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tinker

Not wishing to make excuses but living down here I know for a fact that a lot of the garages have an awful lot of Traffic from the Irish Ferries all year round. Having said that it's not on to try and charge you when the sign say's its free. I would write and complain seeing as its one of the 'Big-Boys'.
Tinker

Drifter

Calypso - No, I did not ask before filling my water tank, but it did say on the service consul that it was free air and water.
Tinker - Yes, I agree. Have emailed trading standards at Carmarthenshire County Council. If there's a charge, then it must be on the price list displayed on the premises.
Banjo - Don't aploligise for the Welsh. I'm also Welsh. Nationality is not in question. You get opportunists to make an easy dollar in Wales as well.

I think the real problem, as is raised on this forum, is that petrol stations would usually have a metered water supply, and it's cost is paid for by the franchisee and not the oil company. MotorHomes guzzle water compared to cars who just top up the radiator, or tuggers who use on-site showers etc.

I think Tinker has a point about the stretch of road in question. It's the main route to Ireland and am sure that the petrol station concerned gets loads of motorhomers, who stop for water. However, it's a physical impossibility to do the whole trip on one tank of fuel, and suspect us motorhomers spend loads of dosh at the place. I don't think it's the few pennies cost of the water, more a case of taking the opportunity to extract a few extra quid from the driver of an expensive vehicle.

I think Averywildcamper has visited the same place. It sounds exactly where I was accosted for payment. To be honest, I don't mind paying, but the way I was approached was not exactly friendly, hence my rant.

MOTORHOMER

[quote:7dbbb15a0c="Drifter"]I was in West Wales last week having driven from Kent, I pulled into a petrol station on the A40 to fill up with diesel and also fill my water tank. While filling my water tank the proprietor came out told me that I would have to pay £2 for the tap water. This really surprised me, to be charged for water. The sign on the air/water console said "free air and water", but the proprietor told me that was only for cars. I explained that I was about to buy about £60 worth of fuel but she still insisted that I pay for the water. My water tank is 20 litres.

The air/water console was a corporate Shell affair and my m/h was not blocking the fore-court while I was filling my tank.

Has anyone else experienced this ? It was really strange and it's never happened to me before. At £2 a tank I might as well use Evian, and I don't think that part of Wales has a water shortage. In the event I just drove off without paying for the tap water and bought my diesel down the road at another garage. I am thinking of complaining to Shell or the local trading standards. Is this normal, to be expected to pay for tap water ?

Drifter[/quote:7dbbb15a0c]

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Hi Drifter

I have never been asked & if I was would take my business elswhere. Like you I would just use bottled water.

Sometimes we have found the water access less than motorhome friendly and what other half has done is collect the water in a suitable container, use a 12 volt pump we have to transfer the water to the tank. We never use tank water for drinking so a tank full for other purposes lasts quite a while.

Motorhomer

sealady

I was in a fuel station at the side of the A1 last week following snow and during the time the roads were being salted. During the time I was there, which was longer than usual, wagons stopped next to the [free] water tap and the drivers hosed down the front of their vehicles from top to bottom. The number of wagons would easily use more water than six motorhomes. No one appeared asking for money and not all the vehicles fuelled up so it seems Drifter was unfortunate in his choice of fuel station. But it appears that particular fuel station has [almost] been named and shamed!