Petrol panic buying

[ainsworth74]

I think it's normally £100 to match the amount they pre-authorise on the card.

I think they only pre-auth £1 to make sure the card works. They did change for a few weeks a couple of years ago to pre-authorising £100 but got a load of bad press when people were getting into bother with suddenly losing £100 for a day or two until the system reconciled what had actually been spent!

 

[jon0844]

I think they only pre-auth £1 to make sure the card works. They did change for a few weeks a couple of years ago to pre-authorising £100 but got a load of bad press when people were getting into bother with suddenly losing £100 for a day or two until the system reconciled what had actually been spent!

Asda says it will pre-authorise £1 but actually take £30*. I stupidly tried three pumps for diesel (weeks ago, nothing to do with the current issues) and two dispensed about 2 or 3p's worth before failing. The third didn't dispense anything. Clearly at this point I gave up, but I was charged £90, with £30 refunded automatically. I had to wait a week for the remaining £60 to come back, except I actually got charged the 2 and 3p for each.

I have asked Asda a few times why they don't say it's £30 and they never respond. It was certainly even worse when they took £99 although I don't think I ever personally experienced that happening. I suspect it was £30 then too, or varies from location to location.

* Perhaps they do pre-authorise £1, but once you fill up any amount they charge £30 flat-rate and adjust it later for what you actually took.

 

[Trackman]

I think they only pre-auth £1 to make sure the card works. They did change for a few weeks a couple of years ago to pre-authorising £100 but got a load of bad press when people were getting into bother with suddenly losing £100 for a day or two until the system reconciled what had actually been spent!

I thought that was recent with the £100 pre-authorisation, I remember reading about it as it was causing havoc for people on a budget as it could be stuck in pending transactions for about 4 days.

 

[duncanp]

Some papers are now reporting that people are resorting to stealing petrol from parked cars, by siphoning it, or drilling into the petrol tank.

I remember the same thing happening during the tanker drivers strike in the summer of 2000.

Other drivers are following fuel tankers to see where they deliver to, earning themselve the nickname "tanker ***kers."

 

[gg1]

Some papers are now reporting that people are resorting to stealing petrol from parked cars, by siphoning it, or drilling into the petrol tank.

I remember the same thing happening during the tanker drivers strike in the summer of 2000.

Other drivers are following fuel tankers to see where they deliver to, earning themselve the nickname "tanker ***kers."

That smells like tabloid BS to me.

 

[jon0844]

Some papers are now reporting that people are resorting to stealing petrol from parked cars, by siphoning it, or drilling into the petrol tank.

I remember the same thing happening during the tanker drivers strike in the summer of 2000.

Other drivers are following fuel tankers to see where they deliver to, earning themselve the nickname "tanker ***kers."

It's only going to get worse in the next few days, maybe even weeks, given how many people are reportedly filling up, driving a bit, getting spooked that the meter went down a nanometre, and going back to fill up again - so as to be always as full as possible (so of the belief that the fuel may run out forever at some point).

Has major implications for the railway when a lot of taxis (that may get drivers to work) are diesel, Network Rail use diesel vans, and rail replacement buses/coaches use diesel. Already hearing that taxis are refusing work for the TOCs during disruption as they don't want to ferry people long distances, TOCs are struggling to get buses at certain times because there are less available (I assume some of these smaller firms that have older buses/coaches don't have their own filling capabilities) and Network Rail want to reduce the usage of their vehicles and move people around by train wherever possible. There's also the issue of traffic impacting the ability for train crew and NR to get around.

I think if it hits delivery drivers, that will be the next big deal as that won't be one of those hidden problems (of which there will be many as diesel seems the most impacted and in demand).

Also, I found it amusing that Grant Shapps was supposed to visit a Tesco today to show off the new electrical charging points but had to call it off because he couldn't get in because of the queues for petrol extending outside the shopping centre and onto surrounding roads.

Edit: regarding thefts, there are reports from people online of it happening to them or someone they know. Of course it could be untrue, but let's be honest it certainly seems likely it will happen at some point. I am sure some of the people filling up jerry cans are doing so with the intention of selling it on for a profit. You can be sure criminals will seek to cash in just as much as the greedy petrol stations chucking 10-20p a litre on the price.

 

[MikeWM]

As for shortage of staff. It is more likely that it IS a seasonal thing because Ely has no university. The universities are just starting their year and so the university age people in Ely that are going to university will be leaving Ely for university towns/cities. Therefore places like Ely are losing their younger workers that they have relied on all summer and have no university to supply similay young workers with.

I agree this is probably true in many similar places, but I'm not convinced in the specific case of Ely. There aren't a lot of young adults here to begin with (or at least it doesn't seem so!) and the demographic of supermarket workers seems notably older than in most places.

