Gloomsbury (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} sankalpa) wrote in ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif){kind=small} bangalore,@ 2006-01-31 16:48:00 |
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Fraud at Petrol Bunks in Bangalore
Last Saturday (28 Jan 2006), I went to fill fuel in my vehicle, from Vinod Auto Service in Frazer Town, Bangalore. The petrol station is a branded BP outlet.
I asked for Rs. 1,000 worth of petrol. I mentioned this loudly, and clearly twice. Meanwhile, one of the attendants engaged me in a conversation regarding whether I required Speed or Normal petrol, and pointed to a hoarding which mentioned some scheme being run by Standard Chartered Bank. While I was distracted, the other attendant had keyed in Rs. 200 as the amount on the display panel - and had supposedly filled my tank for this amount while I was speaking with his colleague.
When I mentioned that there was no litre reading on the display, he simply said that the petrol had already been filled. This had happened to me once before, and I knew that I'd been duped.
I checked my fuel gauge and realized that only around 15 litres had been filled, instead of 20. I went back after an hour and confronted the manager at the petrol bunk. He appeared angry with the employees who'd done this, and motioned to them to fill the balance amount in my tank; however he didn't seem surprised by the nature of the complaint, suggesting that he was aware that this was an ongoing issue.
I'm sure that this is a prevalent practice across outlets and companies. I've written to BP about this malpractice, and am awaiting their response. If you've had a similar experience, write about it here, so that we can get the authorities to wake up to the situation. Until then, whenever you fill fuel, I'd suggest you focus on the display panel at all times, and avoid getting dragged into idle banter by attendants.
Last Saturday (28 Jan 2006), I went to fill fuel in my vehicle, from Vinod Auto Service in Frazer Town, Bangalore. The petrol station is a branded BP outlet.
I asked for Rs. 1,000 worth of petrol. I mentioned this loudly, and clearly twice. Meanwhile, one of the attendants engaged me in a conversation regarding whether I required Speed or Normal petrol, and pointed to a hoarding which mentioned some scheme being run by Standard Chartered Bank. While I was distracted, the other attendant had keyed in Rs. 200 as the amount on the display panel - and had supposedly filled my tank for this amount while I was speaking with his colleague.
When I mentioned that there was no litre reading on the display, he simply said that the petrol had already been filled. This had happened to me once before, and I knew that I'd been duped.
I checked my fuel gauge and realized that only around 15 litres had been filled, instead of 20. I went back after an hour and confronted the manager at the petrol bunk. He appeared angry with the employees who'd done this, and motioned to them to fill the balance amount in my tank; however he didn't seem surprised by the nature of the complaint, suggesting that he was aware that this was an ongoing issue.
I'm sure that this is a prevalent practice across outlets and companies. I've written to BP about this malpractice, and am awaiting their response. If you've had a similar experience, write about it here, so that we can get the authorities to wake up to the situation. Until then, whenever you fill fuel, I'd suggest you focus on the display panel at all times, and avoid getting dragged into idle banter by attendants.
