A woman is at loggerheads with Woolworths after she claimed petrol from their Ken Tubman Drive service station was contaminated.
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Shantala Bemrose, of Pokolbin, said she bought $45.41 worth of Vortex 95 fuel from the Maitland petrol station on September 8.
On her way home the car, a new Hyundai, broke down and became inoperable.
She was eventually able to drive the vehicle to the motor dealer, where it was discovered the fuel in the car was contaminated.
Repairs cost Ms Bemrose $250, but could have been much worse, the mechanic told her.
Ms Bemrose maintains the contaminated fuel was bought from the Woolworths service station in question.
But Woolworths has strongly denied any responsibility.
In a letter to Ms Bemrose, Woolworths Petrol national fuel supply manager Cara Williams, wrote: “Whilst Woolworths regrets any inconvenience and damage caused to your vehicle, we deny responsibility for any such damage and stand by the quality of the fuel sold to the customer at the Maitland site.
“On the day of the purchase, Woolworths sold over 7600 litres of Vortex 95 from the Maitland site.
“Woolworths has not received any complaints from other motorists who also purchased fuel at around the same time of your purchase.
“There have also been no queries regarding the quality of Vortex 95 sold from the Maitland site in the previous 12 months.
“All fuel sold by Woolworths has been laboratory tested to ensure compliance to requirements under the Fuel Quality Standards Act 2000.”
But a letter to Ms Bemrose from Cessnock City Motor Group Hyundai expert technician Stephen Dawson, who examined the car, said the blockage had been caused by contaminated fuel.
“After buying the petrol, I struggled to start the car and there was a strong smell of burning petrol,” Ms Bemrose said.
“I broke down in Cessnock and didn’t know what had happened until the mechanic Steve Dawson told me my fuel was contaminated.”
Ms Bemrose kept a meticulous account of the incident, detailing all the events since the time she bought the fuel.
“I drove from Maitland to Vincent Street, in Cessnock before my car seized up,” Ms Bemrose said.
“I left the car overnight at the Hyundai Service Centre and the service advisor Steve Dawson confirmed contaminated fuel had damaged the pump and clogged the fuel pump.”
Ms Bemrose is now awaiting a response from the NSW Department of Fair Trading and the federal Department of the Environment.
