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Gas Station Pump Question (1 Viewer)

Anarchy99

Anarchy99

Footballguy
Trying to figure out how this happened and how to resolve it.

My vehicle was on empty, and I stopped at a local gas station to fill up. I inserted my card and hit the button for regular, the one furthest left on the pump. Initially, the pump didn't respond so I tapped it three more times, and it then reset and was ready to go. I am 100% certain I hit that particular button multiple times, as that is the same one I use every other time I use this station.

I fueled up and got 22 or 23 gallons of gas. When I was done, I thought the total amount was way higher than normal. I did the math and the pump charged me for Super Premium+, which was like 55 cents more per gallon. There is absolutely no way I selected the Super Premium+ option. None.

I went in to complain to a clerk, who said too bad. He brought in his manager, who also said too bad. They both said there is no way that I would be charged for the wrong type of gas and there is no way for the pump to malfunction. They concluded I had to press the button for the most expensive option. They gave me the number for the owner of the station and said the owner will tell me the same thing they did . . . go pound sand

Wasting $12 is not going to kill me, but I didn't select that option. Their point was I got the more expensive gas and had to pay for it (even if the pump somehow selected the wrong gas). My concern is that they are doing this to multiple people and no one realizes it. IMO, since my entire household uses this station regularly, they should offer to refund the difference and at least say they will research to see if the pump is operating properly. Given that they show no intention to do that, I won't hold my breath.

Options for what to do next? (The most logical one being to just eat the money and go to a different station moving forward.)

 
Call the owner and tell him if they don't refund your money you are going to the attorney general of your state and they will send someone out to investigate and calibrate the pumps.

 
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Oh, and tell them you want the $12 back in beef jerky, a fountain soda, and a couple of them smelly pine scented thingys for your car.

 
I don’t have anything constructive to offer, but I’d wager the chances of the employees at a gas station to know with any uncertainty that “there is no way for the pump to malfunction” is near zero. 

 
aren't gas pumps checked regularly by the division of weights and measures or some such? I see the stickers on there 

 
Go back to the gas station and try again.  Make sure you take a video and confirm which grade lights up.  Do this the next 10 times you go there.  Either....

1)  You'll see that you are paying the correct amount for the low grade and you aren't getting overcharged.  You can now confirm you were the idiot here.

2)  You'll see they are trying to swindle you and then make a big case out of this.

Win/Win situation here.

 
one possibility is that the multiple presses of the button led to an undocumented feature (aka bug) in the pump's computer... try it again next time you go and just get a gallon or so and see what it charges you

Also, are you saying the display and/or receipt showed you got Regular but charged you Premium price? 

 
Nathan R. Jessep said:
one possibility is that the multiple presses of the button led to an undocumented feature (aka bug) in the pump's computer... try it again next time you go and just get a gallon or so and see what it charges you

Also, are you saying the display and/or receipt showed you got Regular but charged you Premium price? 
Click to expand...
When I first hit the regular button the machine flashed and selected that option. The display above the button showed that was the fuel selected. Like I said, the machine briefly froze, I tapped the button a couple times and it turned on again. At that point I did not notice if the price for the regular gas lit up again. Since it showed the proper selection to begin with, it never dawned on me to check it again.

The receipt lists the number of gallons at the most expensive price. The employees said there is no way for the pump to disperse one grade of gas and charge a rate for a different grade of gas. That's where they said I got the grade of gas I paid for (whether I wanted it or not). I am guessing that is probably true, but that's not what I asked for.

Their point was they were not going to sell me their best gas for the lowest price, so what I intended to buy or what I wanted to buy was irrelevant.

 
I've had this happen to me.  I hit regular and saw it was about to pump premium.  Realized that the pump hose was positioned in such a way that when you took it off the pump, the hose would bang into the premium button and actually change the selection.  Nice try, Wawa!

 
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Lehigh98 said:
I've had this happen to me.  I hit regular and saw it was about to pump premium.  Realized that the pump hose was positioned in such a way that when you took it off the pump, the hose would bang into the premium button and actually change the selection.
Click to expand...
Yep, I've had this happen too and I noticed it and changed it back.  Very possible that the other button was inadvertently hit. 

