BP staff Confiscated my watch over Voucher error - Case opened at SAPS

I would like to report a serious incident that occurred at BP Promenade in Mitchell’s Plain on the night of 3 March 2026 at around 23:00.

I arrived at the station while I still had clients in my vehicle and informed the petrol attendant that I would be paying using a VodaPay fuel voucher. When they tried to process the voucher, the machine returned an error message: “Code 5 – Do Not Honor.”

At that point, the staff insisted that I needed to pay for the fuel. I explained that the voucher was still showing as active in my VodaPay app and that there must be a system issue. Because I still had passengers in my car, I asked if I could drop them off in Mandalay and come back to resolve the issue.

To show good faith, I offered to leave my phone as security while I went to drop off my clients. I then returned to the station and spent approximately two hours there trying to resolve the matter.

During this time, the staff took my Aviator gold watch and refused to return it until the voucher issue was resolved.

The following morning I returned to the station before 9am and waited there until after 12pm while they said they were checking their internal portal and contacting their head office regarding the voucher.

While at the station, I contacted Vodacom for assistance. Vodacom then arranged a conference call with BP headquarters while I was at the station. During that call, the station manager confirmed that she had received an email from BP with instructions regarding the matter and that she had responded, but was still waiting for feedback from the relevant department.

During the same process, it was also discovered through BP’s system that the voucher number had already been redeemed in November in Pinelands, even though the voucher in my VodaPay app showed that it was purchased on 3 March 2026 at 19:21 and was still marked as active.

This clearly indicates that there is a technical issue between the systems.

I also asked the BP representative during the call whether station staff are allowed to confiscate a customer’s personal property as collateral. I was informed that this is not BP policy and that it would be a site-level decision.

At one point SAPS officers came to the station. They informed the staff that they do not have the legal authority to confiscate personal property and instructed them to take a photo of my driver’s licence and vehicle registration and return my watch.

Despite this instruction from the police, the staff still refused to return my watch.

Because of this, I went to the police station and opened a theft case. The police later informed me that they went to the station to arrest the individual who took my watch, but when they arrived he was not there.

I have video evidence showing the staff holding my watch and I also have the call recording from the Vodacom conference call where the station manager confirmed receiving communication from BP headquarters.

This entire situation caused me to lose a full day of work while trying to resolve something that appears to be a technical issue between systems. It is extremely concerning that staff at a BP station would confiscate a customer’s personal property and refuse to return it even after police intervention.

I am requesting urgent intervention from BP to investigate this incident and ensure that my watch is returned.

I have already opened a formal police case regarding the ******** withholding of my property (theft case) and have full video and call recording evidence. I expect BP to take immediate action to resolve this matter and return my property, as failure to act promptly may result in escalation through legal and consumer protection channels.