Tesco Dirty Filthy Disgusting Fuel: Update

As predicted by one of the posters on this site, TESCO finally issued an 'apology' for their dirty fuel on Tuesday 6th March. You can read their 'apology' here however there are some interesting points within that statement that need careful scrutinisation.

For example; "Tesco petrol is now back to normal." An admission that the petrol they had been selling was abnormal. This is the same petrol that they continued to sell in the face of overwhelming evidence of a problem wherein a complete withdrawal of the fuel would have been a more appropriate step to have taken.

And then there is; "if petrol bought at Tesco has damaged your car, we'd like to say how sorry we are." Yes, we're sure you'd like to say sorry. How about actually saying sorry?

In a similar vein; "More to the point, we'd like to promise to pay for the repairs." So, you'd like to promise to pay for the repairs, but you actually haven't promised to pay for the repairs have you? Why don't you just say "we promise to pay for the repairs"? Oh no, that could be construed as a legally binding statement, you have to leave an escape route somewhere.....

"M'lud, the respondent never actually promised that he would pay for the repairs as insinuated by the applicant, merely that he would have liked to be able to offer a promise. There is a distinct variance in those statements..."

All you have said is that you feel for our situation and are offering your sympathy, when a promise of hard cash reimbursement would be much more appreciated.

But I'm sure TESCO really won't want to wheedle their way out of paying for the repairs. In the past they have never tried to avoid compensating people for their admitted liabilities. have they?

Hang on a minute! http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/wiltshire/6423923.stm

"Although the retailer later admitted liability, Tesco said it was only prepared to pay 25% of the cost of the repairs. "

So, TESCO admitted the fuel they supplied caused damage to a vehicle, but then state they are only prepared to pay a quarter of the repair bill? But this example is almost exactly the same as the situation that thousands of motorists now find themselves in; their vehicle has been damaged by contaminated fuel bought at TESCO. Could we see this situation repeated many times in the small claims Courts of the land? The upside of this story is that clearly the weight of the law has fallen on the side of the consumer and TESCO find themselves on the receiving end of the bailiffs. £60,000 worth of alcohol has been ringfenced and barred from sale until TESCO settles it's County Court Judgement, the enforcement order and the bailiffs fees. The depressing fact of this case is that the victim has had to wait more than three years before getting to this point....

At last, the bully has tried to push around the biggest kid in the playground and has received a bloody nose for his belligerence.

TESCO. Every seizure counts.

Tesco's Buzz Collapses!

Tesco's brand image has collapsed due to it's bad handling of the filthy fuel forecourt fiasco (well done Jon Church - now we see Trevor Datsun representing Tesco instead of course!!). According to mad.co.uk the silicon contamination at the forecourt pumps has seen thousands of cars damaged in South East England, arguably Tesco’s heartland. The supermarket has had to empty its unleaded tanks at 150 forecourts and to compound motorists’ fury the price of petrol has to rise to compensate for a shortage. Tesco has seen its “Buzz”, as measured by YouGov’s BrandIndex tool, fall dramatically since the beginning of the contamination crisis.The Buzz measures whether people have heard positive or negative things about the brand and Tesco has seen a robust rating throughout the year. It registered -3 in March last year but soon rose and in October was hitting 19.

While incidents began to surface over a week ago, it was not until last Wednesday (28 February) that it looked like there was a widespread problem. The impact of the first rumours can be seen in late February with Buzz dropping into minus figures on 20 February. It bumped along at -4 until 23 February then rallied until the confirmation of problems last Thursday (1 March) when it dropped sharply and by last Friday (2 March) the supermarket’s Buzz stood at -9.

Over the same period Tesco also had to deal with a clearance of contaminated humous from its shelves and issue a warning. The supermarket’s Recommend rating is also at its lowest recorded point this year, standing at 31. Last year it reached as high as 44.

The Red Brick Road advertising agency picked up the Tesco account last year. While marketing is only one factor among many influencing perceptions of Tesco, one would hope that the agency’s work helped with the strong Buzz throughout the year. It’s likely the agency is being consulted even now on how to help placate and reassure Tesco’s motoring customers.

Setting the petrol problem aside, Tesco’s Buzz has been falling steadily since the start of the year, and the reasons will be manifold. Among issues having an impact could be the avian flu poultry scare caused by Bernard Matthews and the noise surrounding rival Asda, which has been flexing its muscles with announcements about new openings and initiatives.

