[ 2011-04-20 ]

Fuel stations fleece consumers
When the National Petroleum Authority (NPA)
recently arrested and punished some petrol dealers
in the country for various offences, ranging from
adjustment of pumping machines to adulteration of
fuel, many were those who thought cheating at the
fuel stations had been eliminated.

The Chronicle can report authoritatively that
cheating at the pumping stations is rather on the
rise. Most fuel stations across the country
continue to cheat their unsuspecting customers.
Conservative estimates indicate that Ghanaian
drivers and car owners are robbed of thousands of
Ghana cedis on a daily basis.

Latest information reaching The Chronicle
indicates that fuel attendants have taken
advantage of the ignorance of their customers to
fleece them dry.

A number of unsuspecting customers who have fallen
foul of this naked robbery told The Chronicle that
the quantity of fuel they pay for at the pumps
never get into their fuel tanks.

Mr. Andrew William Parker, a Graphic Designer at
The Chronicle, told this reporter that while
travelling with his brother to Kumasi early this
year, they bought fuel at one of the stations
along the Accra-Pokuase Road, only to realise a
few miles away that the fuel gauge of the car had
not moved up. They suspected straight away that
the fuel they paid for was not delivered.

When they returned to the fuel station and
challenged the attendant, he did not dispute their
claim and pumped the right petrol they had earlier
paid for into their tank.

The Editor of The Chronicle, Mr. Ebo Quansah, also
told this writer that he filled his tank at a
petrol station around Legon, but upon reaching the
37 Military Hospital area, he realised that his
car was jerking. Mechanics later told him that
there was no fuel in the car.

A member of the Communications team of the New
Patriotic Party (NPP), Mr. Sammy Awuku, narrated a
similar experience to The Chronicle. He said on
Monday April 18 this year, he drove into a fuel
station near the Ghana Institute of Public
Administration (GIMPA) in Accra to buy petrol.

He said after the attendant had pumped in the
GH¢30 worth of fuel he demanded, he decided to
take money from his wallet. At that moment, he
instinctively decided to look at the pump machine
a few seconds later, only to realise that he
already been supplied with 28 litres of petrol.

When he challlenged the attendant, Sammy noted, he
(attendant) pumped the right quantity of fuel into
the tank without hesitation.

Mr. Fiifi Boafo, host of Oman FM's morning show,
narrated a similar ordeal he went through at the
hands of the cheating fuel attendants.
Other consumers who spoke to The Chronicle alleged
that the pumps at most of the stations had been
adjusted, and called on the National Petroleum
Authority (NPA) to strictly monitor the various
fuel stations across the country.

The Public Relations Manager of the NPA, Mr. Steve
Larbi, told The Chronicle that as a result of
complaints from the public about cheating at fuel
stations, his outfit has introduced what he called
the '10 litre can,' a measurement criteria
introduced to check fraud at pumping stations all
over the country.

According to him, any consumer who suspects that
he or she has been short-changed has the right to
demand that fuel be pumped into a can that takes
10 litres of fuel.

Larbi said the can which was manufactured by the
Ghana Standards Board and has markings on it would
tell the consumer whether he or she has been
cheated.

This can be determined if the fuel falls below the
10 litre mark on the can. The spokesperson for the
NPA said any fuel station that refuses to make
available the 10 litre can on demand was in breach
of the law and must immediately, be reported to
the NPA.

The Managing Director of Shell Ghana Limited - a
leading fuel retail company in the country - Mr.
Gmar Benson, told The Chronicle that his outfit
had put all the necessary security measures in
place to avoid cheating, and assured that should
they receive reports about malpractices, they
would be dealt with them immediately.

Gmar Benson said apart from the 10 litre can which
customers can demand, Shell has a policy to check
the quality of petrol every morning before it is
sold to the public. This is to ensure that no
foreign materials seep into the underground tank
to contaminate the product.

Early last year, The Chronicle exposed a fuel
station at Abeka, a suburb of Accra, which was
selling petrol mixed with premix fuel to the
public. After the publication, both the NPA and
National Security moved in and closed down the
station.

The public was, however, not informed whether the
contaminated petrol in the underground tank was
destroyed or not.

A similar report was carried by this paper from
Takoradi, where a station mixed petrol with premix
fuel. The report was also investigated by the NPA.


Mr. Larbi explained that offences of this nature
received by the NPA attract punishments, including
heavy fines, some of which were as high as
GH¢20,OOO.

Source - Ghanaian Chronicle

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