SCAM ALERT

I recently drove into a fuel station in Saltash on the A38 and stopped at an island opposite a large 4x4, which took double the amount of fuel that my vehicle did. While I was still filling up, the passenger got out of the 4x4 and headed off to pay. The 4x4 driver then engaged me in conversation and told me about a station 10 miles further up the road had just had a new French fuel pump installed. As with so many electronic gizmos these days, there was no instruction book and the pump had been factory pre-set to sell fuel at half the price of the UK! I was in a hurry to get to work, so I left him securing the fuel flap on his 4x4. At the till, the counter staff recognised me and asked which pump I had used. Turned out the 4x4 passenger had ‘accidentally’ just paid my bill for my pump. His card was stopped and a new transaction started for the pump opposite me, for double the amount! He sheepishly paid and hurriedly left. By the time I got to pay, the 4x4 had driven off.

Had I been delayed for a few more moments, the 4x4 driver and his passenger would have got half-price fuel and been long gone, while I would have been left with a huge bill to pay and, upon realising they’d been scammed, the garage would have had to take the hit. Luckily, the counter staff knew I was a regular customer, otherwise they could have accused me of being in collusion with the 4x4 and I’d have been held until the police could verify my story. Hugh Rogers