Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/10/2025

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On 11/27/2024, I fueled up at Shell gas station at ****************************************** with 10.7 gallons of unleaded fuel for my 2018 ****** Rav4 Hybrid. About 2 hours later, the check engine light came on and the car immediately stalled and would not restart. The car was towed to Heritage ****** in ***********************, a reputable dealership with mechanic service where I normally go to get routine maintenance. The mechanic reported that the cause of mechanical failure was "bad fuel". I filed a claim with Shell and provided all my evidence including receipt for gas that morning, report and invoice from mechanic, towing info, receipt for Lyft. Shell 'investigated' over the last 6 weeks and claims no responsibility and denied my claim which they only told me about after I inquired yesterday as to the status.

  Business Response

  Date: 01/30/2025

  This is in response is to the complaint ID ********. The customer's complaint was forwarded to me as the proprietor/Dealer at the Shell gas station, located at ************* and I promptly reached out to the customer through email and stated that the wholesale supplier to my site was investigating her complaint, since they supply my product and have been doing so for over 16 years without anything remotely close to what the complainant is allerging happened to her car. On 11/27/2024, being the day the customer filled up at our site, the site sold 5108 gallons of gas at the end of the day, of this amount of gas sold the customer only bought 10.7 gallons. It is logical to conclude that if the gas sold to the customer was the cause of her car problems, the station would have been overran with complaints from the other customers who bought the remaining ****** gallons of our product, but up until this write up, we have not had any complaints. I stated this same fact to the customer even before our wholesale suppliers completed their investigations and concluded that the customer's car problems was not as a result of the gas purchased from the station. 

  Thank you for affording me the opportunity to state my side of story as regards this dispute.

   

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/31/2025

   
  Complaint: 22792975
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  

  It is not a coincidence that less than 2 hours after I filled up a nearly full tank of gas that my car stalled. 

  Not every car will have same effects from bad fuel. I have done some research and some cars may just sputter and not run efficiently for awhile until it is refueled. I have even spoken to another person from my job (across street from gas station) who also got gas from that location and she noticed her car was acting funny after getting gas. 

  My car, a Toyotal Rav4 hybrid, is equipped with a safety mechanism. If there is a problem, the car will stop and will not turn back on, to prevent extensive damage to the vehicle. Not every car will have this response. 

  Unless the dealer called every customer and asked if they had any issues at all, they can not conclude there was no problem. Did they even notify any customer on that day at all to see if any issues? Highly doubtful or they would be subject to multiple lawsuits and complaints.

  In addition, the mechanic at Heritage ****** dealership asserted that the problem was "bad fuel" and that the tank was full. I obviously didn't fill up anywhere else as incident occurred less than 2 hours after filling up at Shell. I didn't make up that bad fuel was result. This was determined by a reputable mechanic and dealership.

  I'm only asking to be reimbursed for the money I'm out for the incident. We are all fortunate that my car suddenly stopping didn't result in a car accident especially as my pregnant daughter, my 11 month old granddaughter and my elderly parents were all in the vehicle when incident occurred and can testify that everything I'm saying is true.

  If Shell won't pay for their mistake, I will be forced to seek legal action and a judge can decide on the result.

  My hope is we can solve this amicably out of court given I've supplied enough evidence for my claim.

  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***** ******

  Business Response

  Date: 02/13/2025

  After reading the complainant's response, I just want to add that apart from the total of ****** gallons sold on the day the complainant visited, we ended the day with 3058 gallons in the tank to start the next day. So in essence this complainant is saying 10.7 gallons she bought out of the 8145 galloons sold between November 27 and 28th, (********%) was bad and resulted to her car issues and NOT one other complaint from the rest *****%. To reintetrate, it is not plausible the complainant's car problem resulted from the gas bought at our site and the wholesale supplier has investigated and carried out sufficient testing to debunk this complaint.

  Regards,

  ******* *******

  Customer Answer

  Date: 02/13/2025

   
  Complaint: 22792975
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  Shell has not provided any evidence that they have done any testing on their part only what they report. Where is your evidence of testing done? What documentation have they provided? None while I have provided my evidence which supports my claim.

  The proof of what I say is supported by documented evidence by mechanic and the fact that after mechanic emptied their bad fuel and replaced with good fuel which fixed the problem supports that claim.

  As Shell seems unwilling to provide documentation or evidence other than their verbal explanation, it seems i have no recourse but to seek legal action. I will be submitting a legal claim and will see them in a court of law and a judge can decide whose case is stronger.

  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***** ******