Nearly 900 motorists...

Nearly 900 motorists at Asda"s Aintree store in Liverpool were recently charged double for fuel, due to a faulty credit card-operated pump. And now, the AA is demanding better service from filling stations.

Worse still, when owners spotted the mistake and tried to get a refund, some were charged again! Others didn"t notice until they checked their statement, such as Joanne Lee from Liverpool. "Fortunately I work in a bank, so I keep an eye on my balance, otherwise I might have gone over-drawn," she told Watchdog.

The company apologised and drivers were refunded, but it"s not the first time Asda customers have been put out. Last year, up to 300 motorists in Fife filled up with the wrong fuel after a mix-up at its Halbeath store. This led to diesel being pumped through the unleaded nozzles for about 10 hours. The firm offered compensation, but an RAC spokeswoman argued it was "hard to calculate" the damage of misfuelling.

However, Asda isn"t the only supermarket causing concern. Norma Rose, from Tadcaster, North Yorks, told us she had a "nightmare experience" last April, after Tesco falsely accused her of fleeing its filling station in York without paying.

Its spokeswoman explained: "She inserted her card to pay at the pump, but also pressed the "pay at kiosk" button." Norma didn"t realise the transaction hadn"t gone through until police arrived at her home to question her.

An AA Motoring Trust spokesman said stores needed to tighten up procedures at their filling stations. "They make a big noise about customer care, but they have to ensure things like this don"t happen," he said.