The busy Astwick Service Station, on the A1 northbound between Stevenage and Biggleswade, is asking for customers using its number one pump at night to pay for their fuel before filling up.
That’s because pump number one is right near the roadside and the cashier can’t see that pump from the shop.
Astwick Service Station, in Stotfold, is a Top 50 Indie Highway Stops-owned site, run by contract manager Thaya Velautham.
He says the site does not have a big problem with drive-offs because it uses Forecourt Eye, which checks car registrations, but pump number one is a tricky one to watch.
Velautham says they never have any issues with the prepayment. “Customers come in hand over, say £30, and go and fill up. The fuel cuts off at £30. If they hand us £50 and only put £45-worth of fuel in, they come back into the shop to get their £5 change.”
He says he is not especially keen on the ‘payment first’ approach but it is required on pump number one. “I don’t like the idea of pay-at-pump because it would destroy my shop sales,” he adds.
The site has a lot of HGV traffic and has dedicated pumps and AdBlue for them.
Velautham has run the 24-hour petrol station since 2012 and also operates three other sites.
There is a 24-hour Costa drive-through adjacent to the forecourt and Astwick Service Station has a Subway in its shop.
“Subway is technically open until 10pm but as all staff are trained to make the subs, if the site has any bread left after that time, staff are happy to take orders,” explains Velautham.
Highway Stops operations director, Sellarajah Guna (known as Guna), says it’s not the company’s policy to ask people to pre-pay for their fuel but contract managers can decide to do so if necessary.
