Off to Brittany soon for a fortnight. Last year I found my credit card wouldn't work at the automated pumps and had to fill up at supermarkets with a manned kiosk. Does anybody have any recent experiences, I was wondering whether it was a "blip" or if the pumps don't recognize certain cards? I have Switch/Maestro, Mastercard and Visa - hopefully one of them will work!
Cheers
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I always use manned petrol stations anyway: less chance of one of the ungodly letting air out of your tyres and later robbing you is my (perhaps over-cautious) reasoning.
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I always use manned petrol stations anyway: less chance of one of the ungodly letting air out of your tyres and later robbing you is my (perhaps over-cautious) reasoning.
Does this happen often?
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I have had no problem using my Nationwide credit card this year in automated pumps in France, some machines had signs that said "Maestro" cards don't work. All my cards also worked in the "CB" toll booths.
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our chip and pin system was not compatible with the French system, but gradually French pumps etc are being upgraded. I would say that you shouldn't rely on your card working, and fill up at manned stations whenever possible.
Toll booths do accept UK cards with no problems and have done for a while.
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I drove through France in early June. Everywhere I used my Visa card I was asked to enter my PIN.
I think most garages, service stations, etc. have updated their card readers to accept UK chip and pin now. I used the Carte Bleue toll booths and it worked fine there too - saved loads of time compared to queuing at the manned booths.
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I used a Post Office Mastercard in late June that was accepted without trouble at either the manned or unmanned stations I used, all asking for my PIN. There were a couple of hotels that took a while for the payment to be processed, but it still worked. Highly recommend the PO card for a foreign trip as there is no loading for overseas purchases (Nationwide is the same) so all conversions would be at a rate of about 1.47 right now.
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Also in June, Bank of Scotland Mastercard did not work in the unmanned stations in the Auvergne at least. In short, don't rely on getting a UK credit card to work on a Sunday and fill up on a Saturday night or get to a Champion or Intermarché on Sunday morning while they are still manned.
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We had never been able to get our cards to work in any automated machine anywhere in Europe, so admittedly we haven't tried for a number of years. The fact that we couldn't even understand the instructions didn't help in Sweden....
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Some of the cheaper cash and carry type stations use their own special card too, and it is not always clear to the foreigner that this is the case.
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I couldn't use my C&P to buy "automatic petrol" in February. This is a known problem with UK cards.
Otherwise, no problem. Great for the motorway tolls.
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Hit and miss in my experience. Most proper petrol stations seem to work. some of the ones at supermarkets dont. (especially the ones who have a symbol a bit like a musketeer - cant off hand remember the name) I find that if it looks like a normal fuel pump I'm fine. If its one of those big white contraptions it wont.
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Think you mean Intermarche.
I reckon, just to avoid disappointment or problems, it's best to regard any sort of 24-hour pump away from the Channel ports area as a no-go for UK chip and pin cards.
The good news is that ordinary French filling stations in towns are starting to be open later and on Sundays, too.
And ELF petrol generally costs about the same as at the supermarket. A bit weird because Total costs up to 10 cents a litre more and it's the same fuel.
BTW, I have never had any problem with French supermarket petrol although I wouldn't use it in the UK, following several odd incidents.
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>>BTW, I have never had any problem with French supermarket petrolalthough I wouldn't use it in the UK, following several odd incidents.
That's a bit like retsina tasting revolting when you get it home, is it?
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Not really - it tastes revolting in Greece as well.
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There's an Esso in Cherbourg by the port which takes our cards (mind you it took me 3 attempts to get the sequence of events right). Other than that I have found no station takes our cards in the pump yet.
The Elfs on the main roads are open late (10pm) and are very good value.
There is an Elf on the N12 as you approach St Brieuc after Lamballe.
I had 10 litres of spare petrol with me everywhere I went. Hide it from the boat people and customs though otherwise they may try to take it off you.
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I had 10 litres of spare petrol with me everywhere
-please post your registration number so we can all avoid getting in the same queue for the shuttle!
--
pmh (was peter)
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Cash or a Post Office Electron Visa Card (unscammable as well).
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>>I had 10 litres of spare petrol with me everywhere I went. Hide it from the boat people and customs though otherwise they may try to take it off you.
Idiot.
Hard as I may try, I cannot think of anything kinder to say. Kill yourself by all means, but do it somewhere away from the rest of us.
IMO, anybody who drives anywhere (in the civilised world) with petrol in the boot is a fool. Car designers go to a lot of effort to design petrol tanks that don't fracture int he event of an accident... and then you have a couple of gallons floating about in the boot with the lid not quite on, smoke a ciggy and have a prang.
That said, a friend has an imprezza (non turbo). It has such a shockingly small range on a full tank that I understand why he carries a can.
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You're the idiot, along with all the other people who seem to think carrying petrol in a tightly sealed can specifically designed to keep petrol in has suddenly become a dangerous practice in recent years.
Why did I know that posting that would bring out all the safety worms from the woodwork?
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I had 10 litres of spare petrol with me everywhere I went. Hide it from the boat people and customs though otherwise they may try to take it off you.
When I had the RS2 it had a range of about 220km if I drove the car as intended. Therefore I used to carry a 10 ltr metal can which I kept full at all times.
I don't know about the ferry companies but customs have no objections whatsoever and the tunnel will let you on as long as it's a decent EU approved item, I was told 2x10 ltr cans were permissable. At least they used to a few years ago, maybe enhanced security has seen them banned?
I don't see how a well stowed metal petrol which is kept full represents any sort of danger myself.
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I was in France late last year and neither my HSBC Maestro or my HSBC Mastercard worked at the automated pumps. Had to go in and use a manned kiosk where the Mastercard worked first time (didn't try the Maestro)
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I carry petrol (or diesel to be accurate) in a container with me at all times when I drive. The container is underneath the car. It's called a fuel tank and is unfortunately always going to be flammable until we run cars on water.
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I don't like carrying petrol much, although I have a proper can. But how else do I collect fuel for the garden equipment? Siphon it from the car? Now there's dangerous...
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>>I don't see how a well stowed metal petrol which is kept full represents any sort of danger myself.
Because it is inside the car, not outside. In an accident you are more likely to end up incinerating yourself.
I must confess I cannot see why carrying petrol on a ferry is banned, but it is, and I dare say somebody came up with a convincing reason. The above-mentioned imprezza was caught trying to take a can onto the ferry, and its driver was made to empty it into the fuel tank.
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I have a Visa card issued in Luxembourg and I have never been able to use it in Esso automated stations in France. I tried in Alsace, in the Calais region and in the south of France but the card was rejected each time. Now I stick to manned petrol stations and never have problems with Visa, Mastercard or Maestro.
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