Rush on Riverton's good oil as price rises

Motorists scrambled to buy cheap petrol at Caltex's self-service pumps in Riverton before the price ballooned 23c yesterday.

Queues stretched on to the street as customers sought fuel at outdated prices before Caltex stopped its self-service machine from undercharging.

Customers had been paying up to 15c less than they would have in the main centres since October.

Riverton Automotive Centre owner Paki Cleaver, who leases his forecourt to Caltex, said queues stretched on to the street early yesterday in one of the busiest days he had seen.

Customers were "pretty rapt" to buy fuel at October 2009 prices. Everyone expected a price rise, "but I didn't expect it to be such a big jump", Mr Cleaver said.

Caltex learned of the charging error on Monday.

Yesterday, it increased the price of a litre of unleaded petrol from 162.9c to 185.9c, and diesel from 105.9c to 117.9c. Chevron New Zealand spokeswoman Sharon Buckland, whose company markets the Caltex brand, said the prices included a 5c-a-litre national increase.

The Riverton site is one of only three self-service pumps Caltex operates nationally.

"We've done a quick look-around and haven't found any similar problems. We don't yet know why the Riverton machine failed in this way."

Pump prices are supposed to be changed electronically from the Chevron head office in Auckland, and price boards are changed manually by contractor Fuelquip.

However, it appeared Fuelquip had not been asked to change the board in Riverton, Ms Buckland said.

Mr Cleaver said he was still getting text messages from Caltex yesterday telling him prices were going up. Outside his garage, the forecourt was besieged by media crews throughout the morning.

"We've had TV One and TV3 hanging around all morning. I've had all sorts of radio stations calling me."

Bay Road Motors owner Dick Hall, who operates the only other petrol station in Riverton, Gasoline Alley, said his rival's long-running mistake "hasn't affected me at all".

"I haven't been selling less. If anything, I've been selling more."

Joseph Aldridge is a journalism student at the Southern Institute of Technology