Petrol Stations

[diddy]

In my local Sainsbury's petrol station yesterday they refused to allow me to pull the hose over to the opposite side of my car because apparantly this is illegal - I have been doing this for years rather than queue for a pump on the right side of the car. Is this a recent change in the law?

[Skids]

I have recently been into a supermarket petrol station (I forget which one) and saw that there were instructional diagramatic notices indicating that you can pull the hose over to the opposite side of the car.  Whether the law has been changed very recently I don't know, but if it had I'm sure we'd have known about it.

[sddsddean]

Agree with Skids. My local Tesco has installed extra long hoses so you can pull them over the top of the car (with accompanying signs) and I regularly do it at other garages. Does seem odd Diddy.

[Loosehead]

It is not illegal, perhaps they would rather you didn't but there is no law against it. I have noticed that it is the standard approach of people in retail to claim that something is illegal when they cannot explain why it is not allowed.

[diddy]

One of the women from the pay booth came out and told 2 of us they wouldn't reset the pumps we were at & waiting to use because we had stretched the hoses across and "it's against the law"! I was so cross I left the petrol station straight away - I have emailed Sainsbury's to see what they have to say. At the very least there should have been an easily visible sign up. I'll let you know what their reply is.

[Shire]

There is an Esso garage on the outskirts of Bicester that has a notice that says they will not release the pumps if you stretch the hose over the car.  I read somewhere (can't remember where) that it is so that you cannot scratch your car with the hose and then sue them for the damage to your car.

[landie]

I guess thet're covering themselves against claim. If the nozzle spilled fuel on your vehicle when retrieving the hose you wouldn't be very happy. There's less chance when the vehicle's in the correct attitude.

[fly258]

It begs the question............why don't car manufacturers make the filler in the middle, so either side would be suitable?

[madgeezer]

i drive in the opposite direction cos the hoses in my pet station don't go far enough. problem solved

[diddy]

Sainsburys never replied to my email, but today I went back to the same store and filled my car up by pulling the hose over the car, with no problem. I asked the cashier, and she told me that Head Office had sent a directive to stores telling them not to allow customers to fill up on the opposite side to their fuel cap, as this puts extra wear and tear on the hoses. However, it caused such a furore that they changed thie minds after one day. It was therefore not illegal (as I was told at the time), but merely an operating decision by Sainsburys.