Fuel station operator Ampol has apologised after their staff wrongly reported a Tasmanian customer to police for stealing fuel, despite having paid through the company’s self-service app.
The incident occurred on October 10 when the customer’s husband used the Ampol app to pay for fuel at the South Hobart Ampol service station on Davey Street.
Ampol’s app allows customers to pay for fuel from their vehicle without entering the store.
Despite receiving payment confirmation and having funds deducted from their account, the customer was contacted by Tasmania Police three days later about an alleged fuel theft.
“Ampol had reported my car for theft of fuel, driving off without paying,” the customer told Pulse.
“TasPol even advised that Ampol reported that the driver returned to the car, ‘did something on their phone’ and then drove off.”
The customer claimed after they contacted the service station, staff acknowledged it was not the first time they had seen such an error occur but offered no immediate apology.
She described the experience as “distressing” given Ampol “incentivises customers to use their app” for fuel purchases.
Ampol has since acknowledged the error, following questioning by Pulse.
“Ampol sincerely apologises for the misunderstanding that occurred at its Hobart South store earlier this month,” a spokesperson told Pulse.
“The technical issue was an isolated incident and has not impacted any other customers. We have apologised to the affected customer for any inconvenience.”
Police confirmed they were advised of the alleged fuel theft but said there was no indication of a systemic issue.
“The matter was resolved between the business and the party involved, without the need for police attendance,” a spokesperson said.
The customer claimed she was required to provide multiple proofs of payment to Ampol before the company acknowledged its error.
She said she received no explanation of what caused the technical glitch or how it would be prevented in future.
