A Guildford petrol station has reported a 20% decline in sales after a member of its staff was named and shamed on Facebook following an allegation of card cloning – which turned out to be false.

The incident took place on September 6, when a woman attempted to use her debit card after purchasing fuel and cigarettes. The cashier said the chip and pin machine was dirty and cleaned it with a wipe before placing the card back in the machine. She then asked the customer to re-enter her pin number. The customer thought this was suspicious and when she checked with her bank, there were two pending transactions of the same amount she had spent on petrol. The bank agreed to cancel one of the transactions so she was not at a loss.

The matter was reported to Surrey Police and it was referred to Action Fraud. In the meantime, however, the customer returned to the petrol station and took a photo of the cashier who served her and posted it on Facebook along with a comment related to her allegation as a warning to other people.

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