Pump attendant, initially told to pay S$1,500 to customer after mistake, won't have to foot the bill

SINGAPORE: A petrol station's pump attendant will not have to foot the repair bill after he accidentally pumped S$20 worth of petrol into a diesel vehicle on Jan 21, and the vehicle was towed to a workshop to flush out the petrol. 

He was initially told that he'd have to fork out S$1,500 in total, which included the cost of the customer's replacement rental car. 

WHAT HAPPENED

CNA received a tip-off on Friday (Jan 28) about the incident that happened at a Caltex petrol station.  

The pump attendant was initially informed that the total repair cost was around S$400, but after about a week, he was told that he had to compensate more than S$1,500 to the customer. 

This sum included the car that the customer had rented, parking fees, and all transport-related costs that the customer had spent while his Kia car was in the workshop. 

The pump attendant was also told that the S$1,500 would be deducted from his salary if he failed to pay it on Friday, he told CNA over the phone. 

He didn't pay the sum, and sounded anxious for fear that he would lose his job.

The tip-off caller - who is the former boss of the pump attendant and used to run a petrol station himself - said that in his experience, petrol stations have insurance coverage.

Typically, anything below S$500 would be covered by insurance, he said.   

The pump attendant had called his former boss to seek advice after the incident. 

"I have told (the pump attendant) that should he receive any reprimand from his boss, I am able to provide him with a job," the caller told CNA. 

"He has always been a good worker (so) this is the least I can do." 

"FIRM VIEW" ON FAIR EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES

In response to CNA's queries, a spokesperson from Chevron Singapore, which oversees the Caltex brand, said the petrol station involved is operated by a third-party service provider. 

However, Chevron takes a "firm view on fair employment practices".

"As soon as we became aware of this incident, we reached out to the service provider and clarified that imposing financial penalties on their employee is not aligned with Chevron's values on fair employment practices," the company said. 

"Chevron has also reached out to assure the pump attendant that he would not be required to pay for the cost of the incident."