ARCHIVED - Chaos, payment problems and long queues in filling stations across Spain over new fuel discount
Thousands of service stations in Spain reported computer malfunctions as the systems were swamped with customers
Systems down, service stations closed, long queues... the first day that filling stations apply the 20 cents per litre fuel discount has resulted in the expected chaos across Spain on Friday April 1. Given the record high prices of petrol and diesel of recent months, many drivers were running on fumes for the past few days and crowded the forecourts on Friday morning to fill up on cheap fuel, thoroughly overwhelming the stations.
Several Repsol stations had to stop serving customers today as their computers crashed with the demand, and a company spokesperson confirmed that its outlets around the country served five times the normal number of customers compared to other Fridays.
Much of the clamour was as a result of Repsol announcing that it will be extending its existing fuel discounts up to 30 cents per litre for customers who use the company’s Waylet app and up to 25 cents for those who do not.
The Valencian Community reported some of the biggest problems, with the sales terminals in a good proportion of service stations unable to apply the 20 cent discount. The president of the Mediterranean Federation of Service Station Entrepreneurs, Juan José Sánchez Segarra, complained that "there is no point of sale terminal (POS) prepared to carry out this operation, and that is creating a big problem for us."
In addition, between 100 and 150 petrol stations remained closed across Spain today due to computer problems and confusion over how to apply the discount.
For the Spanish Association of Retail Vendors of Fuels and Fuels (Aevecar), the fact that some 3,000 filling stations are experiencing problems comes as no surprise, given that they have only had 36 hours to set up the new discount system.
For this reason, "it is normal that the service has slowed down throughout the morning", explained its general secretary, Víctor García Nebreda.
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