Took the works van to a petrol station insnip(no naming and shamming) at 2am for full tank of diesel for a nice old jolly to skipton.
Got to station found it had a closed sign but there were taxis filling up at the pumps, so i parked the van up in line and the attendent said no fuel were empty!
Still this guy is filling up the taxi so i said either serve me or it's trading standards in the morning i got fuel but what a snip cheek.
snip
Edited by Pugugly on 25/11/2009 at 17:50
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Thats not fair Pugugly you cut off the best bits and there not rude or offensive. just fact.
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What could Trading Standards do?
A business of any sort is within it's rights to refuse your custom, unless the reason involves racial/sexual discrimination etc.
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There were potentially offensive bits as well swear filter activation and clues as big as a Midsomer Murder as to who the operators are and the location of the Garage.
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There was a at least 4x cars waiting to be filled up all taxis stinks off something to me but i can't post that.
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There was a at least 4x cars waiting to be filled up all taxis stinks off something to me but i can't post that.
Somebody else's problem.
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no naming and shamming
Hm, I can see why not.
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Had a tanker just arrived for a delivery?
They tend to close down the forecourt whilst tankers are offloading fuel.
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No tanker just did not want to serve you if you did not drive a taxi.
Like i said stinks but no naming or shaming allowed.!
What could Trading Standards do? Probably nothing but saying it got me fuel at 2 AM it's hard work finding a station open in leeds.
Some kind of favoritism here i think..............
Edited by bigtee on 24/11/2009 at 23:23
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I don't get this why would they refuse your custom? snip
Slightly different but I have let my tank get too low knowing there is a nice easy to get to petrol station on the way back only to find it is shut and then having to go to the next one further down which is 3p a litre more expensive.
Edited by rtj70 on 25/11/2009 at 00:19
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The petrol station should be open to anybody at 2am most are in bed unless you work a silly night shift like me.!
Edited by smokie on 25/11/2009 at 07:20
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Very strange. The only explanation I could come up with is that perhaps they don't have a licence to be open at that time, but have an agreement with the cabbies. Not sure if petrol stations have licensing limitations like that though.
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Might be the case especially if it is a residential area. Could also be the reason why they would be a bit touchy about Trading Standards getting involved.
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Why not call them at some time when they are open and ask?
And please desist from implying the reason may be racial. I've edited your post to comply.
smokie, Moderator
Edited by smokie on 25/11/2009 at 07:20
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Is there a suggestion that the reason was something to do with it being red or white diesel and how much tax is therefore payable on it, and who is legally entitled to use it?
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Can you buy red diesel "at the pump"? My farming pals have it delivered in bulk.
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Can you buy red diesel "at the pump"? My farming pals have it delivered in bulk.
That's why I'm wondering if that is the reason for this scenario. I thought you aren't supposed to be able to, but...........
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>> Can you buy red diesel "at the pump"?
Yes, at my local. But it's a separate pump, and you can only buy less than 20 litres anonymously, otherwise you have to sign a register with name and address, reason, etc.
But taxis don't use red diesel. They'd be an obvious target for HMRC with horrendous penalties if caught.
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Never thought of that red diesel to be fair i was at another pump to them emmmmmmmmmmmmm. maybe.
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I thought an accounting error may have caused an excess of fuel in a tank.
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I would imagine it's probably because the garage in question has had a history of drive offs through the night so the staff are under instructions to minimise the risk by only serving cab drivers...
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Either that or it's because you were in a van and they have had issues with the local travelling community helping themselves to heavily discounted diesel in the past... If the garage is in west Leeds, then that's the most likely.
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i think the taxis are using red
report your concerns to the customs because dodgy fuel usually means much more than just whats obvious to the layman
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bell boy, you could be quite right with your tongue in cheek comment!
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I tend to concur with njgleeds. Bigtee, is your van of a size and type that could give a layman the impression that it spends most daylight hours parked in a field and most nights driving slowly round industrial estates?
My first driving job 15 years ago was for a very small firm delivering construction equipment (including plant trailers) long-distance in time to be on site for 8am, hence very early morning starts like you. I was driving a 10-year-old Transit flat bed without a working heater, so I wore a nice thick duffel coat and a wooly hat. I lost count of how many times I had to show the police all my ID, all the vehicle's paperwork and the delivery notes, on one occasion the coppers actually phoned the boss of the plant hire company at silly o'clock in the morning to verify my credentials with him personally.
Edited by Dave_TD {P} on 25/11/2009 at 17:28
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But that's prejudice of another kind !
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No it's 06 plate ford transit is it connect those small things in blue with the company logo all over it.
There was no other cars but taxis and myself so goodness only knows what happened but if i go again we'll see what happens.
Edited by Webmaster on 26/11/2009 at 01:22
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There was no other cars but taxis and myself so goodness only knows what happened but if i go again we'll see what happens. >>
How many taxis were there? Two, three, four, ..... ?
