How to tell if the gas pump is cheating you
By JoyfulOne
@JoyfulOne (6232)
United States
June 23, 2008 1:14pm CST
Here's some important information about gas pumps that have been altered by their owners to cheat you. We work hard for the money to pay for our gas, and it's so wrong that some of them would do that to us and take advantage like that! Evidently there are a lot of stations doing this. I got this in an email from a friend today and thought it was important enough that it should be shared with you all!
Cheating at Gas Pumps--
We saw on the news the other night that this is happening everywhere.
Brian pumped exactly one gallon of gas. The price did not match the cost of one gallon, it was higher. He went inside and complained, got a refund. There is also a number on each pump that you can call and complain.
This is a true story, so read it carefully.
I stopped at a BP gas station in GA. My truck's gas gauge was on 1/4 of a tank I use the mid-grade, which was priced at $3.71 per gallon. When my tank is at this point, it takes somewhere around 14 gallons to fill it up. When the pump showed 14 gallons had been pumped I began to slow it down, then to my surprise it went to 15, then 16. I even looked under my truck to see if it was being spilled. It was not. Then it showed 17 gallons on the pump. It stopped at 18 gallons. This was very strange to me, since my truck has only an 18 gallon tank. I went on my way a little confused, then on the evening news I heard a report that 1 out of 4 gas stations had calibrated their pumps to show more gas had been pumped than a person actually got.
Here is how to check a pump to see if you are getting the right amount:
Whichever grade you are using, put EXACTLY 10 GALLONS in your tank, then look at the dollar amount. If the dollar amount is not EXACTLY 10 times the price of the fuel you have chosen, then the pumps are rigged. In my case as I said the mid-grade was $371 9/10 per gallon; my dollar amount for 10 gallons should have been $37.19. I wish I had checked the pump. It doesn't matter where you pump gas, please check the 10 gallon price. If you do find a station that is cheating, contact the state Agriculture Department, and direct your comments to the Commissioner--info is right on the gas pumps.
Please feel free to copy and paste this and send it to all people in your address book. We need to put a stop to this outrageous cheating of customers. The gas companies are making enough profits at honest rates.
8 people like this
36 responses
@lexus54 (3572)
• Singapore
24 Jun 08
Thanks for alerting us, JoyfulOne, although I'm not sure if the gas stations in my country practice such unscrupulous acts. I shall be more careful when I next fill gas for my car. If motorists are charged more because the meters have been rigged to display that more gas has been discharged into the gas tanks, then that's cheating the motorist. Such gas companies should be reported to the authorities. If complaints of cheating are splashed across the forum pages of newspapers, the gas companies' business will be finished.
What I don't understand though is the part that advices one how to check a pump to see if one is getting the right amount. The advice says that if the price is $371 9/10 per gallon, and 10 gallons are pumped, the dollar amount should show $37.19, which is the exact price for 10 gallons. But if the pump is rigged, and the guy pumps 10 gallons, the price on the meter will surely show $37.19 in line with the displayed quantity of 10 gallons, but he may actually be getting maybe 8 or 9 gallons discharged to his gas tank, something he can't really tell. In other words, the meter readings would be showing the quantity and total price to be consistent with each other, but he wouldn't know if these figures can be trusted, and BOTH not inflated because he wouldn't be able to tell if he might actually have gotten less gas than what the meter readings said.
2 people like this
@theproperator (2429)
• United States
24 Jun 08
I had the same thought about the volume indicator being rigged, lexus. I'm surprised you can't use a gas can at your stations. What if you need gas for a lawnmower or generator? Do they expect you to cart it all the way to the station?
1 person likes this
@veggiengo (5)
•
24 Jun 08
Right, you have to measure it somehow like with another marked container.
1 person likes this
@howard96h (11640)
• New York, New York
23 Jun 08
What a shame some people are doing this, thanks for posting this, I am sure it will help many people.
2 people like this
@JoyfulOne (6232)
• United States
23 Jun 08
Thanks howard, that's what I'm hoping to do...make people more aware of this so something can be done about it!
@luckycharm00812 (621)
• United States
23 Jun 08
That's so awful!!
As if we aren't paying an arm and a leg already just to get back and forth to work, and buy groceries..
