Driver 'faces £3k bill after fuel station error'

Drivers say the fuel mix-up at Morrisons in Tiverton has left them out of pocket

A Tiverton man says he is facing a repair bill of nearly £3,000 after mistakenly filling his diesel car with petrol due to a fault at a fuel station in Devon.

Forklift driver Graham Stevens filled up his Vauxhall Insignia estate at the Morrisons petrol station in Tiverton, operated by Motor Fuel Group (MFG), on 26 September.

Without him knowing, the pump he used had been incorrectly dispensing unleaded petrol instead of diesel, leaving him with a bill of £2,800, he said.

A number of other victims of the mix-up have posted on Facebook. MFG has been approached for comment and Morrisons declined to comment.

'No empathy'

Mr Stevens said: "I put in £50 of what I thought was diesel.

"I live just a minute away, so I didn't notice anything wrong at first. But, when I set off for work early the next morning, the car started spluttering and eventually died."

He managed to nurse the vehicle 18 miles (29km) to work at Dunkeswell, where it broke down completely.

A mechanic later confirmed the fuel injectors were likely blocked due to petrol contamination.

The car was temporarily repaired at a cost of £300, but a full fix, including new injectors and a high-pressure diesel pump, was estimated to cost £2,800, he said.

According to Mr Stevens, MFG admitted the fault, saying the pipes had been connected incorrectly during installation.

"They told me not to contact them again and that their insurance company would be in touch," he said. "But I've heard nothing since."

Mr Stevens is one of many affected by the error, and he had "heard of nearly 40 people with the same problem".

He said: "It's appalling. There's been no empathy, no support.

"I was lucky I had £400 in my pocket to get the car going again, but I can't afford the full repair."

Fergus Alexander, 65, from Tiverton, said he put £70 of what he thought was diesel into his car, which broke down shortly after, only to find out it was actually petrol.

Jamie Wilson, 24, also from the town, thought he had topped up his car with unleaded, but later found out it was diesel after his car broke down about 15 minutes later.

He said: "I was driving home. About three minutes down the road and the car wouldn't accelerate properly.

"The car just broke down."

Mr Wilson said he was almost home when the car broke down, so he left it on a roadside until he could get it to a garage on Monday morning.

Mr Wilson, who was left without a car for the weekend, said it cost him about £200 in repairs.