 
If they refund your 12 bucks, what is stopping  everyone that buys premium to get a refund?  You need more proof than your word.

 
Thorpe said:
If they refund your 12 bucks, what is stopping  everyone that buys premium to get a refund?  You need more proof than your word.
Click to expand...
This is where I somewhat disagree. Four of us use this station a lot, 3 of us use it a fair amount. It is the closest station to our house. My kids stop in for snacks and drinks all the time. The "proof" should be that we have gone there hundreds of times and haven't tried to get a refund until now. If we were just passing through town and they never saw us before, I agree that giving a refund to someone you have never seen doesn't make good business sense. But a customer that has been chipping in hundreds of dollars a month for years? What's $12?

 
Anarchy99 said:
This is where I somewhat disagree. Four of us use this station a lot, 3 of us use it a fair amount. It is the closest station to our house. My kids stop in for snacks and drinks all the time. The "proof" should be that we have gone there hundreds of times and haven't tried to get a refund until now. If we were just passing through town and they never saw us before, I agree that giving a refund to someone you have never seen doesn't make good business sense. But a customer that has been chipping in hundreds of dollars a month for years? What's $12?
Click to expand...
Seems bad customer service, no question.

 
JoeSteeler said:
aren't gas pumps checked regularly by the division of weights and measures or some such? I see the stickers on there 
Click to expand...
Has anyone ever known a single person who actually worked for the Division/Office of Weights and Measures? 

:ph34r:

 
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Lehigh98 said:
I've had this happen to me.  I hit regular and saw it was about to pump premium.  Realized that the pump hose was positioned in such a way that when you took it off the pump, the hose would bang into the premium button and actually change the selection.  Nice try, Wawa!
Click to expand...
Some gas stations deliberately order the button for the grades from high to low (from left to right), instead of from low to high, to try and get the people who are used to hitting the first grade on the left to get the 87 at most gas stations to accidentally select the premium. Shady. 

 
Anarchy99 said:
This is where I somewhat disagree. Four of us use this station a lot, 3 of us use it a fair amount. It is the closest station to our house. My kids stop in for snacks and drinks all the time. The "proof" should be that we have gone there hundreds of times and haven't tried to get a refund until now. If we were just passing through town and they never saw us before, I agree that giving a refund to someone you have never seen doesn't make good business sense. But a customer that has been chipping in hundreds of dollars a month for years? What's $12?
Click to expand...
You already admitted you didn't check the display to see what you were being charged.  I'm with those who think you pushed the wrong button on accident.  Sounds like you were in a hurry and weren't paying attention.

 
I think the fairest solution for everyone involved is for you to siphon your tank off and return the gas for a refund.  Win-win

 
Anarchy99 said:
This is where I somewhat disagree. Four of us use this station a lot, 3 of us use it a fair amount. It is the closest station to our house. My kids stop in for snacks and drinks all the time. The "proof" should be that we have gone there hundreds of times and haven't tried to get a refund until now. If we were just passing through town and they never saw us before, I agree that giving a refund to someone you have never seen doesn't make good business sense. But a customer that has been chipping in hundreds of dollars a month for years? What's $12?
Click to expand...
If it was a "mom and pop" store, where the owner is the cashier, then I agree, and you probably would have got a refund.

If it is a corporate gas station (which I assumed it was), then if the register is short 12 bucks, it is coming out of the cashier's paycheck, and corporate doesn't  care what your story is or how good a customer you are.

Also, it is at least 100 times more likely you hit the wrong button than the pump malfunctioned.

 
Who pumps their own gas? Only good thing about living in Jersey is having some pimp jockey seal with that crap while you sit in the cool ac.

 
I'd be careful with doing much more complaining, or the next time you're there they might spit in your gas.