Thank you for the tips!!!
I will definitely be on the look out.
2 people like this
@JoyfulOne (6232)
• United States
23 Jun 08
I know luckycharm, it's absolutely awful that some of them would do something like this! I figure the more people who know what to look for, the more often these types of gas stations would get caught. Forewarned is forearmed in my book!
1 person likes this
@jonesy123 (3948)
• United States
23 Jun 08
Thanks for the info. I will have to pay more attention. I know how much my van takes and never had an indication that it needed more gallons like in your story. But I suppose it's time to double check, if one is really charged to correct price.
I can somehow understand the gas station owners doing this. They don't earn anything anymore with the gas, only what they sell in the store. I have heard of many station closings lately. People just couldn't stay in business. But it is still no reason to turn criminal. They are sticking it to the wrong people if they cheat the customers this way....
2 people like this
@JoyfulOne (6232)
• United States
23 Jun 08
You're welcome :-) I think really, we all need to pay more attention. I think most of those owners are counting on us to not really notice and just blindly accept their pricing. Thanks for responding!
@baileycows (3665)
• United States
23 Jun 08
I have spot checked several times because like you have mentioned how do we really know they are not cheating us.
2 people like this
@JoyfulOne (6232)
• United States
23 Jun 08
Good for you bailey for doing spot checks! I hope more people are encouraged to do this.
@Chibakeru (54)
• Philippines
24 Jun 08
is that like there filling our tanks with air? because thats whats happening here in our country i think.
1 person likes this
@JoyfulOne (6232)
• United States
24 Jun 08
I don't know about filling with air, these pumps have had their measuring (or pricing) calibrations tampered with. Hmmmm, never thought about air....
@JoyfulOne (6232)
• United States
24 Jun 08
Chibakeru, read post number 33 (cowgirls post) about what her boss at the gas station said. Interesting, no?!
@Chibakeru (54)
• Philippines
24 Jun 08
i didnt think it was possible too but you know what they say human mind is really a powerful thing. i dont know the mechanism but i guess while filling our tank with gas sometimes air just comes out instead of gas but the price is still going up. im just noticing that in some gasoline station i get more gas than in the others.
1 person likes this
@Polly1 (12645)
• United States
23 Jun 08
We are not only being ripped off by the big oil companies, now some of the gas stations are ripping us off. This is all good advice, most of us don't pay that close attention to how much we are getting for the cost. We just know that we are not getting much. The price of gas is getting worse everyday, when will it stop.
1 person likes this
@JoyfulOne (6232)
• United States
23 Jun 08
I know! Gas prices are sure getting out of hand, and when there are a few station owners who feel they can take advantage, that's when we have to be kind of pro-active to keep check ourselves. I like this ten gallon method of figuring it out, it isn't hard to calculate when done this way. Thanks for your response Vicky :-)
@deebomb (15304)
• United States
24 Jun 08
according to snoops the Georgia Agriculture Department had checked this pump in November 2007 and again in May of 2008. A lot of time the problem might be worn check valves . But at the same time we all need to watch what is going on as we purchase our fuel for our cars. As I understand it these filling stations are only make $.10 a gallon any way but usually make up for their profit in the things that they sell inside the store. Some of the small stations around here are having to stop ordering gas because of the price to fill their tanks.
1 person likes this
@JoyfulOne (6232)
• United States
25 Jun 08
Thanks. Never really thought about the check valves, but for sure, those can go bad at any time. I've heard too that a lot of smaller stations are closing. I found cowgirls post (number 33) interesting as she worked at a gas station. I've been at fill up stations too that have had it jump a dimes worth just from beginning to squeeze the nozzle.
1 person likes this
@beautyqueen26 (16030)
• United States
23 Jun 08
Thank you for your kind post.
It is good to spread the word so others
will not be cheated too.
It's just so unreal that we would now
have to face cheaters like this.
As if we don't pay enough!
And, the price of everything is going up.
So, now this thing with cheaters.
I just hope someone does something about it!
