Is this gas station running a scam?

September 3, 2008 12:56 PM

Charging $0.60 extra for full service? Is this gas station pulling a scam?

Details: Gas station is configured so that you have the building, then one island, then another, then the street. The price marked outside is 3.59 for regular. No mention of any price differential for full serve. So I'm pulling in from the street, and both islands say "Self Service," and the only empty pump is the one nearest the building, on the side of the building. I pull up.

So I'm standing there pumping the gas, and a girl comes out of the building arguing with the attendant. Her car is parked in front of mine. She's just filled up her tank, and then noticed the price on the pump is $4.19, and that this side of the island is Full Service (sign not visible from street, but it is when you're standing next to the pump). However, as I gather from the argument, there is no one working who would have pumped her gas, even had she waited. The attendant refused to adjust her price. I had stopped pumping when I realized the price, after about a gallon.

It felt to me like a scam - first, don't you have to advertise your full serve price equally prominently? Second, if you don't actually provide the service, can you legally charge for it? 3rd - who regulates gas stations typically -- is it the municipality, the county, the state? I'm in PA, and I'm trying to figure out who to complain to, or if there's even a legitimate basis for a complaint.

posted by stupidsexyFlanders to law & government (10 comments total)

Most gas stations I've encountered that still have full service are set up this way. I don't remember the last time I saw a street sign for full service price anywhere. Are they hoping that someone will do what you and the girl did? Probably. But, c'mon Flanders, if you didn't notice the price on the pump right in front of your face it's no one's fault but your own.
posted by Roman Graves at 1:14 PM on September 3, 2008

It's rare to see more than one price posted on the sign in front, and that includes stations that charge differently for credit than for cash. I got scammed once by pulling up to an unlabeled full service pump, but it wasn't 60 cents different. That's shady.
posted by sjuhawk31 at 1:21 PM on September 3, 2008

Yeah, that approach is pretty common here in Massachusetts (especially, I've noticed, for Lukoil stations, which seems to be the type of station we are talking about). I think your beef, if any, comes from the inaccurate marking of the islands. In the end, though, I think you need to be careful about checking the price on the pump. My own pet peeve is with stations that sneakily do not put the lowest priced fuel all the way to the left of the pump, but stick one of the mid-grades there instead.
posted by Rock Steady at 1:23 PM on September 3, 2008

Woohoo! Having pumped gas just out of high school might come in useful! (doesn't happen often.)

Gas stations and mini-marts are are not generally on the list of places to work for the the motivated crowd. Thus you find yourself relying on some pretty flaky flakes. Gas stations with full serve islands or pumps are regularly shafted by employees that don't show up for their shifts or quit without notice. I wouldn't think "scam" as much as I would think lack of employees (for a myriad of potential reasons) and an untrained cashier.

There are plenty of better scams to run to make some extra dough at a gas station.
posted by terpia at 1:52 PM on September 3, 2008

You could try complaining to your county's bureau of weights and measures.
posted by MegoSteve at 1:56 PM on September 3, 2008

If you pump the gas yourself you are not getting full service.
posted by JJ86 at 2:05 PM on September 3, 2008

Pennsylvania Gas Price Complaints

File a complaint online
posted by desjardins at 3:21 PM on September 3, 2008

I hate to say it, but you should have double checked the price on your pump before you started pumping the gas. Yes, it pisses me off too. You might be able to wrangle the difference out of them since you pumped your own gas, but you're probably out of luck. Even though $0.60 more a gallon is ridiculous for full service, they're perfectly entitled to charge whatever they'd like for full serve, just like you can pay $20 for a burger at a nice restaurant when you can get it for $3 somewhere else. They should have turned that pump off if no one was around to operate it, but it still said $4.19/gallon, right?

I also think it's ridiculous that gas stations get around charging different amounts for cash and credit by calling their advertised price a "cash discount" - in every credit card merchant agreement it says that they aren't allowed to charge more (or minimums) for credit purchases. It's all freaking shady and I can't wait til the day when I can teleport myself everywhere.

Go ahead and make a complaint, but be glad you're only out $0.60 (you said you stopped pumping after about a gallon.) And buy your gas elsewhere if you can.
posted by AlisonM at 3:37 PM on September 3, 2008

Those pumps are set to a higher price because (under normal circumstances) someone pumps it for you. Completely on the up-and-up, sorry. Pay a bit more attention eh?
posted by CwgrlUp at 4:53 PM on September 3, 2008

MegoSteve writes "You could try complaining to your county's bureau of weights and measures."

They'll probably tell you to pound sand though. Every pump/station I've ever been at has a sticker on the pump saying something to the effect that in case of discrepancies the price on the pump is the correct price.
posted by Mitheral at 9:16 PM on September 3, 2008