Posted on 08/29/2014 11:40:23 AM PDT by Dick Bachert
Got this from a email friend today. She says . . . I ALWAYS check the first gallon before pumping more – simply to MATCH the PRICE (advertised) against the ONE gallon pumped into my car. – I “caught” a SHELL station (here in Mesa, Arizona) that had the price 12 cents per gallon HIGHER than the advertised price on the pump AND the sign out front. – I called the local Department of Agriculture (weights and measures division) from my cell phone immediately – waiting for them to show up. They did, some 20 minutes later. The Department taped all the pumps – stopping ALL traffic from using the pumps. They (two men) checked all 6 pumps, finding them all “rigged” at a higher price (by 12 cents) per gallon than advertised.
PS – That particular SHELL station was being operated by 2 men from India.
This is especially prevalent at places owned by foreign born entities.
In some case, they even have counterfeit Department of Agriculture stickers to put on the pumps when they re-calibrate. The State seldom physically inspects the pumps as it is very labor intensive, so it often goes overlooked for months or years. I usually buy all my gas at Sam's Club, but always get receipts wherever I have to get fuel. Often, I will pump exactly ONE GALLON and check the pump pricing before continuing the fill up, and even then, I am aware of how much fuel I should get within a couple of tenths of a gallon from experience.
This is true. It happened to them three weeks ago somewhere in Pomona on our way to Penchant. The pump should have totaled @ $68.00 (and change). When the receipt was printed, and she checked it was $77.00 (and change). She got mad, went inside the store, asked for a calculator and let them do the math.
They refunded her, she told them that if they cheat, they had better make it right. Normally, her husband would skip printing the receipt. Not her. 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, and got a refund.
There is also a number on each pump that you can call and complain.
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 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.
When 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 1 (one) GALLON in your tank, then look at the dollar amount. If the dollar amount is not EXACTLY the price of the fuel PRICE ADVERTISED, then the pumps are rigged.
In this case, as I said, the mid-grade was $3.71 per gallon; my dollar amount or 1 gallons should have been $3.71.
I wish I had checked the pump. It doesn't matter where you pump gas, please check the 1 gallon price. If you do find a station that is cheating, contact the state Agriculture Department, and direct your comments to the Commissioner, the info is on the gas pumps.
Please don't delete this until you have sent 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.
Now here's the really interesting added wrinkle to this SCAM: He indicated that he's convinced that these crooks have not only jiggered the pump monetary calculation mechanism but HAVE ALSO TAMPERED WITH THE VOLUMETRIC MECHANISM, CAUSING THE CUSTOMER TO GET FEWER GALLONS THAN THE AMOUNT INDICATED ON THE PUMP!!
The impact of that is, of course, that reading the $ amount on the pump for the first gallon -- EVEN IF IT DOES MATCH THE ADVERTISED PRICE -- WILL NOT SAVE ONE FROM THIS OUTRAGEOUS SCAM!
I suspect this is a nationwide situation and it is time to get the state folks who police these devices to get out there and do their jobs!
PS: We'll be carrying a precisely measured and approved 1 gallon gas can in the car and the first gallon of periodic fill-ups at even our REGULAR station will go into that can, which can will then either be emptied into the vehicle tank or brought home to fill the lawn tractor tank! If we find we're being shorted, we'll IMMEDIATELY be in touch with the state agency tasked with keeping these crooks honest!
“That particular SHELL station was being operated by 2 men from India.”
I wouldn’t be surprised if Muslims would do this and not have one lick of conscience about it. But these were Indians, eh?
Why isn’t this in breaking news?
thx for the heads up....I’m going to keep my eyes open....
This email claim has been going around since 2008.
http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/c/Cheating-At-The-Pumps.htm#.VADKQPldV8E
Yeah, right.
Though I know you already know this, Indians can be muslims too.
There are about 140 million mooselimbs in India.
Just a guess, but the stations that are most likely to do this would be the independent ones; the stations that have surprisingly low prices (relative to nearby gas stations) I would think.
I was “envisaging” (Rush ref) my fellow freepers carefully explaining that these were “Indians” and not necessarily “Muslims” if I jumped to that conclusion,
which I did, BTW.
It’s OK to cheat the infidel - they have absolutely no guilt about it.
If I called the Dept. of Ag. in Michigan or Illinois, I’d be overjoyed if I only had to hold for twenty minutes.
Curry or Casino?
Dot or Feather?
Do some stations rig the metering on the pump to overstate the actual amount of gas pumped into the car?
I saw the state weights-and-measures truck at a local gas station last week checking calibrations.
I called the local Department of Agriculture (weights and measures division) from my cell phone immediately – waiting for them to show up. They did, some 20 minutes later.
I think they meant “20 days” later...
Check the all beef hot dogs also. It could be someone’s mother.
If you know the amount within ONE TENTH of a gallon and the price is $3.50 a gallon, you’re getting screwed out of 35 cents.
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