I received a demand from a company called Forecourt Eye stating that I had filled up my car at a Tesco garage in July and left without paying.
It demanded £40.40 together with an administration fee of £35 if the debt was paid within 14 days.
If I didn’t pay it said it would blacklist my car and instruct a debt resolution agency to recover the amount demanded or recover the same through the courts.
My bank statement proves I bought and paid £59.31 for fuel at Tesco. Forecourt Eye has obtained my details from the DVLA without my authority and the accusations are defamatory. I am not a thief.
Please help me clear my name.
J.T., Middlesbrough
Threats: A reader was sent a demand for £40.40 plus an administration fee of £35, from a company claiming she had driven off without paying for petrol
Sally Hamilton replies: You wrote to Forecourt Eye to contest its claim you had done a runner from the pump that day. You got no response but then received, on August 27, a second letter and final notice.
This said your name would be passed to a UK database of unpaid fuel bills and wouldn’t be removed until payment was made – and could prevent you from refuelling until the debt was settled.
It added that you may also be reported to the police or be issued with a County Court judgment to recover the losses.
The tone of the correspondence put the wind up you. You knew you’d paid your bill and questioned at first if this was a scammer trying to extort money.
On researching Forecourt Eye, you found it was genuine. Its services are used by many petrol stations, including to help clamp down on the growing scourge of ‘bilkers’ – thieves who fill up and drive off without paying.
Pump operators can share information gathered from CCTV and automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) with Forecourt Eye and other parties such as the DVLA.
Once alerted to a bilking incident, it’s up to the petrol station to decide whether to act on the information received and ask for a debt to be chased.
While you realised the firm was bona fide you were adamant the demand you received wasn’t.
At the age of 80 with an unblemished record of paying what you owe, you felt particularly upset to be falsely accused.
I asked you to forward me your bank statement as evidence that you had paid for your fuel and seeing it in black in white myself, passed it on to Forecourt Eye.
They then contacted the filling station involved and within a few days came back to me to confirm you were in the right all along.
A Forecourt Eye spokesman says: ‘We have investigated this incident in detail and can confirm that J.T.’s payment was processed correctly but her vehicle was reported in error.
We have now closed the case, removed her details from our system, and ensured she will not receive any further contact from us.
‘We appreciate how distressing this must have been and are very sorry this error occurred. Steps have been taken to prevent this happening again and we would like to thank her for her patience while we investigated.’
He adds: ‘Forecourt Eye exists to support retailers in tackling fuel theft, a crime that costs UK forecourts millions of pounds each year. Incidents such as J.T.’s are thankfully very rare, and when they do occur, we take swift action to put things right.’
Insurer’s paltry offer to to replace my TV
I purchased a 42in Panasonic plasma television in December 2006 from Dixons, now part of Currys, and paid £899.
At the same time, I took out a Mastercare agreement with the retailer at £7.99 a month to cover the device if anything went wrong. I have paid approximately £1,900 for this to date.
Recently the television developed a fault where a 3in vertical band obscures part of the screen.
Currys collected the TV but tells me it cannot be repaired. It has sent me vouchers worth £299.99 to purchase a replacement of my choice, and didn’t budge when I asked if it would increase the offer so I could buy a new set of equal quality. Please help.
S.O., Herne Bay, Kent
Sally Hamilton replies: I must first commend the technology behind your old TV. To have lasted 19 years without any hitches until recently must be a record.
You say the only claim you’ve made on the policy is to replace a remote control. You sent me a copy of your original agreement.
Well done for keeping it. Let that be a lesson to us all. It clearly states that if it can’t be repaired it will be replaced ‘usually… in the form of vouchers to enable you to purchase a product of equivalent specification’.
Working out exactly what the equivalent specification would be is tricky since plasma TVs are obsolete and have been replaced by more efficient and cheaper technology.
Despite this, I was underwhelmed by the £299.99 offered by Currys. In terms of like-for-like in pounds, taking into account inflation over the period, the price you paid for your TV would be £1,576 today.
I wouldn’t expect Currys to stump up that much because of the sharp fall in technology costs.
But considering you have spent £1,900 on the insurance plan in that time, I felt Currys could give you a better deal.
After some deliberating, and consulting its legal team, the retailer decided to issue you an extra £200 – a total of £499.99. You were delighted.
A spokesman for Currys says: ‘Our initial offer to the customer reflected the current value of the nearest specification TV.
However, we fully understand our customer’s frustration having considered the price of her original television and the amount she paid towards the agreement.
‘Therefore, as an exception to our usual process, we have agreed to provide an additional gesture of goodwill, which has been processed.’
Once your TV is replaced, the old care agreement will end, and you will need to cancel your direct debit.
- Write to Sally Hamilton at Sally Sorts It, Money Mail, Northcliffe House, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5TT or email sally@dailymail.co.uk — include phone number, address and a note addressed to the offending organisation giving them permission to talk to Sally Hamilton. Please do not send original documents as we cannot take responsibility for them. No legal responsibility can be accepted by the Daily Mail for answers given.