The owner of the petrol station may have a contract with the taxi company to provide fuel at all hours.
Or the owner may have used his discretion to allow his regular customers to fill up at that time even though the station was officially closed in keeping with planning permissions working hours stipulations. [I know of two pub landlords who, in the days of closing time at 11pm, used to "invite" a few regular customers to remain in the pub after hours allow them to continue to drink (the customers would then leave some cash behind as "presents" which was officially not in payment for the beer).
Or the night operator/watchman may have been doing some deals on the side.
In any event, AFAIK any retailer is not obliged to sell anything to anyone if they wish to refuse their custom.
Edited by Webmaster on 26/11/2009 at 01:23
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...in any event, AFAIK any retailer is not obliged to sell anything to anyone if they wish to refuse their custom...
Yep - covered by the quaint legal phrase: 'invitation to treat'.
All the seller is saying is that he may be prepared to sell you something, or he may not, and if he is, it will be for a price agreeable to him.
For Sale signs on cars are covered by these laws, so if a £5,995 car is mistakenly marked up at £595, the seller does not have to honour that price.
More here from people who know about this stuff: tinyurl.com/ybea5c7
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You may have stumbled on some sort of criminality - is the site an indie ? I think that certain big companies (we may be talking about one here) actually operate a proportion of sites themselves with managers. You could have turned up at the wrong time - it could be anything from money laundering, illegaly "cleaned" red-diesel or some other tax fiddle. If you were so inclined it may be worth writing a letter to complain to their Head Office - it may be sufficient to trigger a closer look as to what's going on.
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I can't see an urban petrol station contaminating a diesel tank with red, which they would not normally sell. Too easy to trace back to them.
Edited by Old Navy on 25/11/2009 at 19:18
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Depends, as it was put to me once in Enniskillen...."sure but it's only a wee bit pink, most of it isn't hookey....."
;-)
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There was a heavy trade in "cleaned" red diesel between Northern England and Northern Ireland at one time.
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There was a heavy trade in "cleaned" red diesel between Northern England and Northern Ireland at one time.
> been trying to find the link to this but failed
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Where and how do you think this was processed, moved and sold (last two would be tankers and fuel stations)....who would benefit from illegal fuel ?? Large scale diesel users. There are rumours that cleaned red - diesel is making a come back linked to non Irish Terrorist groups these days.
.
Edited by Pugugly on 25/11/2009 at 19:47
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We had a 'factory' doing it in my home town and flogging it (mostly to taxis co-incidentally) through a filling station around Paddington IIRC.
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If this was dodgey fuel, then surely they'd have been happy to sell it on?
Someone in the thread above may have a better theory: garage does not sell to just anyone late at night (only known taxi companies) due to drive offs without paying.
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Surely this is an independent, as I don't know many mainstream big name garages that still have attendants? And surely the use of an attendant reduces the risk of drive offs, as the attendant can simply ask for proof of payment before filling up?
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Sounds like an inside job.
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too dangerous im afraid as you should always pump fuels outside in case of fumes
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I still reckon that it is probably something as mundane as them breaching their permitted hours of operation, but I really hope it is something sexier, like a terrorist organisation funding itself via dodgy fuel and bigtree cracking the case.
Bigtree - please do follow this up and let us know what you find. Looking forward to seeing you on News at Ten! :)
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Blimey bathtub tom, you had me worried for a minute there. I spent 10 years driving taxis around your (current) home town and whilst I saw all kinds of illegality, that particular one escaped me...
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Here you are:
tinyurl.com/ygvd9ly
I notice we've now got a bomb scare in town!
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That was a while back wasn't it, in Burgoyne's yard at Maulden IIRC. All sorts of dodgy stuff down there, including a unit being raided back in 2001 and some then-new shape W203 C-classes being discovered, still with the shipping labels in the windows!
>>bomb scare
My other daughter lives with her mum not a million miles from there, not heard anything this evening from her about any activity over and above the normal level...
Edited by Dave_TD {P} on 25/11/2009 at 23:26
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That press story reporting the trial was April this year, so not that long ago.
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There was a case in Bilston a couple of months ago.
A man with a cloned fuel card was selling fuel for half price in the middle of the night at a petrol station. He would meet his 'customers' near by and let them use his cloned fuel card and pay half the going rate.
I think they were rumbled when suspicions arose due to lots of cars in the petrol station in the middle of the night.
So, your experience could have been dodgy.
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May be worth that call....
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Few years back apparently some technicians from a large airline were let go when a tankerload of JetA1 went unaccounted for. What aviation kerosone could be used for I do not know... can diesels run on it? It would take an awful long time to get through it using a Primus stove...
Edited by dimdip on 26/11/2009 at 22:55
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Oil fired central heating would really keep you warm!
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^ ah, that makes more sense!
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