If you are one of the many thousands of motorists who have fallen victim to the current fuel contamination fiasco, you will no doubt, be feeling somewhat disgruntled and certainly very angry at being out of pocket. You will have been put through no small inconvenience, due to both repair costs AND follow on expenses such as transport costs. You will even, perhaps, have suffered loss of earnings due to the absence of your vehicle during repair.

Well, positive news is at hand. A small number of very good legal firms are stepping in to accept contaminated fuel compensation claims, and are ready to move your claims forward immediately.

What Contaminated Fuel Does To Your Car

After having poured contaminated fuel into your petrol tank (diesel being unaffected), you will have noticed that your car will almost immediately loose power, start to misfire and ‘limp' along. What is happening?......

The contaminant tainting your fuel seems to have been identified as SILICON.

Silicon is an element, used in such things as breast implants and should not be confused with SILICONE, which IS commonly added to fuel in order to prevent foaming whilst in the tank. Silicon contaminated fuel does not burn smoothly but ‘flares', causing hotter than normal exhaust fumes. This in turn causes problems with the oxygen sensor (or more correctly Lambda sensor), in the exhaust system. The damaged oxygen sensor will relay a message to the engine management system, which will then attempt to close down the engine in order to minimise any further damage to the rest of the engine. Should fuel contamination have damaged your sensor, there should be a telltale deposit of ‘white-ash' or it may be mis-coloured white or pink.

Some good news is that it is thought unlikely that there will be any permanent damage from tainted fuel as long as you have sought immediate help. The oxygen sensor will have to be replaced, the fuel tank will have to be drained and your fuel system may have to be flushed. A new oxygen sensor will be around £100 but the situation is being greatly exacerbated due to low stocks of sensors. The cost of draining and flushing will vary from one garage to the next.

It is an interesting fact to note, that this problem only seems to affect cars under 10 years old. Cars over that age, whilst still suffering fuel contamination, have much less sensitive systems.

What Are My Options?

So what realistically are your choices?

  • If you have comprehensive car insurance, you could try claiming through your insurers. Most probably, though (depending on your insurer), you will find that you are only covered for accidents, and even if this is not the case, you could stand to loose your no claims bonus if you go down this route. Additionally the cost of the damage may not even reach the excess on your policy.
  • You may be able to use the standard legal expenses insurance cover that you bought with your motor policy. Once again, as this not really an accident, you will probably find your way barred.
  • You may be able to use the legal expenses insurance on your house contents policy, as some of these do cover consumer disputes.
  • You could go through one of the specialist legal firms who have stepped up to handle compensation claims for contaminated fuel.

What Should I do?

Well....as a guest writer, I am debarred from giving out advice in my professional capacity. What I will say, from the position of a private individual (site mediator, please note!), who has been badly affected by the situation, is this:

I am in the fortunate position of being able to claim through my contents policy.

My company has confirmed that they will proceed, should I wish. They also state that there may be a consequential increase in my premium next renewal date. This could be worth pursuing BUT........I AM NOT AT FAULT!!!!!

I personally do not see why I must bare the cost of Tesco's or Morrisons' error. The problems first arose nearly 2 weeks ago and nothing was done to address it then. I am pursuing a claim through a legal firm that is happy to take my case forward.

I did in fact, as advised, ask my garage to save a sample of the contaminated petrol, however, I failed to keep my petrol receipt as proof of purchase. The good news is that because I use my ‘clubcard' whenever I buy petrol, this stands as proof of purchase, and my solicitors assure me that I have the requirements of a solid case.

Some of the legal firms taking on fuel contamination cases, have a scheme that will limit the legal expenses risk to just £75. As I have a fairly solid case, the decision was a ‘no brainer'.

Besides.....If I don't claim from them...they will just be laughing at me...I loose...they win......It's NOT going to happen!!