When a driver drove off without paying for £50-worth of fuel from Rhydymwyn Service Station, just outside Mold in Flintshire, co-owner Gemma Newell, issued a post on Facebook stating: “We are trying our best at the moment with literally no profit on fuel, so this makes me very angry.” It also included an appeal for the person responsible to return and pay up.
What happened next though was unprecedented. Newell takes up the story: “A woman came in and tried to hand me £50 in cash. I asked her what it was for and she said she had seen our post on Facebook and wanted to pay for the stolen fuel.
“Of course, I couldn’t accept the money but I was blown away by her action as it showed that there are lovely people among us.”
The incident then inspired Newell, who runs the business with her partner Robert Standring, to run a free fuel giveaway for £50-worth of fuel. “I thought it would be good to pay it forward so, rather than focusing on negativity and hardship, we passed on the love and gave away some fuel. We asked our social media followers to nominate someone who lives within 10 miles of the garage and we would then select one winner at random. What’s been really nice is that the post has triggered people to show appreciation for others in their nominations.”
However, that one winner quickly turned into three as Newell’s coffee supplier Mug Run donated another £50 and another anonymous supplier donated a further £50. The draw received over 1,000 nominations and Newell drew out three lucky winners.
She says that thankfully, her site does not suffer too much from drive-offs but when one does happens, it makes them sad and angry.
“We try to offer fair prices across the board. That’s particularly hard at the moment on fuel and it means we aren’t making any money on petrol or diesel.”