Well, that was my suspicion, but now I've found some figures, and looking at the demographic breakdown of East Cambridgeshire that does indeed seem to be the case. There's a definite lack of young adults here!

https://cambridgeshireinsight.org.u...w/f7de925f5608420c825c4c0691de5af2/E07000009/

 

[duncanp]

That smells like tabloid BS to me.

Stealing of petrol did happen during the tanker drivers strike in 2000.

Whether drivers are really following petrol tankers around to see where they deliver to (and thus using up fuel) is open to question.

 

[jon0844]

Stealing of petrol did happen during the tanker drivers strike in 2000.

Whether drivers are really following petrol tankers around to see where they deliver to (and thus using up fuel) is open to question.

It's probably not a totally terrible idea to follow a tanker. Despite how easy it is to get information on just about anything these days, finding out if a petrol station is open AND has the fuel you need is something that's near impossible to do.

Facebook is full of people asking about where they can get fuel, and given the way new posts bump a thread up the page, you find yourself reading messages that are hours/days old when it comes to 'Yes, just had a delivery now' or 'queues are short, come quick' etc.

People are queueing up at petrol stations that are closed, waiting for them to open in the morning. It's insane.

 

[gg1]

Stealing of petrol did happen during the tanker drivers strike in 2000.

Whether drivers are really following petrol tankers around to see where they deliver to (and thus using up fuel) is open to question.

It did, but that that went on for a few weeks IIRC, we're only 3 days into this.

Also it's far harder to steal petrol now than it was then as virtually all cars on the road today have anti-siphon devices to prevent fuel theft, which just leaves the far slower and riskier alternative of drilling a hole in the tank, can't imagine there's many people both unscrupulous enough AND desperate enough at this stage.

 

[jon0844]

can't imagine there's many people both unscrupulous enough AND desperate enough at this stage.

Catalytic converter thefts are blatant these days. They'll do it in broad daylight with loads of witnesses. I do agree that it seems unlikely thefts would become a big issue so soon, but I am inclined to believe it has happened at least once somewhere - and then the idea gets put into more people's heads and it snowballs.

Talking of which, we can't be too far away from a story of someone having a fire caused by petrol vapour seeping into their garage, dining room or whatever other totally stupid place people store all the extra fuel they've stockpiled in jerry cans bought on eBay or empty drink bottles.

 

[MattRat]

Meanwhile, the oil companies are rubbing their hands with glee. A more conspiratorial person might suggest oil companies and the MSM are somehow working together....

 

[swt_passenger]

Whether drivers are really following petrol tankers around to see where they deliver to (and thus using up fuel) is open to question.

Apparently nearly 50% of such drivers found themselves at fuel depots.

 

[yorksrob]

Talking of which, we can't be too far away from a story of someone having a fire caused by petrol vapour seeping into their garage, dining room or whatever other totally stupid place people store all the extra fuel they've stockpiled in jerry cans bought on eBay or empty drink bottles.

Someones gerry can blew up during the last petrol shortage.

 

[brad465]

I know the Telegraph cartoonists are more free at Government criticism than the journalists for the sake of humour, but this latest one circulating around the web speaks volumes about what they think of the Government's handling of this situation:



(Apologies I can't access the original source)

 

[Typhoon]

From website of GoCoach, bus company in Kent (operating in the Sevenoaks, Tunbridge Wells and Dartford areas):

Operational Difficulties due to Fuelling - Monday 27th September

Due to problems fuelling our services at fuel stations, we have currently suspended all daytime services.


Currently, our suspended routes are:

1, 2, 5, 6, 8, 208 (except school journeys), 280, 283, 289, 429, 474, 475, Dart 1 & Dart2

School journeys are running.

Anyone using the bus to get to work will need to find alternatives, Buses ran during the lockdowns (admittedly reduced service) but not now. A few three month visas for Eastern European lorry drivers is no answer.

 

[Ediswan]

From website of GoCoach, bus company in Kent (operating in the Sevenoaks, Tunbridge Wells and Dartford areas):

School journeys are running.

Anyone using the bus to get to work will need to find alternatives, Buses ran during the lockdowns (admittedly reduced service) but not now. A few three month visas for Eastern European lorry drivers is no answer.

They also say:

We are operating:

Fastrack AZ, go2Direct, 208 (school services only), 237, 631, D3, D12, D13, D29, D30, E1, S1, S2, S4, S5, S6, S7, S8 ,S10, S11, S12, S13, S31, S32, S33 ,S41, T3, T13, TW1, TW2, TW3, TW4, TW5, TW6, TW7, TW8, TW9, TW10, TW11

Which contradicts "we have currently suspended all daytime services".

 

[DelayRepay]

I think they only pre-auth £1 to make sure the card works. They did change for a few weeks a couple of years ago to pre-authorising £100 but got a load of bad press when people were getting into bother with suddenly losing £100 for a day or two until the system reconciled what had actually been spent!

I think they went back to £100 at some point this Summer.

