I realised I must normally buy petrol in a daze - I just push the buttons on the card reader and pocket the slip. This morning I was caught out. Walking back to the car I realised the amount seemed higher than I had expected, and it was. The amount displayed on the pump was £12 lower than the amount I had just paid.
Going back in and querying it, the cashier was at first at a loss to see what had gone wrong. Then it emerged that in fact everybody's bills that morning had been wrong. Something had got out of sync, so I was paying the previous person's bill, he had paid the customer's before, and so on, back to some glitch way back that had started it all.
It's strange that this can happen, but there seemed to be no other explanation. When he called upmy first (higher) bill, it was still showing as unpaid. If I hadn't queried it the next customer would have paid it, and so on.
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Sounds odd though mistake can happen.
I find checking bill for fuel is much easier. Just check the amount at pump and check when it shows in the credit card terminal.
I find it more likely to happen during supermarket shopping. Too many items to check for and unless total amount is too far out very likely to be missed if individual items where over/under charged.
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Cashier's name wasn't Ronnie, was it?
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>>Cashier's name wasn't Ronnie, was it?<<
^ I'm with this geezer (I used to work in a petrol filling station!)
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Doesnt happen if you pay at pump, beats standing in a queue aswell.
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>> Doesnt happen if you pay at pump, beats standing in a queue aswell.
All very well until you get the 5p off a litre coupon and you have to join the great unwashed queue of people who also have 5p off coupons.
Last edited by: VxFan on Fri 14 Dec 12 at 13:09
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I usually pay at pump and despite not needing a receipt always get one and tuck it into the car documents for a few days... just in case of the million to one grinding to a halt with duff fuel situation.
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Similar happened to me many years ago - someone in front had told them to wrong pump and had paid for my fuel. Can't remember exactly how it was sorted but their solution partly involved me paying for their fuel and then difference refunded. I needed a valid receipt for expenses etc. so made them sort it out properly (whilst the queue formed).
I buy fuel at Tesco because (a) we're meant to get the cheapest if possible, (b) I collect clubcard points. And sometimes get the 5p off voucher - have one at the moment. And at the end of next week I'll need almost a full tank.
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>> I buy fuel at Tesco because (a) we're meant to get the cheapest if possible,
BUZZZZZZZZZ FAIL!
Tesco will charge you the highest the local market will stand, and even rise the price as part of a local cartel.
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But they are as cheap or often cheaper than all in my area. I'm not going out of my area to buy cheaper fuel as that is no saving.
So it's not a fail.
And we are encouraged to buy fuel at a supermarket - Tesco has the nearest petrol filling station at a supermarket for me. A supermarket I do most of the food shopping at.
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>> I usually pay at pump and despite not needing a receipt always get one
Some people are unaware that if the Tesco pump you've just used doesn't give you a receipt, you can print one from another pump instead by chosing the option on the screen and inserting the card you paid with.
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>> >> I usually pay at pump and despite not needing a receipt always get one
>>
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>> Some people are unaware that if the Tesco pump you've just used doesn't give you
>> a receipt, you can print one from another pump instead by chosing the option on
>> the screen and inserting the card you paid with.
>>
Me, for one. Thanks for the tip.
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I would think just about everybody is unaware of that. How on earth did you find out?
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Someone must have told him I assume, as in staff. I never knew this either. But I've not used Pay@Pump for ages because my fuel card couldn't be used at the pump. Not checked if that has changed to be honest - you can usually enter reg/mileage using the keyboard under a flap can't you.
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>> Someone must have told him I assume, as in staff.
Correct. I went into the kiosk because I didn't get a receipt and the girl inside showed me. You don't even have to enter your PIN either.
I always wondered what the option "reprint your receipt" meant on the display. Why would you want to reprint it if you'd already had one? So now you know.
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I thought there was a 'reprint' option on them - not used in probably 5 years though! (Mazda 6 = 4 years, Passat CC = 1 year). I had assumed it was because it failed to print a receipt for you and not to print a receipt from another pump.
I've seen people go into our local Tesco station and get handwritten receipts. I once went in early 2006 to check I'd not topped up my Mondeo with petrol somehow when it died in a weird way (making quaking sounds when you tried to restart it!)... it was an EGR failure but it was a stressful time for us with an illness in the family.
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Here you go.
www.tesco.com/petrolstation/
Many of our sites feature a PayatPump only lane to help you beat the queues the moment you enter the forecourt.
You can get a VAT receipt directly from the pump.
If the printer unfortunately fails, you can go over to any other PayatPump terminal on the forecourt and request a reprint.
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>> I would think just about everybody is unaware of that. How on earth did you
>> find out?
>>
Experiment?
I've always wanted to try taking a tin of baked beans into B&Q to see what the barcode reader makes of it.
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Prepared to suffer being in the same queue as you Dave for 5 p off a litre.