@JoyfulOne (6232)
• United States
23 Jun 08
Oh, you're very welcome beautyqueen! I figure the more people know, the more less likely we are to be cheated at the pumps. And if we ARE, then we know what to do and who to contact. Please feel free to copy and paste this into an email for your friends, the more that know, the better it is to catch the creeps who do this.
@twallace (2675)
• United States
24 Jun 08
When I read this I was not shocked but a little upset that stations would do something like this. There was someone that had a discussion about if you are using a credit card that you would be charges 6 cents more. It was yesterday and I need to look for it to link it to this so you can read it. I had to look in the discussions that I had commented to to find the discussion so you can read it for your self.
http://www.mylot.com/w/discussions/1574349.aspx
This is the link you will see what I'm talking about. I don't think that it's fair what they are doing period. When it comes to the gas stuff the whole thing something is not right about it.
@JoyfulOne (6232)
• United States
24 Jun 08
Gotta agree with you there twallace, there is just something not right with this whole deal! Thanks for the link, I'm going to head over and read it. Seems like they want to get you coming and going, and take advantage any way they can profit from it.
@zweeb82 (5653)
• Malaysia
24 Jun 08
To be honest, it's your avatar that 1st caught my attention, not the title of your discussion, haha
But this is really interesting. Maybe I should check it out the next time I go to the station. It should be the same the whole world round. I'll be on the look out
But this is really interesting. Maybe I should check it out the next time I go to the station. It should be the same the whole world round. I'll be on the look out1 person likes this
@JoyfulOne (6232)
• United States
24 Jun 08
Hahaha, glad you like my avitar. I chose it 'cause that's me...always running around in circles, and sometimes getting absolutely nowhere lol. Never hurts to check out the pumps because you just never know if they've been tampered with.
1 person likes this
@jer31558 (3683)
• United States
23 Jun 08
I live in southeast Georgia and if you were near here on the interstate, I probably know exactly which gas station you are referring to. There are three which were closed some months back, well their pump were closed anyway. They were fined several hundred thousand dollars for their actions. They are now selling gas again but with different owners than before. Rigging gas pumps is a very serious offense which from what I see the Dept. of AG takes very serious.
1 person likes this
@JoyfulOne (6232)
• United States
23 Jun 08
I remember hearing about that on the news. It's good that they got caught and fined! Yes, it is a VERY serious offense, and one that the dept of ag doesn't take lightly. If more people would call the number on the pump when they find a discrepancy, rather than just not get gas there, they would probably catch a whole lot more!
1 person likes this
@JoyfulOne (6232)
• United States
23 Jun 08
No jer, I don't think that they're ever spot checked. I believe that it's just a once yearly check and then they put the seal on the pump to prove it's been checked. Since this is happening more and more, you'd think they'd start doing spot checks just to make sure.
@kerriannc (4279)
• Jamaica
23 Jun 08
Whenever you are purchasing gas always look and make sure that the gauge is reset to zero. After you have seen to this then you can start to pump your gas. Time and time again I have read about gas station stealing their customers. It is best to be alert especially in this time of gas high prices. All the best.
1 person likes this
@marciascott (25529)
• United States
24 Jun 08
I will make sure I do that too, I can't believe we are being cheated out of Gas as much as we half to pay.
@fluffysue (1482)
• United States
24 Jun 08
This is good to know. Since I live in NJ and there is no self-serve here, it would be difficult to do this, but I would like to try it. The attendant will ALWAYS keep pumping until it is a round dollar amount, no matter what. So I am not sure that they will just give me exactly 10 gallons. For sure they would know I am "up" to something. lol
1 person likes this
@JoyfulOne (6232)
• United States
24 Jun 08
Not sure, but I would think with them pumping it you could still just get 10 bucks worth and get out of the drivers seat 'to stretch your legs' and chat while they're pumping. (That's what I'd do anyways, so I could still see the dials on the pump) Hahaha, we have NO places that pump for us, they are all self-serve around here.
@Thoroughrob (11742)
• United States
24 Jun 08
My husband stopped to put gas in his scooter, it holds 1 1/2 gallons. When they kicked the pump on and he moved the nozzle, it jumped to .10, before he started pumping. They would have started it again if it was me, but he would not fuss over the dime. He had 1/4 of a tank when he started, and put 4.80 in it and it was full. As he put the nozzle back the pump jumped to 5.60. He told them inside, but they did not believe him and he was on his way to work and did not fuss with him. I went to the gas station, wrote the pump number and called the number on the pump. They have not gotten back to us, but I am sure we won't hear anything. I have told my husband not to go there again. Imagine if you had pumped alot, I bet it would have jumped more.
