Thu 28 Oct 10 17:32   No money for petrol - car as collateral? - Runfer D'Hills

Having managed to drive towards Italy having forgotten my wallet ( thank goodness I know some people in Belgium ) and a year or two later found myself driving on to Belfast docks for a week's work having forgotten my wallet again, ( nice guy I know in Coleraine helped me out that time ) I now keep a spare credit card hidden in a cunning place in my car. Once every couple of months I fish it out and buy a tank of diesel with it just to keep it "live". Of course, I've never actually needed it since. Reply to this message | Report message

Thu 28 Oct 10 19:42   No money for petrol - car as collateral? - scousehonda

Twelve years ago (I know this because of the significance of the event) a new girlfriend who I had met a couple of weeks before was coming over to visit me for the first time (not that 'first time') and I was all of a doo-dah on the morning making sure that everything was spot-on. My preparations included ensuring that I had plenty of petrol in the tank (stop sniggering) and I called into my local Shell station to put the princely sum of £5 of 4 star into my Escort. You could get a decent amount of petrol for a fiver in those days but the reason that I chose that amount was because I only had one bluey in my pocket at the time. I then drove into town to do what had to be done (getting cash from the hole in the wall being job number one). To my horror I realised that I still had the lone fiver in my back pocket! I had driven off without paying. My first port of call was the Shell garage but on my way back there I got within a mile or so and was pulled over by a bizzy in a panda car. I explained what had happened and he accepted my explanation (if I was going to do a 'runner' it would be for more than a fiver) but it was a very unpleasant experience. By the way the new girlfriend then is now my wife. Reply to this message | Report message

Thu 28 Oct 10 19:46   No money for petrol - car as collateral? - R.P.

Ah a "bluey" not heard that in a few years ! Reply to this message | Report message

Thu 28 Oct 10 19:49   No money for petrol - car as collateral? - Zero

My son was filling up when the guy at the pump next to his did a drive off. His car was mistakenly fingered by the attendant. He got a letter, no less, from the local old bill asking him to go round to the garage and pay. He went with his receipt and no more was said. Reply to this message | Report message

Thu 28 Oct 10 23:32   No money for petrol - car as collateral? - Ted

I did a ride off on the bike. Called in on my way to a days volunteer work and stopped to put a fivers worth in. I only had a tenspot on me. Went in the shop, bought a Mars bar and a drink, gave them the tenner and pocketed the change. later i found I had over £8 in my pocket and realised they hadn't taken for the fuel. Spent a few hours wondering if they'd realised and got my number. Called back on the way home and admitted my mistake in not checking the change. They were trying to figure out where they had incurred a loss and were amazed that I had come back to pay. Didn't want to get home and find the fuzz on the doorstep for a fiver ! Ted Reply to this message | Report message

Thu 28 Oct 10 23:38   No money for petrol - car as collateral? - R.P.

The local garage did a cashback thing - filled the bike up and asked for 50 quid - the very nice owner kept me talking and only an hour later did I realise he'd not given me he cash - so back I went, he was quite sporting about it. Reply to this message | Report message

Thu 28 Oct 10 23:20   No money for petrol - car as collateral? - Zero

In the states you have to insert a credit card in the pump before it will work. Slight problem for a visitor, they only accept US issued cards, so you have to go to the cashier and prepay an amount, and they will authorise the pump. Drive offs? they don't have any - its impossible. Last edited by: Zero on Thu 28 Oct 10 at 23:20 Reply to this message | Report message

Thu 28 Oct 10 23:25   No money for petrol - car as collateral? - R.P.

They're very good with Brits (in Mustangs anyway) at garages - A winning smile and a little joke - no sense of humour in Fort Pierce though ! Reply to this message | Report message

Thu 28 Oct 10 23:38   No money for petrol - car as collateral? - Zero

it was a bit tougher for a Brit in a Sebring tourer. Reply to this message | Report message

Thu 28 Oct 10 23:39   No money for petrol - car as collateral? - R.P.

Oh - they got better write ups in a magazine I half inched in Florida. Reply to this message | Report message

Thu 28 Oct 10 23:45   No money for petrol - car as collateral? - Zero

2.7litres v6 twin cam 24 valves 185 horses and lazy as as a mule. Suprisingly good handler, but with bad scuttle shake (soft top) Last edited by: Zero on Thu 28 Oct 10 at 23:47 Reply to this message | Report message

Thu 28 Oct 10 23:51   No money for petrol - car as collateral? - R.P.

