Cheating At The Pump

[ottotheclown]

There is a e-mail going around stating alot of cheating at the pump with wrong totals and gallons far exceeding the capacity of the tank. Suggestion is to fill to 10 and do the math. Looking at the average gas station owner I find this hard to believe........NOT.

 

[demarpaint]

Spoken like a true NY'er! Funny you mention fill to 10 and do the math, subconsciously I've been doing that for years. That's why I don't buy into top tier gas around here either. Station owners in my area have been fined for pumping regular out of premium pumps, and shorting on a gallon. Why would they sell top tier even though their sign/brand is associated with top tier? It would be pretty hard for me the average consumer to know I'm getting top tier gas, even though they're charging for it. So I shop for price and tweak my fuel. JMO

 

[Lead Shoes]

I've been filling at the same 5 stations or so since I started driving, none of them have done me wrong and they are fairly close together for mileage per 10 gallons.

 

[Eddie]

In the two States I've lived in, IL & FL, the Sate checks pump delivery on a schedule and attachés a date to each pump. I suppose the station owner could mess with the calibration but, doubt it.

 

[D189379]

Originally Posted By: ottotheclown
Suggestion is to fill to 10 and do the math.


What exactly does this mean?

Fill $10?

 

[Lowcountry]

If gas is $4.00/gallon, when the pump hits 10 gallons, check that the total price is $40.00

 

[demarpaint]

Originally Posted By: Lowcountry
If gas is $4.00/gallon, when the pump hits 10 gallons, check that the total price is $40.00


Exactly!

 

[demarpaint]

If you really want to go crazy get a container marked at exactly 1 gallon and pump exactly 1 gallon of gas into it, make sure the hose is empty before you start and after you stop. Measure it, it should be a gallon.

 

[Hokiefyd]

Originally Posted By: Lowcountry
If gas is $4.00/gallon, when the pump hits 10 gallons, check that the total price is $40.00


This really doesn't mean anything. The alleged scam (and I don't believe there really is one) is giving you less gas than the meter shows, not overcharging you per gallon. So it might show $40 and 10 gallons, but you really only get 9.5 gallons of fuel.

 

[LargeCarManX2]

The aboooloootly best way is to fill your 5 gallon can first for the lawnmower and look at the pump readout...then continue with filling up your car. Report any cheaters......

 

[Dakota1820]

I may fill up my 5gal container. I've been getting worse fuel mileage according to the cost and gallons of the pump. Read out. But when i went back to the regular station I normally do it went back up. Hmmm

 

[MrHorspwer]

A local gas station got busted scamming back in 2006. A customer pumped 17 gallons into a 16 gallong tank and notified the state. It was determined that the pumps had been tampered with after inspection.

The original article is long gone, but this is a copy of it:
http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-718.html

The court ordered $35,000 in restitution be paid by selling gas at $0.50/gallon cheaper than market price.

Not very fair for customers, since it just created a giant line to get gas. Still, it's a pretty creative punishment.

 

[surfstar]

Take off the tinfoil hat and report it if you think it's actually happening.

http://www.agriculture.ny.gov/WM/wmpetrol.html

I find it more likely that gas stations are saving money by not cleaning restrooms than tweaking gas pumps. I think you'd have to be a computer hacker to mess with dispensers now-a-days.

Oh, and the more you circulate that email, the more true it becomes, right?

 

[D189379]

Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
Originally Posted By: Lowcountry
If gas is $4.00/gallon, when the pump hits 10 gallons, check that the total price is $40.00


This really doesn't mean anything. The alleged scam (and I don't believe there really is one) is giving you less gas than the meter shows, not overcharging you per gallon. So it might show $40 and 10 gallons, but you really only get 9.5 gallons of fuel.


That's what I assumed.

 

[demarpaint]

About 2 years they busted a station in Valley Stream for pumping regular out of premium pumps and shorting people on a gallon of gas. Does it happen often? No, but enough for them to police it.

 

[Shannow]

Back in 1987/88, I worked at a service station.

Holden fitted a flat 80L tank under the Commodore wagon that couldn't be filled on a flat surface more than about 65L.

We had ONE pump with a sloping section of concrete that allowed the Commodore to actually fill if they drove through from left to right rather than right to left.

Had irate customers waving manuals in my face, refusing to pay, calling scam etc....advised them to call consumer affairs, and they'd come, test the pumps, attach their tags.

Taught me that when tracking mileage, same pump, same station every time.

 

[jim302]

This does happen occasionally (read about a few stations getting busted) but it isn't something that happens everywhere or even very often.

Some (most?) states inspect gasoline pumps for this.

 

[turbodieselfreak]

Indiana's pretty good about pump inspections. There was an article in the paper about it here about two years ago, where they interviewed the weights and measures department. They found most pumps to be spot on, and the ones that weren't usually erred in the customer's favor (8 out of 10 times, IIRC?).

 

[MarkM66]

Shouldn't pumps be pretty much tamper proof by now?

I would think most station owners wouldn't know the first thing about how to rig one.

 

[CivicFan]

It's a free market - buyer beware.