Mis-fuelling of motor vehicles

The request was successful.

Dear Gloucestershire Constabulary,

Mis-filling of motor vehicles with the wrong fuel is a major issue in the UK with the costs of doing so ranging from £300 for a simple drain and flush through of the tank to over £5000 for those unfortunate enough to irreparably damage their engine. The AA has estimated that 150,000 such events occur each year. In addition, there is a heavy cost in terms of missed appointments and inconvenience.

Q1. Please provide the number of diesel vehicles currently operated by the Police department and the number of occasions any of these vehicles has been misfilled with petrol requiring unscheduled servicing during each of the last two years.

Q2. Please provide the total direct cost associated with the mis-fuelling events.

Q3. If the motor vehicles are owned/maintained by a leasing company please provide the name of the leasing company.

Yours faithfully,

Nick Panchaud

Gloucestershire Constabulary

Dear Mr Panchaud,

Enquiry Ref : 2010/2817

I acknowledge receipt of your enquiry, which we received on 15 September 2010, requesting information concerning:

Q1. Please provide the number of diesel vehicles currently operated by the Police department and the number of occasions any of these vehicles has been misfilled with petrol requiring unscheduled servicing during each of the last two years.

Q2. Please provide the total direct cost associated with the mis-fuelling events.

Q3. If the motor vehicles are owned/maintained by a leasing company please provide the name of the leasing company.

As set out by the Freedom of Information Act, it will be our aim to respond to your request by 13 October 2010. However, it may be that we need to seek further clarification or information from you. This will add to the time in which we are allowed to respond to your request, of which you will be advised, together with the likely timescale within which the response will be provided.

If you have any questions regarding your request please contact me.

Yours sincerely,

Miss J Baynes
Freedom of Information Officer

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Gloucestershire Constabulary

Dear Mr Panchaud

Gloucestershire Constabulary Freedom of Information request 2010.2817

On 15th September 2010 you sent an e-mail constituting a request under the Freedom of Information Act asking the following:

1. Please provide the number of diesel vehicles currently operated by the Police department and the number of occasions any of these vehicles has been misfilled with petrol requiring unscheduled servicing during each of the last two years.
2. Please provide the total direct cost associated with the mis-fuelling events.
3. If the motor vehicles are owned/maintained by a leasing company please provide the name of the leasing company.

Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 s1, I can confirm that the Gloucestershire Constabulary holds some relevant information.

1. Gloucestershire Constabulary currently has (as at the date of this request 15/09/10) 347 diesel vehicles on the fleet. In the period September 2008 – August 2009, 13 diesel vehicles were mis-fuelled and required repairs. In the period September 2009 – September 2010, 9 diesel vehicles were mis-fuelled and required repairs.
2. The total direct cost to Gloucestershire Constabulary as a result of the mis-fuelling incidents referenced in question 1, were as follows; in the period September 2008 – August 2009 £2275.12 and in the period September 2009 – September 2010 £2020.31.
3. In response to question 3 I can confirm that there is no information held by Gloucestershire Constabulary, that is to say the Police Authority does not use a leasing company.

I hope this information is useful.

If you are not satisfied with this response or any actions taken in dealing with your request, you have the right to ask that we review your case under our internal procedure.

If you decide to request that such a review is undertaken and following this process you are still unsatisfied, you then have the right to direct your complaint to the Information Commissioner for consideration.

If we can be of any further assistance please do not hesitate to contact me.

Yours sincerely,

Miss A Pressman
Freedom of Information Officer
Gloucestershire Constabulary

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