Ireland: Station Fined €14,000 for Overcharging
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Wednesday, 09 November 2011 |
The owner of a fuel service station in Dublin has been fined €14,000 after becoming the first person to be successfully prosecuted for overcharging customers for fuel. The station, located at a city centre location, was using incorrectly calibrated fuel pumps and overcharging motorists by €1.80 on a 50-litre fill.
The owner of the station pleaded guilty to using an unverified instrument and selling short fuel measures in the Dublin District Court, just over a year after inspectors found compliance issues related to the fuel being dispensed and the price charged at the site. The owner was notified of the issues but, following further complaints from the public in February of this year, a further inspection from the National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI) found fuel pumps with broken seals that were "significantly under-measuring petrol and diesel being sold to consumers". The case was then taken to the courts by the state agency.
"This successful prosecution in the service station sector underscores the important work of LMS in helping to protect consumers from unscrupulous traders," said NSAI Chief Executive Maurice Buckley. A spokesperson for the organisation confirmed that the issue at the site had been rectified and that the pumps were correctly calibrated.
The NSAI inspected nearly 8,000 pumps at 1,300 fuel service stations last year. The inspections resulted in over 2,000 warnings being issued to traders, requiring them to take corrective action.
PetrolWorld 09112011
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