Motorists snap up petrol at 14.9c a litre

Petrol prices may have finally been falling around the country but a rural South Island service station undercut all the opposition late last month, reducing its price to just 14.9 cents a litre, $1.34 a litre below the standard price at the time.

Unfortunately for motorists who cashed in on the bargain price, it was all a big mistake.

The Challenge Riwaka petrol station, near Motueka, inadvertently slashed its price to 14.9 cents a litre after a staff member set the decimal point in the wrong place on the overnight self-service Eftpos pump on October 21 and 22.

Challenge placed an advertisement in a newspaper today asking those who benefited from the blunder to come forward and pay the difference.

Anyone who hasn't done so by Sunday can expect to have their Eftpos details handed over to Motueka police.

Challenge owner-manager Jeff Roger said this morning no-one had owned up yet. "We're upset, really. Some people have got the fuel and just come back several times knowing the machine is wrong."

The staff member involved had made a honest mistake and was not in trouble, he said.

Senior Sergeant Grant Andrews of Motueka police confirmed there were 50 Eftpos transactions on the self-service pump over the two nights.

"Challenge has offered these people an amnesty until Sunday night.

"Come Monday morning we'll be following up on theft complaints and then we'll be tracking down the people who have made the transactions.

"In some cases, there has been a transaction of 30 or 40 litres of fuel and a short time later 100 litres of fuel to that same Eftpos card.

"So we are looking at theft or using a document to obtain a pecuniary advantage -- there are penalties for that," he said.

"They will know that they've purchased petrol at that price. You could fill your car for $7, so they will know.' '

- nzpa