ST. LOUIS COUNTY – A major fuel mix-up at a south St. Louis County gas station caused thousands of dollars in damage and even more drivers could be at risk.
Jason Beishir filled up his truck like he always does at U-Gas in the 6100 block of Telegraph Road. Then the trouble began.
"I had a hard time starting it it's just cranked and cranked and cranked," Beishir said.
He thought it was the battery and starter and made some repairs. But nothing worked.
"Probably about five days later, I discovered there was gasoline in there," he said.
Which would normally be okay except Beishir's truck runs on diesel not regular gasoline.
So, he went to see the manager at U-Gas and then spoke with its owner Wallis Companies out of Cuba, Missouri.
"I was told premium diesel was put into the gas tank and the diesel was put into the premium gas tank," he said.
Beisher's said his entire engine will likely have to be replaced and will cost anywhere from $15,000 to $18,000.
A representative from Wallis confirmed customers who pumped gas between the January 24 and 26 may have gotten the wrong fuel. But that representative also said the fuel distributor C C Dillon is to blame, because it made the mistake when it delivered the fuel.
"I purchased fuel from U-Gas on 26th of January. It was the wrong kind of fuel," said Jason Zimmerman, another victim.
Zimmerman found out about the gas mix-up when he got a call about it from Beishir. Zimmerman worries what might have happened if that call never came.
"I would be sitting there with a destroyed vehicle and would have had to buy new truck," Zimmerman said.
Both men believe repairs will be made through the distributor's insurance company. But they said they heard no public announcement or saw signs to alert other customers.
"I don't feel it's very ethical for them to not let the public know," said Beishir.
A Wallis Companies spokesperson said it notified customers they saw and recognized. They would not tell us whether the station posted a sign or actually called customers who purchased gas during the January 24-26 window.
We also called C C Dillon. The owner would not respond to questions about whether C C Dillon was to blame, but did confirmed the company's insurance carrier is covering the costs of repairs. Customers who believe their vehicles may be affected should call 1-800-467-6652 and write the I-Team at 5onyourside@ksdk.com.
Statement from Wallis Companies spokesperson Tracey Hughes:
On January 24th, a third party delivery driver mistakenly dropped premium fuel in the diesel tank and diesel fuel in the premium tank. The human error was identified on January 26th and steps were immediately taken to correct the problem. Customers with any fuel quality issues were immediately escalated to an adjuster with the third party’s insurance carrier. Arrangements were made for immediate repairs. At this time, nearly half of the customers have received full payment for all repairs and inconvenience. Another quarter are in the final stages of the payment process. The remaining quarter of the customers are still undergoing repairs. We are working as quickly as we can to bring resolution to our customers. We are deeply sorry that this human error caused our customers frustrations and inconvenience. Additionally, we are working with the third party to insure the error isn’t repeated in the future.
