Daisy Phillipson
A driver has shared a video of the moment he walked into a Shell petrol station and refused to pay more than £7 for his fuel. You can watch below:
Amid the cost-of-living crisis, fuel prices have been skyrocketing, with some experts fearing petrol could hit £2 per litre.
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While some people have been left wondering whether to even use their car at all during these testing times, TikTok user @godsbeen decided to take matters into his own hands.
In the clip, he fills up his tank before saying: "I've seen this video yesterday of a guy [at] Shell petrol station.
"He went in, got himself some fuel and he only paid so much. And do you know what? I agree with him totally."
The man walks up to the counter and is told he owes £10, but he only hands over £7, telling the cashier: "That's all I'm paying you, because do you know what? You people are taking the p**s.
"The government are giving you a discount. Even the RAC have said that you received the discount, and you're not passing it down to your customers.
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"And you're charging me astronomical prices and you're making money."
As the cashier calls for his colleague, the TikToker tells him 'I'm not paying it', adding that he's got his registration and to 'call the police' if they want to.
"I'm not stealing, I'm not refusing to pay you for it - all I'm paying for is what the government are allowed."
The video has since gone viral, amassing nearly 135,000 views as well as hundreds of comments from the online community.
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Many agreed with the man's actions, with one writing: "Let’s be honest, if we all do this what are the police gonna do, arrest us all?"
"Everyone do this," said another, while a third added, "People need to make a stand with fuel, council tax, electric bills, wages etc."
Others, however, accused the OP of being a little harsh on the cashier, including this person who said: "It’s the company not the cashier."
A second wrote: "The guy behind the counter isn’t making the money why give people like that a hard life? Not his fault is it."
LADbible has contacted Shell UK for comment.
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Whatever your take on the matter, it serves as further evidence of the spiralling fuel crisis in the UK.
According to new research shared by RAC, the country ranks 12th out of 13 European countries when it comes to temporary tax cuts to reduce the cost of petrol and diesel since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams said: “This analysis lays bare an uncomfortable truth for the UK Government - that compared to other European countries, it’s pretty much done the least to support drivers through the current period of record high fuel prices.
"The result is the UK being one of the most expensive places to fill up and putting it above other countries that have historically charged more for fuel than UK retailers do, including France and the Netherlands."