Why your card is being checked for £100 when you buy supermarket pay-at-pump petrol - Which? News

Some petrol stations have upped their pre-authorisation checks from £1 to £100

www.which.co.uk

But, as I said, two identical transactions at an unattended petrol pump in quick succession is quite likely to be blocked by fraud monitoring, I would think.

 

[telstarbox]

From an unscientific sample today I passed 8 empty stations and queued for a while at the 9th one! Had less than a quarter tank so hopefully not a panic buyer.

 

[DelayRepay]

Amusingly, my friend is selling his old car. It's been advertised for a few weeks and he's not had much interest other than time wasters. He's had a lot of interest today though since he changed the advert to say it's got a half-full tank of petrol

 

[Typhoon]

They also say:

Which contradicts "we have currently suspended all daytime services".

I think you will find that the vast majority of those listed (from 208 onwards) are school services (which I pointed out were running). I haven't been through them all, I did all until the later S's then some of the remaining S's, T's and TW's. They are term time only, whether they will take adult passengers, I have no idea. A lot weren't during the lockdowns. Even if they did they would have to prioritise pupils. The AZ is a service to the Amazon warehouse (runs 24 hours). the go2Direct is a DRT service. Bookable. Probably already booked.

 

[james60059]

My mum works in the Morrisons Hinckley and she said the petrol station was mad yesterday very long queues. Store was also very busy as many people had popped in to get a few groceries at the same time as fuel.

I was in Morrisons this afternoon about 1pm, and they were queuing up again, up as far as where the lorries go in making deliveries at the store. It's crazy

 

[dakta]

"Had less than a quarter tank so hopefully not a panic buyer."

Depends if you were panicked about what you had left

I caved it and visited petrol station myself this evening, parked up in the car park, and went in and used the costa and got this rather acceptable quality hot chocolate. Paying was interrupted by someone braying on window asking which pump he could use (answer: none of them we don't have any fuel) and he wouldn't take no for an answer, cashier shrugged at me and said something along the lines of 'some people' and I had to say i could sense his frustation because not only had they set the big price signs on the pillar outside to zero, they'd even put big signs outside the turning to try and place emphasis on the degree of emptiness to which the empty tanks were in fact empty.

As I left I took note that every pump was occupied by someone having a go

Also spotted my peers on facebook, a worrying proportion of which are now panicking about how easily the government has managed to force the public to empty the forecourts and worried stiff about what else the government has made them do

 

[HST274]

Lack of petrol at the pumps is all our fault apparently...

Fuel supply: Minister blames empty petrol pumps on unnecessary purchases - BBC News

People buying fuel when they do not need it are the cause of queues at petrol stations and empty pumps, the environment secretary has said.
George Eustice said there was "plenty of petrol" and urged people to buy it in the way they usually do.
He said the situation would "calm down" and the lack of HGV drivers was not a "huge problem" for petrol stations.
There were no plans at the moment to bring in the Army to drive tankers, he said.

I think you would have got good money if you predicted:
1: people would be told not to panic buy
2: this would cause panic
3: people are blamed for panic buying caused by being told not to panic buy

 

[MattRat]

Anyone using the bus to get to work will need to find alternatives, Buses ran during the lockdowns (admittedly reduced service) but not now. A few three month visas for Eastern European lorry drivers is no answer.

Maybe more people will start using the train?

 

[Peter Sarf]

Some papers are now reporting that people are resorting to stealing petrol from parked cars, by siphoning it, or drilling into the petrol tank.

I remember the same thing happening during the tanker drivers strike in the summer of 2000.

Other drivers are following fuel tankers to see where they deliver to, earning themselve the nickname "tanker ***kers."

I recall there were complaints of irreparable damage done to car fuel tanks and a lorry lost all its diesel.

 

[DarloRich]

owners of electric cars will be unbearably smug right now

 

[birchesgreen]

owners of electric cars will be unbearably smug right now

Until the power cuts, then ICE car owners can sneer back at them. In the dark.

 

[Starmill]

The one good thing is that most modern cars are reasonably good at trying to stop you from actually becoming stranded from running out of fuel. Even the ones that don't give you electronic warnings will generally run for miles or tens of miles beyond the last point at which you they might have you expect to have hit zero.

Until the power cuts, then ICE car owners can sneer back at them. In the dark.

Maybe it's time to invest in rooftop solar and a local battery storage setup

 

[Ediswan]

I think you will find that the vast majority of those listed (from 208 onwards) are school services (which I pointed out were running). I haven't been through them all, I did all until the later S's then some of the remaining S's, T's and TW's. They are term time only, whether they will take adult passengers, I have no idea. A lot weren't during the lockdowns. Even if they did they would have to prioritise pupils. The AZ is a service to the Amazon warehouse (runs 24 hours). the go2Direct is a DRT service. Bookable. Probably already booked.

Thanks. If 'daytime' means 'not school', it all become consistent.