Woman’s wrong fuel ‘nightmare’

A garage operator has come in for criticism from a Cresswell resident after the wrong fuel was put in her car due to an error by the garage.
By Andrew Coulson
Published 18th Aug 2021, 13:37 BST
Updated 19th Aug 2021, 09:36 BST
Sylvia Elliott’s car.Sylvia Elliott’s car.
Sylvia Elliott’s car.

Sylvia Elliott put what she thought was unleaded fuel into her car at the Stannington Service Station run by Penny Petroleum last Wednesday (August 11) morning, but after leaving the garage, her car started to stutter and she suspected it was a fuel issue.

She managed to get to her work office at nearby Netherton Park and her partner put a hose into the tank to confirm it was diesel fuel in the car.

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Sylvia said the phone number on the receipt and on the website was incorrect as they had yet to update to the new number and although she mentioned it when calling in at the garage on the way home, “no-one called me as promised on Thursday morning”.

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She added: “I called other garages to eventually get the right number for Stannington Service Station. I was then told to contact the area manager and was asked to contact a nearby garage that they use. Now late afternoon, the garage said they couldn’t sort it that day and the pool car has a fault so it was not available.

“I dropped off the keys and they then collected the car.

“The issue was eventually sorted before bringing my car round at about 3.30pm on Friday.

“There was no customer service as they should have tried to help me as quickly as possible. It has been an absolute nightmare and I was fortunate that I had my partner to help out.

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“I can't see why they would not say 'get a hire car and we'll cover the costs until the fuel issue is sorted and you get your car back'.

“I should be appropriately compensated for the inconvenience and stress of having to make alternative arrangements for the Thursday and Friday.”

A Penny Petroleum spokeswoman said: “Whilst we cannot comment on individual cases, good customer service is always at the top of our agenda.

“We aim to resolve issues that arise quickly and effectively by working directly with the individuals involved to bring the matter to a satisfactory conclusion for all parties.

“We are aware of a complaint that has been made and are currently in communication with the customer to resolve the matter.”