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>>All very well until you get the 5p off a litre coupon and you have to join the great unwashed queue of people who also have 5p off coupons <<
You only get them if you are spending too much on food and since I spend £35 a week on food - Im not going to spend more in store to get a voucher to save about £1.30 and have to queue up for the privilege :-/
Last edited by: FoR on Fri 14 Dec 12 at 15:20
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I get money off with my new Shell drivers card and it also gives me money off in Waitrose, Waitrose staff also usally bung me a load of 5p off Shell fuel coupons when the offer is on for 'free' (obviously I've bought something first but it could only be £10 of food).
Last edited by: Rudedog on Fri 14 Dec 12 at 16:19
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>>since I spend £35 a week on food <<
If that's for two of you, I'd love to know how you manage to do that Stu!
Pat
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>>since I spend £35 a week on food
>>If that's for two of you, I'd love to know how you manage to do that Stu!
So would I.That's only the price of a kilo of decent fillet steak :-)
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You're going to struggle with that in most households if that's the total spent. Or I would anyway - and I do most of the food shopping so my wife might spend less I suppose. But when I started to originally go with her to the supermarket a long time ago... a weekly shop then was at least £80-90 with more bought to topup (family of 4).
We then did Tesco Online shopping for ages and I reverted to shopping more frequently because we couldn't plan ahead easily with teenage sons!
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>>If that's for two of you, I'd love to know how you manage to do that Stu!<<
For one, my wife doesnt do the shopping :-p
That is all food and household items inc. The budget is £40 a week but we try to underspend and yes, it is getting harder.
There are a few rules - dont be a label snob, go heavy on veg and carbs they are cheaper, use soups as a source of meat, plan all meals in advance, buy alot of tinned food, dont shop when you are hungry, use fresh veg but keep on hand frozen veg as it keeps if you overbuy. I also check online what good offers they have before I go so I know what to look for.
I manage to fill a large Tesco trolley each week easily and I admit to a certain smugness when I wheel out my haul because I know Tesco secretly hate me for not spending £80+ like most people seem to.
An example of a meal we have - some potato croquets, 3 each 30p, broccali 50p, carrots 20p, Heinz Steak & potato soup thickened with gravy mix £1.50. So that is a healthy and I can assure very tasty meal for two at £1.25 each.
Or - Mince £1.75 mix in with oxtail soup 60p and onions 50p, two jacket potatoes 70p, carrots 20p - about £1.90 each.
We eat to our budget, but we dont starve by any means :-)
Last edited by: FoR on Fri 14 Dec 12 at 18:39
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We don't spend a lot more than that, the secret is not to buy "value added" food like processed ready meals and take aways. Buy the ingredients and cook it yourself works for us.
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Fuel. Need it. Buy it. Move on immediately to next job/earn. Can't be fuffing about with pence.
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.
Last edited by: Old Navy on Fri 14 Dec 12 at 21:11
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The forecourt shenanigans in the OP sound fishy, well spotted.
I'm a pay at pump fan if petrol/Diesel, specialist supplier for LPG which is a very old fashioned place despite being 90% Polish staffed, and they fill the car for you, two LPG cars now..;)
Supermarket food shopping wise, we eat very well for remarkably little because we take advantage of the bogofs and the like, have recently half filled one freezer with less than half price beef pork and lamb joints, and as above buy fresh foods and cook them ourselves.
Its bemusing to observe some peoples shopping habits, the piled trolley-fulls of overpriced unhealthy tat they buy, including mediocre ready meals, is staggering.
Get cleaning chemicals etc from Lidl, twice as much for less cost and they work.
Only buy from Tesco if its a giveaway, like the 2 half price legs of lamb SWMBO picked up this morning.
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>>Get cleaning chemicals etc from Lidl, twice as much for less cost and they work.<<
For general cleaning I use washing up liquid in a re-useable spray bottle, much cheaper than shop bought sprays and just as useful in most situations.
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>> For general cleaning I use washing up liquid in a re-useable spray bottle, much cheaper
>> than shop bought sprays and just as useful in most situations.
That explains the tide mark pointed out with glee when showing just how mucky my leather seats were...::-)))
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>>That explains the tide mark pointed out with glee when showing just how mucky my leather seats were...::-))) <<
It almost looked like a re-trim, some people pay alotta money for leather that nice looking :-)
Expensive cleaners bug me, I use Tesco Value washing up liquid in a spray bottle which lasts about 6 months for about 33p plus a bit of water. Couldnt make it much cheaper.
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>> Something had got out of sync, so I was paying the previous person's bill
Nearly got caught out like this last week. Work has a local account at the nearest petrol station, I filled up there with 100-odd litres next to a chap filling an artic. He was already filling it when I arrived and still going when I finished up and went in to sign. It was only by chance that I noticed the till screen showing £700 just before I signed the docket - the trucker was filling his second tank and the cashier had mistakenly tried to charge me for his first one. That would have taken some explaining.
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Check your fuel bill - movilogo
