Petrol prices have been falling around the country but one service station undercut all the opposition late last month reducing its price to 14.9 cents a litre.
Unfortunately for motorists who cashed in on the bargain price, it was all a mistake. The Challenge Riwaka petrol station near Nelson inadvertently slashed its price by $1.34 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 on Thursday asking those who benefitted 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 the 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 an honest mistake and was not in trouble, he said.
Senior Sergeant Grant Andrews of the Motueka police confirmed this morning there had been 50 Eftpos transactions on the self-service pump over the two nights. He said police would be tracing the electronic signatures of purchasers who did not come clean by Sunday.
"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.
"We will look at every transaction on a case-by-case basis, but it's not up to us to go and knock on their door. They will know that they've purchased petrol at that price. You could fill your car for $7, so they will know."
