Glamorgan Gazette

Motorists take to social media over breakdowns

- ABBY BOLTER abby.bolter@walesonlin­e.co.uk

A FUEL mix-up at a petrol station has left drivers facing repair bills running into hundreds of pounds.

About a dozen motorists have taken to social media to report that their cars either broke down or “juddered along” after filling up at the Applegreen Petrol Station on Tremains Road in Bridgend on last Tuesday morning.

One affected motorist, who set up a Facebook group about the issue, said he put £25 worth of what he thought was unleaded into his car, but it turned out to be diesel.

A spokesman for the company has apologised to customers and said it will reimburse their repair costs.

He said that in common with other companies it contracts out its fuel haulage and the haulier had put the diesel into the unleaded tank, which then mixed with some unleaded fuel that was already in there, so those drivers which used the affected pumps received a mixture of the two.

He said unleaded petrol had also been put into the diesel tanks and an investigat­ion was ongoing.

The affected driver said he set up the Facebook group after becoming frustrated by the response of Applegreen’s head office in Bedfordshi­re.

But he added the manager of the garage itself “has been brilliant”.

The driver, who did not wish to be named, said the mix-up affected a few pumps and those cars which filled up from them between 9am and noon last Tuesday.

He said he knew something was wrong as soon as he started his car, which then juddered along.

“It seemed to be smoking a lot. I went to a garage and got them to check it over and they thought it might be dirty fuel,” he said. “I kept driving and I thought something was definitely wrong and went back to Applegreen at 9pm and they said they’d had a lot of people complainin­g.

“The garage haven’t been proactive in letting people know. I had to diagnose it myself and go back to Applegreen.”

The driver said his fuel tank will now need to be emptied and other work done on his car.

Other motorists posting on the Facebook page reported their cars had lost power and broken down altogether.

One said a garage had quoted her more than £500 to repair the damage.

Part of the Applegreen station remained taped off last Wednesday and two petrol tankers stood on the forecourt while the affected tanks were cleaned out.

The spokesman said the company shut down the site as soon as the issue, which affected some but not all of their undergroun­d tanks, became apparent.

He said they are confident the issue is isolated to those tanks and two pump islands.

“We are very sorry it happened and we apologise to all our customers,” he added.

Affected customers are asked to email customerse­rvice@ applegreen­stores.co.uk

 ??  ?? The Applegreen petrol station on Tremains Road, Bridgend, where fuel was mixed up, causing motorists’ cars to break down
The Applegreen petrol station on Tremains Road, Bridgend, where fuel was mixed up, causing motorists’ cars to break down

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