Getting undercharged for something...

[Chalky.]

Just had the police on the phone to mum (car registered to home)

Petrol station accusing me of theft. I got undercharged by £20, me being the good citizen I am, didn't say anything and walked away smiling...

I probably will go and make up the difference to save all the hassle, but do I by law have to pay if they've undercharged me, if I'm aware or not?

Cheers

[pinkyfloyd]

If you have recipts then no you shouldnt have to pay. There used to be signs up in most shops saying "check your change as mistakes cant be rectified once you have left the shop"

That applies to both your mistake and their mistake.

If you have no recipt then contest it because the police can check the cctv camera and if you have been in to the cashier and paid anything then they will be able to see that.

If you are on cctv paying them then its is just a case of your word against theirs. I'd contest it. They fucked up so you cant be done for it.
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Teflon-Mike:I think I agree with just about all Pinky has said.

[c_dug]

Not sure with a petrol station to be honest, but generally speaking the "deal" is made at the till and has nothing to do with the price on the item (which in your case I guess would be the price per litre).

If you came to my till with a £50 item and I charged you £10 then I couldn't chase you after for the extra £40.

However what I expect has happened is they have had another person use the same pump who hasn't paid yet and yours has queued on the system behind it. When you have got to the till they have asked "£10.45?" and you have thought kerching! and said "yes that's the one" and really paid for the person before or after you.
Then when they have come to pay and the cashier has said "£17.50?" and the other person says "errr, nope!" they have obviously realised what has happened.

Therefore when they asked you and you said yes you have lied and then they can probably chase you for it.

Obviously the amounts are made up since I wasn't there but the situation is the same no matter the amounts
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I am a bellend, I am a man of constant sorrow, I am a gummy bear, I am a rock.

[Raffles]

When you purchase goods they do not belong to you untill you have paid for them in full.
What I don't understand is the Police involvement. It's not as though you have driven off without attempting to pay. I would have thought that this would be a civil matter between you and the petrol station.
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A good loser will always be a loser.

[Chalky.]

Well I said my pump number and he just said the amount and I put my card in.

I think it's one of these things where if they mess up, and I don't get enough change back, I can't do anyting about it, but they can do what they like

[Skudd]

It is only theft if you knowingly paid the incorrect amount. But proving that is hard. If you offered to pay and they charged you the wrong amount then it is down to the station to take the loss. The Police should not have been called and you should complain about that.
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Petty Anarchists look at "1984".............. The Visionary looks at "Animal Farm".

[pinkyfloyd]

[c_dug]

Still stand by my point that if there were two lots of fuel on that pump and they ask you if its the cheaper one and you agree then it is you who is in the wrong.

They always ask the amount, even when you tell them what pump number.
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I am a bellend, I am a man of constant sorrow, I am a gummy bear, I am a rock.

[MattHirst]

whenever i pay by card, they always say 'check the amount and enter your pin' so maybe they could get out of it that way.

It's rare that i don't know (roughly) how much i have put in. I'm guessing there are very few people that wouldn't try and get away with paying less.

Surely you had enough money to pay for the fuel in the first place, then why not just go down and pay. After all you did get your goods that you requested.

If you had been overcharged (paying for someone elses fuel for example) then you would be throwing a dicky fit. It works both ways
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It's all fun and games until someone gets hurt, then it's bloody hilarious!!!

[Chalky.]

Can't really remember what he said, he was a young lad.

I had enough... but thought I could get away with saving £20 so went for that option Saving up you see!

I would be throwing more than a dicky fit... But then if they ended the day with an extra £20 in their tills, do you think they would go through all the CCTV etc to find out who they overcharged?

[Dibble]

If you paid the amount requested in good faith then the patrol station should have just swallowed their loss, to get the police involved is a stupid waste of taxpayers money.

I would suggest the petrol station have slandered you and I personally would contact their head office informing them of the situation and informing them you are thinking of pursuing the matter mention crying mothers , irate fathers, can never show your face in that outlet again, waste of police time,might tell the local press etc.

I wouldn't normally advise this but £20 ffs

[SlimRick]

Would the police generally phone for this sort of thing if they did get involved? I would've thought they would come and knock on the door.

My guess is it's someone at the petrol station trying it on - probably got a bollocking for under charging someone and is trying to scare them into coming back to pay up.

[The Shaggy D.A.]

Go back to garage when it's busy, fill up, go inside and just buy some sweets with cash. When they call again, claim you're being victimised and sue for damages.
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[Chalky.]

It's pretty stupid...

Think it's legit, the lass left her ID badge number thing. Plus my car's registered 100 miles away from where it happened!

I love that idea shaggy Can't see it working mind!

[Clanger]

Ha, the sods, if you walk away from the shop with the wrong change then it's your fault if you leave the premises, should be the same when the shoe is on the other foot.

I would make a complaint to 'someone'...an ombudsman or something, must be an organisation who protects the customer... for cashier error.
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Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter won't mind - Dr. Seuss

[Wafer_Thin_Ham]

[Hetzer]

Amazing how the police have the resources when it's on behalf of big business. For £20. When my £6500 bike was stolen (uninsured) I never saw a single one of them, despite their promises. Scum.
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"There's the horizon! Ride hard, ride fast and cut down all who stand in your way!"

[Kwaks]

You made an offer to pay and they requested the wrong amount. Therefore it is a civil matter and the police should not be involving themselves. A call to the police to remind them of this will remind them of what their duties are, and make clear any further contact from them will result in an official complaint. In fact if they can't let it go then the petrol station is the one who shoud be pursued for wasting police time.

As to the station, contact the company or franchise and demand an apology for them sending the police to you due to their mistake, describe the embarressment you felt and the stress placed on your mother through no fault of your own.

As for the £20, you might discover the teller is solely responsible for the amount in the till, he may take the hit in his wages. Petrol stations tend to cover all the bases to ensure they don't take the loss themselves.
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Fallen Angel "Nae sniffing my seat now!!!!! "
www.cliqueycuntsmcc.co.uk
I AM NOT A FAST RIDER!!!!!!!!!

[benc]

Its also possible that you might not have known you were being under charged e.g. you filled your tank up until it was full and didn't bother looking at the cost. It might be worth while writing to there head office complaining of stress by being contacted by the police and being accused of thief.
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zxr400 - zx7r

[G]

[scorps]

I had Derbyshire and Nottinghams finest hunting me down for the alleged theft of several pounds worth of petrol when I topped my bike up several years ago.

I had still got the receipt for my visit to the station it was the Moto one on the A50 near Notts as Id bought several items.

Turns out the young girl had told them Id never mentioned fuel. I was stood in line in my bike leathers, still wearing my helmet Id just assumed Id been charged as the total bill was around the 40 quid mark, anyways the police were furious with the station for wasting their time but I had to pay it so i paid it in pennies and told the manager exactly what I thought about their shoddy staff.
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Do not presume that I am male.

[Skudd]

[colin1]

You filled up, they decided to charge you less than what they normally charge. Very generous/careless of them, but I dont see how this makes you a criminal.

If someone accidentally undercharges you, I dont see why they should later be able to charge you what they should have charged.

I believe that if something is accidentally priced too low in a shop, they have to sell it you for the price its labelled as.

I know margins with petrol stations are tight, and they do get people runnign off without paying, so they are tempted to try to involve the police on anything they make a loss on, but I think the police should learn to prioritise, and not pursue people who have done nothing wrong other than get a bargain.
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colin1 is officially faster than god

[Raffles]

[ian789]