Bromley Common A21 Shell petrol station
Discussion
This used to be my fuel stop of choice - prices were reasonable, not too busy, and tended to be on my way. Late last year they closed for redevlopment (more pumps - planning docs are on the Bromley Council website), due to reopen in Feb. The Petts Wood Shell also closed at the same time (great timing, boys!) but reopened a couple of months back.
The A21 station hasn't seen any activity for a few months now, they have dug up the old tanks but nothing is going on.
Does anybody know any more? The BP opposite is bloody expensive!
The A21 station hasn't seen any activity for a few months now, they have dug up the old tanks but nothing is going on.
Does anybody know any more? The BP opposite is bloody expensive!
Whilst avoiding naming and shaming, you might reasonably infer that you have already mentioned the business I am describing.
A couple of years ago several colleagues had their debit cards cloned. A comparison of bank statements revealed that the only common denominator was they had all bought petrol from the same petrol station.
It seemed that the reason the prices were reasonable was that they were tempting in as many people as possible and making the margins back by defrauding them.
A visit to the station revealed on closer examination that a card skimmer was attached to normal reader. This had two wires instead of the normal one. It also had very large shields to prevent other people observing you inputting your pin.
Closer examination revealed that top one of these larger shields housed a pinhole camera that could record you inputting you pin.
Apparently I used my card in Kent and South Africa within 30 minutes of each other. I like to think of myself as a fast driver, but even I would struggle to traverse two continents in half an hour.
Apparently the rules about how much you can take out in a day doesn’t apply in South Africa. They were able to keep drawing cash from ATM’s until it hit the overdraft limit.
More shocking was the lack of interest by either the Police or Bank’s own fraud department.
A couple of years ago several colleagues had their debit cards cloned. A comparison of bank statements revealed that the only common denominator was they had all bought petrol from the same petrol station.
It seemed that the reason the prices were reasonable was that they were tempting in as many people as possible and making the margins back by defrauding them.
A visit to the station revealed on closer examination that a card skimmer was attached to normal reader. This had two wires instead of the normal one. It also had very large shields to prevent other people observing you inputting your pin.
Closer examination revealed that top one of these larger shields housed a pinhole camera that could record you inputting you pin.
Apparently I used my card in Kent and South Africa within 30 minutes of each other. I like to think of myself as a fast driver, but even I would struggle to traverse two continents in half an hour.
Apparently the rules about how much you can take out in a day doesn’t apply in South Africa. They were able to keep drawing cash from ATM’s until it hit the overdraft limit.
More shocking was the lack of interest by either the Police or Bank’s own fraud department.
Used to work in Bromley until 2009 and sometimes used the A21 fllling station on the way in. The Petts Wood one was my local station and on the correct side going home. Usually used that as it didn't matter if it was busy and I got home a little later than planned.
Never used a debit card (very bad idea - the banks are useless if you have problems); only a credit card. I always cover the keypad when entering my PIN to prevent any camera capturing the info. Seems to have worked so far.
There have been a few cases where the terminal itself has been replaced with a doctored unit by fraudsters under the guise of a 'hardware upgrade'. The PIN numbers are captured internally and downloaded electronically. Not much you can do about that.
My o/h got scammed for over £5k (a computer/software/applications and a camera) allegedly bought online from an outlet in South Korea. The card issuer's fraud department flagged it up as suspcious before she even received her monthly statement. The hiatus until a new account and card could be issued was a bit of a pain but she was very impressed with their pro-active action.
Never did get to the bottom of how it happened but my money was on crooked staff in a restaurant. Don't whatever you do let the card out of your sight. Takes seconds to bung it through a card reader under the counter. Software to extract the PIN is readily available.
Never used a debit card (very bad idea - the banks are useless if you have problems); only a credit card. I always cover the keypad when entering my PIN to prevent any camera capturing the info. Seems to have worked so far.
There have been a few cases where the terminal itself has been replaced with a doctored unit by fraudsters under the guise of a 'hardware upgrade'. The PIN numbers are captured internally and downloaded electronically. Not much you can do about that.
My o/h got scammed for over £5k (a computer/software/applications and a camera) allegedly bought online from an outlet in South Korea. The card issuer's fraud department flagged it up as suspcious before she even received her monthly statement. The hiatus until a new account and card could be issued was a bit of a pain but she was very impressed with their pro-active action.
Never did get to the bottom of how it happened but my money was on crooked staff in a restaurant. Don't whatever you do let the card out of your sight. Takes seconds to bung it through a card reader under the counter. Software to extract the PIN is readily available.
