This is a question to you and your readers. I have noticed recently that it seems to be impossible to put the desired amount (by price) of diesel into my vehicle at more than one local filling station. I know this sounds odd but let me explain.

I regularly stop for fuel at various (usually local) filling stations. I always put in £30 or £40 worth of diesel. For some time now I have found that at a couple of newly refurbished BP stations no matter how careful I am I cannot stop the counter on exactly £30 or £40 pounds as it always goes to one pence over. I realise that the high cost of fuel means that the delivery is subsequently quicker in relation to price but I also think that the flow rate has been altered at a lot of stations to account for this.

The odd thing is that as I slow down for the last 10 pence worth getting towards the round £10 mark the penny points are perfectly controllable until I get to .99. Then no matter how steady I am it will not settle on .00 and jumps to .01.

I know this seems very trivial and you are probably all thinking I am a little mad! But surely if one wants to spend a certain amount one should be able to do so?

I wonder if the electronics in the delivery system of the pump are purposely making you deliver an extra penny of fuel so that if paying with cash, the counter staff will have to open the till to give change? I know this is the case in many shops which is why items are annoyingly priced at slightly under a pound so the cashier has to register the sale by opening the till to give change therefore lessening the chance of cash being pocketed.

Although I pay by card this wont be known until I present it at the counter. I think I will experiment by paying by card at the pump to see if the same thing happens.

Whilst on the subject, please remind your readers to always request a receipt when paying by cash for fuel. A friend of mine was woken up early in the morning and questioned by police a couple of years ago for supposedly driving off without paying for fuel. He knows he was innocent and was never taken to court as the CCTV footage from inside the shop had mysteriously gone missing for that particular morning when the questioning was turned back on the garage.