1 person likes this
@JoyfulOne (6232)
• United States
24 Jun 08
Interesting...I had that happen at a gas station a couple of years ago with having it jump before I even started pumping. Had I known this info then, I would have called the number of the auditors office on the pump seal. At least you called the number. See, now your hubby was paying attention, and that is good. So many of us are in such a rush when we pump that we don't pay attention to that, and like you said, who really thinks about a measly little dime. But those dimes add up, especially if it does that with each and every time somebody pumps! Thanks for your input and letting others read that it actually happens!
@theproperator (2429)
• United States
24 Jun 08
I'm a little confused on the advice on how to know if you are being cheated. He says to put exactly ten gallons in your tank, but how would I know it was exactly ten gallons if I can't rely on the pump's volume (gallons pumped)indicator? That was obviously what was rigged in his case, not the cost per gallon. The station recalibrates the pump to show that you have pumped more gas than you actually have and then multiplies that (false)amount by the price per gallon posted, so just looking at your reciept would not prove anything because the gallons and price would still match.
You would need to pump the gas into a measured container, like a one or five gallon gas can, and make sure both the cost and volume indicated on the gas pump were correct in order to know if the station was cheating you.
1 person likes this
@JoyfulOne (6232)
• United States
24 Jun 08
Not positive on this, but I would think it's not the gallon calibrations they would change, it would seem like it's the dollar/cents amount. The dollar/cents part is what they can change more easily because they do it all the time as the prices fluctuate. Or maybe it is the gallons thingy they mess with. If you get 10 gallons worth, and you know it costs (as in the example) $3.71 9/10 per gallon, ten gallons worth would cost $37.19 (move the decimal point over.) If it is not exactly the same cost, and is more, then you know the pump calibrations have been tampered with. (Hope I'm explaining this more understanding :-)
@nanajanet (4436)
• United States
24 Jun 08
Wow! That's incredible!! What do they do to these cheaters? Are they fined? Do they pay retribution to the people they cheated?
It's not the gas companies doing this, though, so we can't blame them, but only the owners who are just cheaters, liars and thieves.
@JoyfulOne (6232)
• United States
24 Jun 08
When someone finds a pump that is cheating, then they should call the number that's on the pump. There's a seal that validates when the last time the pump was checked, and it has the number right there to call re a complaint. They are fined (a large amt!) and quite often they're shut down (I'm assuming because they can't afford the fine.) I've never heard of them having to pay retribution, it would be hard to prove exactly who got cheated, unless they still had their receipt for during that period of time or something. The only good thing is that this kind of thing doesn't happen a lot, the bad thing would be that sometimes this kind of thing does happen. It's up to us as consumers to keep an eye out!
@1richgirl (126)
• United States
24 Jun 08
Thanks for the great tip- We need every ounce right now!!
1 person likes this
@shinigami79 (259)
• Japan
24 Jun 08
nice tips and info i certainly did not know that you could rig the fuel pump, i will certainly becarefull and watch the amount of gas i pump. thank you joyfulOne :)
1 person likes this
@JoyfulOne (6232)
• United States
24 Jun 08
You're welcome. If it's happened at one place, then we can almost be sure that it's happening elsewhere. Most of us are in a rush when we stop for petrol, we should probably all pay more attention.
@cowgirl2213 (12)
• United States
24 Jun 08
Thank you so much for your helpful tips. I worked for a gas station/service station a few years ago and my boss gave me the tip that if when you squeeze the pump handle if it jumps more than a penny at a time it's not properly calibrated and it might be that they are trying to cheat you.
1 person likes this
@JoyfulOne (6232)
• United States
24 Jun 08
Thank you SO much for your response cowgirl. This is something we all should know about. That is a very interesting fact to learn, bless your boss for sharing that with you. (If he had been not an honest man, he wouldn't have shared that gem of info!)