Keston Marques 
The Shell was definitely a good 4-5p/l cheaper when it was open...
ETA:
Just looked at WhatGas on my phone:
Keston Mark Esso - 146.9p/l for unleaded (Apr 4)
A21 BP - 142.9p/l for unleaded (Apr 1)
Shell Petts Wood - 140.9p/l for unleaded (Mar 29, but it was still that when I last filled up a week or so ago)
Over 50 litres that's a £3 saving, worth having IMHO
The Shell was definitely a good 4-5p/l cheaper when it was open...
ETA:
Just looked at WhatGas on my phone:
Keston Mark Esso - 146.9p/l for unleaded (Apr 4)
A21 BP - 142.9p/l for unleaded (Apr 1)
Shell Petts Wood - 140.9p/l for unleaded (Mar 29, but it was still that when I last filled up a week or so ago)
Over 50 litres that's a £3 saving, worth having IMHO
Edited by NiceCupOfTea on Monday 9th April 11:41
Dont forget the Tescos garages at Riverhead & Sidcup. Not exactly local but perfect if youre out hooning & their 99 go juice is pretty cheap.
Shame about the Shell on Bromley Common as its very close to home, WJ King a little closer to Bromley might be worth a look. I usually fill up the oil burner there so havent checked out their unleaded petrol prices.
Nick
Shame about the Shell on Bromley Common as its very close to home, WJ King a little closer to Bromley might be worth a look. I usually fill up the oil burner there so havent checked out their unleaded petrol prices.
Nick
Red Devil said:
Never used a debit card (very bad idea - the banks are useless if you have problems); only a credit card. I always cover the keypad when entering my PIN to prevent any camera capturing the info. Seems to have worked so far.
I always cover the keypad with my wallet whist entering the pin.The keypad had three oversized ‘wings’ to shield the keypad, a top and two sides. As the pinhole camera was concealed in the top shield it was between my wallet and the keypad and still recorded my pin.
There is a daily limit on how much you can withdraw from your account in the UK.
However in South Africa it seems that the system isn’t fully joined up. There is nothing to prevent fraudsters going from one ATM to the next and withdrawing the daily limit at each ATM on the same day.
It’s a bit galling when the fraudsters can withdraw more in a day from my account than I can.
When I went to the Police they said that I hadn’t lost anything because my bank was the victim and must refund me. The Police therefore refused to take a crime report from me.
When I reported the facts to my bank’s fraud department they couldn’t have been less interested.
I never found the a21 garage particularly cheap, however the petts wood garage was reasonable prior to the redevelopment but now seems to be a good 2-3p per litre more than the 2 on a20, at 5 ways and mottingham station.
Living in orpington and spending a good amount of time in Lee and Bromley I always seem to be going past both so usually fill up on the a20...those 3p's don't half stack up over time, but do make sure to fill up at the asda near Bluewater as its always the cheapest in the area, currently 137.7 iirc.
Living in orpington and spending a good amount of time in Lee and Bromley I always seem to be going past both so usually fill up on the a20...those 3p's don't half stack up over time, but do make sure to fill up at the asda near Bluewater as its always the cheapest in the area, currently 137.7 iirc.
Edited by kiethton on Saturday 28th April 18:40
kiethton said:
I never found the a21 garage particularly cheap, however the petts wood garage was reasonable prior to the redevelopment but now seems to be a good 2-3p per litre more than the 2 on a20, at 5 ways and mottingham station.
These two are very close to where I live and almost always seem to have the best prices and are always cheaper than Tesco at Sidcup although just recently they've upped their prices to make themselves more comparable with other petrol stations in the area. There used to be a Shell station in Well Hall which was cheaper, this is now a different petrol company and is now very expensive.
I must have led a charmed life. Never had any issues with card payments at either 5-ways or Mottingham.
The Shell at Hawley between Dartford and Sutton-at-Hone is always keenly priced, and the one at Northfleet up the road from Ebbsfleet International station is only normally 1p more (sometimes the same).
It has to be Shell or Tesco for me as mine has a hissy fit unless it is fed 99RON.
The Shell at Hawley between Dartford and Sutton-at-Hone is always keenly priced, and the one at Northfleet up the road from Ebbsfleet International station is only normally 1p more (sometimes the same).
It has to be Shell or Tesco for me as mine has a hissy fit unless it is fed 99RON.
Gassing Station | Kent & Essex | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff