Tesco could be counting the cost of putting petrol into the diesel tanks at a Hayes petrol station.
The supermarket giant's mistake last week has just come to light.
Surinder Rehal of Colnbrook was one of the drivers affected. He contacted getwestlondon on Tuesday, June 17 to say he had filled up at the Bull’s Bridge Tesco Extra petrol station on June 12, then noticed something was wrong with his Mercedes 350Cdi a couple of days later, after driving to a wedding in Birmingham.
He said a garage had told him the damage could cost a staggering £11,000 to put right.
A Tesco filling station in Catterick, N. Yorks, made a similar error in 2012, putting diesel in the tank that supplied the petrol pumps, according to an ITV report at the time, and just this week just this week admitted it had put diesel in a petrol pump at a station in Belshill, Scotland, affecting 22 customers.
In the mix-up at the Bull’s Bridge store, off the A312 Hayes Parkway, unleaded fuel was put into the diesel tank.
A spokesman for Tesco said: “We are sorry for this mistake and the small number of customers affected. We are working with all customers involved and their vehicles. As soon as the mistake was spotted both tanks were taken out of service.”
The spokesman said the company were looking into exactly how the error occurred and when, plus how many drivers might be affected.
They were unable to say whether drivers would be compensated.
In both the N. Yorks and Scotland incidents, Tesco paid for repairs, according to reports. An alleged mix-up, in 2007 in Newton Aycliffe, was disputed by the company.
Tesco has declined to go beyond its statement, other than to say that any driver who thinks they might have been affected by the error should call the customer service line on 0800 505555
Were you affected? @getwestlondon or call 01895 451036.
