Bad tank of gas cost me $$$$....what action can I take?

[blackspeed3]

So yesterday I go to pick up my work truck to start my work day. I start my truck like usual drive half a km down the road and it startg chugging and puffing smoke then stalls and wont start. I get my truck towed to my local diesel mechanic and they run all sorts of tests on it etc. Turns out i had a half a gas tank full of water!!! So my mechanic drained both tanks, changed the fuel filter twice, added diesel fuel and conditioner.

My truck is now running like shit but at least its "running" My mechanic said to fill it right up again with a good diesel and hopefull it will clear itself up.

This cost me 800.00 and the gas station that gave me this "water" was a shell station. There are 2 grades of diesel fuel and I always put the good stuff in.

My question is....how can I go after the gas station for a bad tank of fuel? I shouldnt have to suck up this 800.00 bill and miss 2 days of works.


Any thoughts suggestions?

[aris]

Do you have the receipt for the gas? If you do then take that and the bill from your truck and take it too the gas station where you bought the fuel.

[mazdabetty]

wow... shite.... I'm not to sure of what the process would be to go after them, but you'd probably have to prove that they are the last place you purchased gas from before being towed to the mechanic... like a receipt with the time and date on it? That's pretty serious though someone has to do something about that. Maybe consult a legal professional as there would possibly have been other similar complaints.

By the way, as a side note, I've been keeping my distance from Shell lately as I've had my debit card cancelled twice on me. I called my bank and asked why and they said they can't release much information, but she warned me to avoid using debit cards at gas stations, particularly Shell as a couple of locations were under investigation. Not to rule out the company as a whole, but I just keep hearing shifty stories about them.

Hope you can get things sorted out...

[Go_Habs_Go]

Are you sure that the water came from the gas station and that there isn't a problem with your tank? (e.g. water got in from heavy rain fall?)

If you are sure the water came from the pump then contact the station and tell them what happened. Tell them that you want to have your expenses covered to fix the problem caused by their bad fuel.

See what they say...if they refuse to pay then contact Shell's Head Office.

If the Head Office refuses to compensate then you made need to go to small claims court to get your money (and some extra compensation at that point).

Make sure to keep all receipts (fuel, repairs,etc) and write down every thing that happened in DETAIL. Make sure your mechanic will back up what happened.

Good luck!!!

[blackspeed3]

Thanks for the input thus far guys and gal. I just contacted head office and filed a report with customer service....I have to wait until tommorow to speak with another dept (presently closed) about this.

The worst part? 800.00 may just be the start. If the injectors in a diesel f*&k up there about 400 each plus alot of labour to get to them. :(

[Fobio]

a story I've read in the states, they have a control board that audits the stations. he got bad gas and blew a perfect motor. went back and "monitored" the station operator at night. turns out every other night, they'd stick a WATER hose into the main tanks for half an hr.

he got reimbursed for his blown motor.

[blackspeed3]

Interesting....

[FLIPDADY]

This happened to my sister-in-laws Mazda 6. There was a Shell station in Markham that was selling bad gas. She took her repair bill back to the station and contacted head office. The same station was selling bad gas to all their customers.

Fully reimbursed for all the repairs done.

[5_Alive]

Yes, call a audit center as well this way they will go in right away before the station has the opportunity to sell off the remaining diesel fuel available, and fill it the tanks with fresh fuel.

I know those audit companies don't take anything lightly and are flash gordon type of people when it comes to people complaining, especially about gas.

[blackspeed3]

How would one go about finding an audit center who would go in and I would have to pay for it? I just spent 20 mins on the phone arguing with the guy on the phone this morning from shell because he says they do an internal investigation, and then if its found out there was water, I would then be reimbursed. I told him bullshit I want someone with an unbiased opinion. They can just say "nope we didnt find any water in any of the tanks" and be done with it!


Flipdaddy....what process did you sister have to go through?

[Fobio]

This happened to my sister-in-laws Mazda 6. There was a Shell station in Markham that was selling bad gas. She took her repair bill back to the station and contacted head office. The same station was selling bad gas to all their customers.

Fully reimbursed for all the repairs done.

Which station in Markham may I ask? There's like 3 of them that I pass by on a regular basis and may even get gas from.