Tesco's Dirty Fuel Keeps on Damaging Cars!

I filled my '98 2.3 ZETEC Galaxy up to the brim with £55.31 of TESCO's finest regular unleaded at 10.51 on the morning of the 15th February. (I have the receipts AND my bank statement, so there's no getting away from it!).

Just about halfway through the tank, I noticed that I was getting a little hesitation on the motorway and the drive was lumpy during town driving. As the tank got lower and lower, the problem became increasingly worse. I also noticed that flooring the throttle would eliminate the problem, but we can't drive at full throttle all the time can we?

At the beginning of this week (26/02/2007), I called my mechanic and explained what the symptoms were. I suggested it might be a fuel starvation issue (blockage/fuel pump) because of the hesitation but he suggested that it might be a sticky inlet butterfly valve or a gummed up sensor. He told me to put some injector cleaner in the tank and try it for a couple of days to see what happened. If it didn't improve, he would come over with his diagnostic kit. I did as he suggested but the problem became progressively worse as the fuel level dropped.

As the news broke in the media yesterday, I paid carefully atttention the symptoms; "misfiring and juddering", "losing power". 'This sounds familiar...' I thought. I spoke again to my mechanic who suggested the best thing to do would be to completely fill the tank up with 'good brand' fuel to dilute the residue.

I did this and immediately took the car for a 40 mile motorway blast to clear out the 1 to 2 litres of pure TESCO filth that I knew would remain in the delivery system (pipes, filter, fuel pump, injector pressure manifold, etc). The engine was better behaved, but still was a bit lumpy. This morning I drove to work and the difference was marked; only a slight hesitation when cold and virtually no power drops on the motorway. I reported to my mechanic and he told me that I might have got away with it. I called up Ford and got them to put aside a Lambda sensor for me 'just in case'. I decided the drive home would be the acid test; it was much better still! Slight hesitation at first pull away, no power dip on the motorway. So it seems I may be lucky. I called Ford and cancelled the hold on the sensor, just in case some other poor unfortunate needs it. Hopefully the repeated heating/cooling cycles of the sensor will help to clean it up further still, if the Lambda sensor requires changing in the next 1000 miles, I know who to blame!

As for registering a complaint, I called my local Trading Standards Office and they told me they had been instructed to refer everyone to Consumer Direct (www.consumerdirect.gov.uk - 08454 040506). I called them and was held on hold for 20 minutes as they are swamped with complaints. They took all my details and where and when I bought the petrol. They will then pass my complaint on to the local Trading Standards Office who will then contact me.

I just hope that my full tank of Shell will clean everything up nicely. What I find most disgusting though, is TESCOs/Greenergy's total refusal to take responsibility for this mess. Clearly this is not a coincidence. Clearly, not everyone suddenly decides 'You know what, I think I might put my car in for a service/Lambda replacement for a couple of days, use public transport instead and pay a bill of between £150 to £1000 and HOPE that I get compensation from TESCO.' That would be ridiculous, but apparently TESCOs/Greenergy seem to believe that they are the victims of some kind of conspiracy!

The official line coming from TESCOs/Greenergy is that their fuel conforms with BS EN 228 (the standard for Ultra Low Sulphur Unleaded Petrol). That may be the true. However I have read BS EN 228 (and you can too: LINK )and the standard makes no mention of an upper or lower limit for either Ethanol or Silicon, the two suspected contaminents of your fuel.

Message to TESCO/Greenergy:

Wake up and smell the coffee Tesco (especially you Jon Church!)

YOU sold us the dirty fuel.

YOU damaged our vehicles.

It is YOU we hold responsible.

The longer YOU hold out on telling us the truth, the harder will be your PR exercise.

I would suggest YOUR reputation as a fuel retailer is already damaged beyond repair.

It's a bitter pill, but it's time to swallow it.

Admit liability, take the rap, 'fess up homies.

If not, I will obtain approximately 60 litres (1 sack) of my local bovine fecal detritus and deposit it in the filling station where you sold me the same volume of your filth.

One good turn deserves another, I always say.

Yours, Mark Garner

Tesco-Complaint: Thank you Mark and Deborah for an informative and well written complaint and also for exposing Tesco's devious spin on this issue - instilling false confidence by quoting British Standards when they are patently irrelevant as they do not deal with the suspected contaminants.

Tesco's Dirty Fuel - Latest + More Complaints!

The latest news via the AA is that Tesco's 'Faulty Fuel' as the BBC is labelling it contains contamination by way of high levels of silicon. It is understood that the element - which should not be in petrol - has been detected in the fuel tanks of some of the affected vehicles. This may explain why they have been juddering and misfiring. Given the spread of petrol stations affected by the contaminated fuel, silicon would have to have entered the petrol at some point in the supply chain. Motorists were today told to consider replacing the petrol in their tanks, even if they are unaffected by the contaminated fuel scare. Ray Holloway, the director of the Peter Retailers’ Association, said drivers should think about getting fresh fuel even if their vehicle is not suffering any problems. Will you be refuelling at Tesco?! While you think about that read below for 4 more email complaints all received overnight:

(1) "What a way of discouraging customers like myself to never use their services again. Every little helps, I'm sure it does especially with my car. I knew something was wrong as soon as I drove away after re-fueling as it was more difficult to get into gear and build up speed, to my horror the amber emission light came on and there goes my chances of getting to work in the normal fashion. What must we do to get Tesco to listen. Regards, Mr Luong"

(2) "I wrote to Tesco in Sept last year to complain after I put £15 worth of Tesco Diesel in my VW Turbo Polo car at the Tesco Extra in Bolton and as soon as I got on the motorway no power in my car at all. Even with my foot completely down on the accelerator no power. I had to drive the next 50 miles home on the M6 which is a busy motorway in 3rd gear in the slow lane with Wagon's pulling out and going faster then me. I have since had my car at two garages and spent in the region of £1000 over the last 12 months and still can't take my car on the motorway. The reply I got from Tesco when I complained is that there is nothing wrong with their diesel and that was it. One of the garages I use actually told me the problem was caused by the Tesco diesel. I will never ever go near a Tesco garage again and the ironic thing is it was the first time I had ever used anything except BP Diesel in my car. Having now read all the other complaints about Tesco Diesel I am angry and want to try and persue again for some form of compensation for the stress and upset and the repair bills I've had to pay out. Any ideas from anyone what I could do??"

(3) "I fuelled at Tesco on Sunday after driving for 3o mins my car started to go slow. Then I heard a loud bang as if my main exhaust box blew up and this made my cat go. Tesco did not want to know. Don't use Tesco."

(4) "After filling up at the tesco extra store with petrol, I started to experience problems with car. I took it into mercedes benz, who confirmed that the petrol tank was contaminated with dirty fuel. I have had to have the petrol tank emptied and new oxygen filters fitted at a cost of £ 500.00 I have also been without my car for over a week and as a full time working single parent this leaves me almost stranded..are tescos going to foot my bill?? Tina Duffy"

Whilst this website is solely concerned with Tesco, in the interests of accuracy and fairness, some of Morrison's fuel is also affected. Please see comments section for some basic legal advice from Consumer Direct.

Quentin Wilson: Tesco's Dirty Fuel Not Fit For Purpose (Reported Here First!)

The media have now started reporting widely that Tesco's fuel is not fit for purpose and Quentin Wilson, motoring journalist, is warning drivers not to run their cars on Tesco's seemingly dirty fuel which he states seems to be contaminated after coming here to the UK on unclean chemical tankers. Tesco have been saying since early February when we first covered this complaint that they had tested their fuels and nothing was wrong and also that hardly anyone was complaining - given what is emerging in the media now it seems probable that Tesco were lying to customers, certainly about the number of complaints. Can we ever trust Tesco again when they appear to lie to customers so readily?

While we wait for the official line to come through (via Trading Standards who are now investigating Tesco's dirty fuel), here's another report of Tesco's fuel damage that we have recently been emailed:

I had a problem with diesel I bought on Tuesday 30th January from Tesco Bursledon, Hampshire. In the afternoon I had a new fuel tank fitted and my 'old' diesel put back in, then I filled up in the evening with diesel from Tesco. On Sunday 4th Feb I was driving home on the M3 near Winchester when I started to lose power. I drove very slowly to my friends house as she and her daughter were passengers at approx 10mph or less. As the car was getting worse I decided to call the RAC who did various checks and drained off some diesel which I still have. I managed to get home with the RAC van following and then took the car back to my local garage the next day. I had to use two buses to get to work for two days so it was inconvenient as well as the cost of labour, fuel filter and fresh fuel.

