Caltex attendant won't need to pay $125 for 'mistake'

According to Facebook user Kelly Yeo's post, the BMW driver had insisted on paying only $10 for the petrol he had asked for and not $135 for the full tank that had been given. The elderly pump attendant had offered to top up the difference of $125.
According to Facebook user Kelly Yeo's post, the BMW driver had insisted on paying only $10 for the petrol he had asked for and not $135 for the full tank that had been given. The elderly pump attendant had offered to top up the difference of $125. PHOTO: FACEBOOK/ KELLY YEO

An elderly pump attendant who filled up a car with a full tank offered to top up $125 the driver had not paid due to an alleged mistake.

Caltex Singapore is investigating the incident, which took place at one of its petrol kiosks in Tampines last Saturday. In response to the incident, which has gone viral on Facebook, Caltex Singapore said yesterday the attendant "did not bear any financial obligation".

Facebook user Kelly Yeo wrote to Caltex about the incident in a post last Saturday. Another user, Mr Willie Kok Heng Chua, shared Ms Yeo's post last Saturday night, drawing more than 24,000 shares and 6,700 comments within 12 hours.

In the post, she said the BMW driver had insisted he would pay only $10 for the petrol he had asked for, not $135 for the full tank.

The pump attendant, who looked to be in his 60s, told the cashier he would bear the rest of the bill. The pump attendant told the cashier he heard the driver ask for a full tank, which the driver denied.

Many netizens asked if the driver could have paid for the petrol as he would have used it anyway.

Others wanted Caltex to allow the pump attendant to pay just a partial amount, even if it was a mistake.

Caltex said in its post: "Do be assured that our station manager, together with the management team, are looking into this issue now and an investigation is ongoing."

When The Straits Times visited yesterday afternoon, pump attendants at the station said the driver had mentioned that the car was borrowed and he was replacing the petrol he had used.

They added they have not encountered such incidents before and were grateful that the company would be absorbing the cost. But they said attendants are reminded to check with customers before filling up the vehicles.

It is also known to staff that they will be made to bear the cost if they make a mistake, such as pumping the wrong grade of petrol.

"A lot of people have come up to offer the attendant money after reading what happened," said an attendant who declined to be named.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on April 16, 2018, with the headline Caltex attendant won't need to pay $125 for 'mistake'. Subscribe