So, I stopped at the services to get some fuel today and my son, who's 8, got out to stretch his legs while I was filling up. We were chatting; as you do, and the attendant announced over the load speaker "no children at the pumps" and cut off the fuel. Now, I fully understand that no one under the age of 16 (I believe) can dispense fuel, but we were in full view of the attendant and he was clearly just chatting to me.
Now, I'm not the sort to get annoyed with stuff, so I went in, we both used the loo and paid for what I'd got; I guess I was served by a different member of staff as nothing was said, and left.
Was I in the wrong? A quick internet search suggests I didn't do anything wrong. Maybe someone on here knows better.
I operated filling stations for many many years.
On one occasion a similar situation to yours occurred. The child was stood chatting to his father as he filled the car all went well until the fuel cut off failed on the pump and fuel splashed back into the child's eyes.
The noise that child made has haunted me for years.
If petrol were discovered today, we would never allow untrained people to dispense it. Just because it's usually safe does not mean petrol filling stations are a safe environment.
When something goes wrong it can be catastrophic.