A business owner has vowed never to return to a busy petrol station in Northampton after she was sent letters threatening court action just before Christmas.

Natasha Cosby, a business owner in Farthingstone, received multiple letters from Forecourt Eye, a fuel debt recovery company, accusing her of failing to pay for fuel at the Tesco petrol station in Mereway on November 12.

The incident landed her with a total outstanding debt of with an amount of £108 stated as outstanding, which was £48 fuel and a £60 admin fee Forecourt Eye.

She said: “I got a letter and at first I thought it must be some sort of junk or scam letter. You know how you get all these things trying to get money out of you?

placeholder image — Tesco petrol station in Mereway

“I remember exactly what day it was. I’d been to a funeral, it was my day off, and I popped into Tesco to do a shop and fill up with fuel.

“I checked my bank statement and the fuel payment hadn’t gone through, so I realised I must have used contactless and it hadn’t worked.

“When they should have said, ‘Sorry, it hasn’t gone through, can you put your card in?’, that didn’t happen.”

In the following weeks, threatening letters were sent by Forecourt Eye demanding payment. Despite multiple attempts to contact both Tesco and Forecourt eye, Natasha says her “amicable” approach was ignored and the letters would not go away.

She continued: “I said, ‘This is ridiculous. I’ll pay for the fuel, but I’m not paying your admin fee.’

"You could clearly see there’s a picture of me at the till with my card in my hand. It was clearly an error. These things happen.

“All the letters say my registration has been added to an ANPR database of unpaid fuel incidents. I don’t like being called a criminal, or the implication that I’m a criminal.”

She added: “It’s been distracting, upsetting and frustrating. If this happened to someone elderly, or someone who wasn’t so stubborn, it could have been really distressing."

This month (January), Natasha then came to this newspaper for help. Just hours after Chronicle & Echo contacted Tesco the charge had been rescinded.

Natasha said: “Suddenly, after you got involved, they said I could just pay for the fuel. I’m really, really grateful to Chronicle & Echo.”

She added: “I certainly won’t ever be going back to that forecourt again.”

Tesco confirmed that following an investigation, it was determined that Ms Cosby’s contactless payment was not properly processed due to routine checks and a PIN being required.

A Tesco spokesperson said: “We are sorry to hear about this, we have investigated and we can confirm that Forecourt Eye has waived the administration fee for Mrs Cosby. We have also apologised to Mrs Cosby and provided her with a gesture of goodwill for the inconvenience caused.”

Natasha added: “I am still quite gob smacked at the treatment from Tesco frankly but elated that good old-fashioned journalism can still make waves, fantastic.”