Ours was a lazy V6 as well - as solid as a rock despite being a softop - I'll post some pics once the MyDrive feature is activated. Where's your road trip story ? Reply to this message | Report message

Fri 29 Oct 10 02:36   No money for petrol - car as collateral? - Iffy

...as solid as a rock despite being a softop... That's because it's a Ford soft top, properly engineered, see? Reply to this message | Report message

Thu 28 Oct 10 23:26   No money for petrol - car as collateral? - BobbyG

In my supermarket days they just had a standard "inability to pay form" that got filled out with your details etc and signed for. Most then came back and paid. Back in my Safeway days they piloted credit card pumps at the Gyle in Edinburgh. One weekend every tank got emptied by Edinburgh taxi drivers who had found a way of scamming the credit card machine. They were blanked off immediately after that for months, if not years! Reply to this message | Report message

Thu 28 Oct 10 23:53   No money for petrol - car as collateral? - Bromptonaut

Bobby, that's pretty much how I'd hope the supermarkets would deal with it. There's no mileage either pragmatically or in customer service terms for treating folks who've forgotten their wallets as Crims. Were Safeway the first with 'Pay at Pump'? I wonder why it's not so common here as in France (where many sites seem unnatended outwith normal trading hours). And that means no staff from 12:30 to 14:00 as well as overnight!! Last edited by: Bromptonaut on Thu 28 Oct 10 at 23:54 Reply to this message | Report message

Thu 28 Oct 10 23:57   No money for petrol - car as collateral? - R.P.

Happened to me with Tesco - filled up the pool car, expired fuel card, no wallet - they were very nice about it filled out one of those forms you mentioned and I went back and paid the next day....even got my Tesco points. Reply to this message | Report message

Fri 29 Oct 10 01:03   No money for petrol - car as collateral? - Statistical Outlier

Z, I thought that they only took US issued cards as well. Turns out that most pumps are perfectly happy to take an international card if you just put in five zeros as your Zip. I've tried this on about 10 pumps so far using a UK Amex and have had a 100% success rate. Reply to this message | Report message

Fri 29 Oct 10 10:23   No money for petrol - car as collateral? - Fenlander

As has been said above if you fill up and find no means to pay don't stress. Go to the cashier and offer address/phone contact details, advise how you intend to pay (phoning in a card number, calling back, posting payment etc) and leave with your head held high. Don't stand for any accusations or threats. The other day in our local Tesco filling station a dodgy looking guy in a rough car had turned up to pay after failing to pay earlier and he was still £2 short. They quite politely asked him to call in with it soon... no fuss. On an associated matter I've commented for a while now how driving off could be easier to do these days. I'm so used to paying at pump with a card on the odd occasion when I intend to pay at the till it seems it might be easy to drive off forgetting to pay if distracted. BTW think I've mentioned before I worked nights at an A1 petrol station when once an American serviceman offered to leave his English girlfriend as a *deposit* while he made the 20 mile round trip to get some UK cash. Of course as a 19yr old this was a tempting offer! Last edited by: Fenlander on Fri 29 Oct 10 at 10:26 Reply to this message | Report message

Fri 29 Oct 10 10:33   No money for petrol - car as collateral? - R.P.

Lucky for her BBD didn't work there. Reply to this message | Report message

Fri 29 Oct 10 10:56   No money for petrol - car as collateral? - BiggerBadderDave

If he'd offered to leave his mother I might have been interested... Reply to this message | Report message

Fri 29 Oct 10 12:22   No money for petrol - car as collateral? - bathtub tom

>> If he'd offered to leave his mother I might have been interested... Most of us here would probably be more interested in his grandmother. ;>) Reply to this message | Report message

Fri 29 Oct 10 11:02   No money for petrol - car as collateral? - Pat

If it was the BP next to Kate's or the Shell at Wittering I've probably called in for a coffee! Pat Reply to this message | Report message

Fri 29 Oct 10 12:31   No money for petrol - car as collateral? - Fenlander

Pat it was the Heron service station where the B660 crosses the A1. Do you remember that in the days of the old A1? A really dangerous crossing. There was a bit of room for lorry parking and I looked after some drivers who would park up round the back... the regulars would get a morning wake up call and use of our washroom facilities. Reply to this message | Report message

Fri 29 Oct 10 13:01   No money for petrol - car as collateral? - Pat

I remember it well fenlander. There are still a few garages all over the country that allows those facilities. It's lovely for us because it's certainly safer than parking on a layby overnight, plus the toilet and alarm call. I think it's also a bit of added security for the night staff to have us around too. Pat Reply to this message | Report message

Fri 29 Oct 10 16:07   No money for petrol - car as collateral? - Glaikit Wee Scunner Snr. {P}

I'd no problems paying in the USA about 3 years ago so I must have used my UK Maestro or Mastercard. French pumps do not accept UK cards but the stores and humans do. Reply to this message | Report message

Fri 29 Oct 10 16:17   No money for petrol - car as collateral? - John H

USA - my experience this year was that some pumps accepted the card, some asked for your ZIP code in which case you had to go in to get the pump activated - although one cashier came out and showed me a trick to get around that and the trick worked only at a few pumps, one cashier insisted on keeping hold of the card and passport while I went outside to fill up, on all occasions payment worked just by swiping the card i.e. none ever required a signature or PIN. Reply to this message | Report message

Fri 29 Oct 10 17:26   No money for petrol - car as collateral? - CGNorwich

" French pumps do not accept UK cards" Might have been true a few years back before UK cards had chips but no problem now. Used my card in various supermarket and independant filling stations over the past few years with no problems. Autoroute tolls also accept UK cards. Reply to this message | Report message