Bad gas: Fuel mix-up at Langdon, Alta. gas station results in repair bills for drivers
Dozens of drivers are expected to have been affected by an issue at a southern Alberta gas station, where diesel and regular gas was inadvertently added to the wrong storage tanks.
Travis Clarke was one of the affected drivers. He said he filled up at the Gas Plus station, at 708 Centre St. in Langdon, Alta., and then went on a trip to Medicine Hat and back, a distance of approximately 1,000 kilometres.
"It ran rough for the first trip and the second trip home it was sputtering, stalling, dying, spitting black stuff out of the exhaust," he said. "The oil pressure dropped, (so) I checked the oil and it was full of diesel."
Clarke said he reached out to Gas Plus, the owner of the station where he fuelled up, and was told they were out of office until Aug. 4.
"It's kind of frustrating that they're taking an extended long weekend while we're sitting at home with our long weekend plans cancelled," Clarke said.
The one thing Clarke wants, he said, is to have the company commit, in writing, to cover all costs associated with repairs for his family's sole vehicle.
"Out here, most of us have two or more vehicles to get to work in but, for us, it's the only vehicle we have that fits all of us."
COMPANY CONFIRMS FUEL PROBLEM
CTV News reached out to GP Fuels Inc., the company that operates the Gas Plus stations, and it said it apologized for the inconvenience the problem created for drivers that fuelled up at the Langdon location.
In a statement, it said a "mix of fuel," delivered on July 24, resulted in diesel being placed into the regular gas tank and regular gas added to the diesel tank by the distributor.
GP Fuels said it was certain that no one who bought regular gas at the location received pure diesel and no one who bought diesel received pure regular gas.
"If you purchased regular gas, you received approximately 80 per cent regular gas and 20 per cent diesel," the company said in a statement. "If diesel was purchased, you received approximately 60 per cent diesel and 40 per cent regular gas."
According to the statement, the issue may have affected anyone who bought mid-grade fuel, but those who purchased premium would have not had an issue.
It did not say how many drivers were affected, but confirmed that the issue was not discovered until July 27, a full three days after the delivery.
GP Fuels said it is also offering help to anyone whose vehicle was damaged because of the problem.
"We ask only those experiencing vehicle problems who purchased regular gas, mid-grade gas or diesel between 9 a.m. on Saturday, July 24, 2021 and 9:45 a.m. on Tuesday, July 27, 2021 to email up at support@gpfuels.com with your contact information.
"We will be in contact with everyone in the coming days with more information on how to proceed and, in the meantime, ask you to retain your proof of fuel purchase and all receipts as all claims will be processed through insurance on a case-by-case basis."
As soon as the issue was discovered, GP Fuels said it "shut down the site immediately." All of the affected tanks were completely drained and refilled with the proper fuels.
The issue involving the gas pumps at the Langdon Gas Plus has since been resolved and drivers are filling up once again.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cargo ship had engine maintenance in port before Baltimore bridge collapse, officials say
The cargo ship that lost power and crashed into a bridge in Baltimore underwent 'routine engine maintenance' in port beforehand, the U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.
Donald Trump assails judge and his daughter after gag order in N.Y. hush-money criminal case
Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the New York judge who put him under a gag order that bars him from commenting publicly about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors in his upcoming hush-money criminal trial.
Families shocked after Niagara Falls hotel cancels bookings made year in advance of solar eclipse
After having the foresight to book their Niagara Falls hotel rooms more than a year in advance, several families planning to take in the solar eclipse next month were shocked to find out their reservations had been cancelled.
B.C. rescuers face 'high likelihood' of failure to reunite orphaned orca with pod
The race to reunite an orphaned orca calf that’s stuck in a shallow lagoon with a neighbouring pod has entered its fifth day, and a marine scientist says the clock is ticking.
Video shows police interrupting auto theft in progress outside Toronto home
New video footage obtained by CP24 shows the attempted theft of a vehicle in a North York driveway earlier this month that was ultimately interrupted by police.
Majority of Canadians believe in life after death: Angus Reid survey
A new survey from the Angus Reid Institute has found that a majority of Canadians believe in some form of life after death, a proportion that has held steady for decades.
MyPillow, owned by U.S. election denier Mike Lindell, formally evicted from Minnesota warehouse
A court ordered the eviction Wednesday of MyPillow from a suburban Minneapolis warehouse that it formerly used.