Judy Dunkley

Tesco fuels another knackered diesel engine!

Dear Tesco-complaint readers, I am writing to you after reading with interest your feature posted on Sunday 11th February 2007 entitled ‘Tesco lies about ‘petrol mix-up’ fuel driver anger.’

On Friday 9th February, exactly the same situation which happened at Tesco Newton Aycliffe in your feature happened to my wife. She filled up the family Diesel Nissan Pathfinder with a full tank at Tesco Watford Extra with what she believed to be Diesel. She even has a Diesel receipt to prove it.

Five or so miles after leaving the Tesco fuel station the vehicle started a ‘knocking’ noise from the engine accompanied by bellowing black smoke. The RAC ‘saved’ my wife, father in law, and my two young children from the hard shoulder of the M25 on a wet Friday afternoon and took the car to the local main dealer (Glyn Hopkin) in Watford, Herts.

Glyn Hopkin reported to me on the following Monday morning that the car had petrol in the tank, therefore it was broken due to fuel contamination. I have taken a fuel sample from the car which is currently being analysed by the RAC.

We are currently up to £2,000 in costs to pay for cleaning of the fuel system and new fuel injectors. Worst case scenario is that the pump is damaged which will take the total to £5,000.

Our local newspaper, the Watford Observer ran a story in last Friday’s edition which is attached (click to see larger version which you can save and zoom into to read). The response the Watford Observer got from Tesco is exactly the same as me, and also the response reported in your feature on the 11th Feb. Tesco denied that a Diesel fuel pump at Watford store was dispensing petrol, and it was for me to prove any claims I may have. Tesco stated to me my wife had a receipt for Diesel so its diesel which she received and paid for. They also claimed that no other motorist filling up on that day had complained about any similar fuel issues.

There is clearly something not right here, as the stories reported by you and my own are identical. The big questions for Tesco, –

1. How does a tank of Diesel fuel turn into Petrol a few miles after leaving Tesco in a modern car which is just 17 months old?
2. How and why could/ would a mother returning home with her two children contaminate the cars fuel?
3. Why are Tesco responses so flat, non-customer friendly and offer no credibility to customer claims?

Please could anyone who knows let me know how the other reported cases progress, and I will with ours. I am currently seeking advice as to what action to take next.

Kind regards,
Allan Pattison, Hertfordshire

Tesco lies about 'petrol mix-up' fuel driver anger

The Northern Echo report that Tesco is facing legal action from motorists who say a fuel pump mix-up has cost them a fortune in engine repairs. Tesco has denied claims that a diesel fuel pump at its filling station in Newton Aycliffe was dispensing petrol. But drivers who filled up say their vehicles have been damaged by contaminated fuel.

In one case, a motorist says he has been left facing a bill for £1,500 to get his Mercedes back on the road. Derek Wood, 61, said his car ground to a halt within 25 miles of filling up. His insurer, NFU Mutual, is seeking to claim the cost of the engine damage back from Tesco, but the supermarket maintains it is not to blame.

Officials say that if the pump had been dispensing petrol instead of diesel many more drivers would have complained.

However, other motorists have come forward to say their vehicles suffered a similar fate, and the store chain now faces the prospect of court action. Sharon Heathcote, 30, a community nurse from School Aycliffe, said her Nissan Micra diesel had fuel problems after a visit to the petrol station. Her car broke down a few miles after filling up and her garage told her the car had petrol, rather than diesel, in the tank. It required a new fuel injection system, costing more than £3,000. She told the supermarket in a letter that she was prepared to take the matter to court.

Tesco told her no one else had complained.

When Mr Wood's insurers wrote to the supermarket they received the same response.

Mr Wood said last night: "We are quite prepared to take it to court."

Tesco replied, again saying that no one else had complained.

Miss Heathcote said: "It has cost us nearly £4,000 to fix the car, including hiring another one while ours was repaired. "We have three small children and have just moved house and for us, financially, this is a big thing."

A local paper has also published an open letter from another driver claiming to suffer the same problem.

Tesco finally admitted last night that it had really received "four or five" complaints but maintained there was no problem with the pump. A spokeswoman said: "These four or five complaints have been spread over the past six months.

"Trading standards checked our fuel in July after the first complaint was received and it was found to be clear. "They came in again last week following the latest complaint, and we are awaiting the results. "However, this is an extremely busy petrol station and if there was a real problem we would expect to have received many more complaints."