A petrol station fined me £90 after it forgot to charge for fuel, do I have to pay? DEAN DUNHAM KC replies

The reader says a petrol station charged them for sweets but accidentally failed to charge for their fuel, then sought an extra £90. The legal advice column says they should pay for the fuel, which they had intended to pay for, but can challenge the additional charge because a private business cannot issue a legal fine.

The response says the £90 may only be enforceable if the customer agreed to it and it reasonably reflects the station’s costs. It recommends paying the fuel promptly in writing, explaining the mistake and disputing the extra sum, while asking the station to justify how it was calculated. The article also includes a separate question about a council’s liability for damage to cemetery headstones, but its answer is cut off in the supplied text.