Police arrested five fuel oil delivery men today in connection with widespread complaints of short deliveries. A police spokesman said the investigation was just starting and that more arrests were expected. The public outcry against cheating by delivery men who bring fuel oil to centrally heated apartment buildings has been growing.
Scores of complaints have been filed with the police and with the oil companies accusing delivery men of withholding as much as one-third of the fuel charged for. At current prices, this can run into hundreds of Pounds. Police said a favorite cheating device was to pump air into the consumer’s tank while the gauge on the fuel truck registered the delivery of oil. The growing incidence of cheating is believed to stem from the amalgamation of the three main oil companies during the Yom Kippur War.
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