 
Anarchy99 said:
This is where I somewhat disagree. Four of us use this station a lot, 3 of us use it a fair amount. It is the closest station to our house. My kids stop in for snacks and drinks all the time. The "proof" should be that we have gone there hundreds of times and haven't tried to get a refund until now. If we were just passing through town and they never saw us before, I agree that giving a refund to someone you have never seen doesn't make good business sense. But a customer that has been chipping in hundreds of dollars a month for years? What's $12?
Click to expand...
What's the name of the cashier?

 
Mr. Ected said:
Yeah, but wouldn't the price of the regular be closer to the Premium?
Click to expand...
Nope - until recently when they upped the tax NJ had one of the cheapest gas prices in the country.

And even with one of the highest gas taxes in the country (they raised it I think 23 cents per gallon) we are still middle of the pack maybe a little above for avg gas price

https://www.gasbuddy.com/USA

 
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Could have been worse...you could have hit the diesel button and put diesel in your car.

Let it go.

Just don't go to that gas station anymore.

 
belljr said:
Mr. Ected said:
Yeah, but wouldn't the price of the regular be closer to the Premium?
Click to expand...
Nope - until recently when they upped the tax NJ had one of the cheapest gas prices in the country.

And even with one of the highest gas taxes in the country (they raised it I think 23 cents per gallon) we are still middle of the pack maybe a little above for avg gas price

https://www.gasbuddy.com/USA
Click to expand...
Hmmmm, I seem to remember driving thru and getting nailed. Maybe it's just on GSP and NJT.

It's also $0.20 more than us here in VA, so that may have affected it too!! :pickle:

 
belljr said:
oh yeah - "rest stops" are always more
Click to expand...
Depends on the price movement in relation to the price setting.  On the NJTP, they reset the price on Thursday morning.  If the price skyrockets, you'll be ahead - reverse and you will be further behind, but agree with the principle that the rest stop pricing is at the high end of gas prices in CNJ. 

Costco Tier 3 fuel for the win (lowest prices around - go at 610AM and nearly no one is there).  No membership required, but you can only use VISA.

 
Anarchy99 said:
When I first hit the regular button the machine flashed and selected that option. The display above the button showed that was the fuel selected. Like I said, the machine briefly froze, I tapped the button a couple times and it turned on again. At that point I did not notice if the price for the regular gas lit up again. Since it showed the proper selection to begin with, it never dawned on me to check it again.

The receipt lists the number of gallons at the most expensive price. The employees said there is no way for the pump to disperse one grade of gas and charge a rate for a different grade of gas. That's where they said I got the grade of gas I paid for (whether I wanted it or not). I am guessing that is probably true, but that's not what I asked for.

Their point was they were not going to sell me their best gas for the lowest price, so what I intended to buy or what I wanted to buy was irrelevant.
Click to expand...
They're pretty much right that there's no way for it to dispense one grade of gas and bill you for another as the prices are programmed in the point of sale system.  One thing that might explain it is if they had had a price change recently and the prices were keyed incorrectly to the products. Hard to believe you'd be the only one to complain though.  

 
parrot said:
They're pretty much right that there's no way for it to dispense one grade of gas and bill you for another as the prices are programmed in the point of sale system.  One thing that might explain it is if they had had a price change recently and the prices were keyed incorrectly to the products. Hard to believe you'd be the only one to complain though.  
Click to expand...
I'm pretty much over it. Best I can guess is either I hit the premium button with the hose by accident or the system defaults to premium if there was an issue with an authorization. Will just have to make sure the pump is set right and the price showing is accurate before filling up. Lesson learned.

 
gianmarco said:
Go back to the gas station and try again.  Make sure you take a video and confirm which grade lights up.  Do this the next 10 times you go there.  Either....

1)  You'll see that you are paying the correct amount for the low grade and you aren't getting overcharged.  You can now confirm you were the idiot here.

2)  You'll see they are trying to swindle you and then make a big case out of this.

Win/Win situation here.
Click to expand...
This. You need to duplicate what you did and try to envision how you might have tripped the wrong grade by accident. Absent actual evidence of business shenanigans I cannot condone boycotting a business you seem to like and frequent. 

If said business was out to rip you off why not before this in thousands of transactions?

If you hear a stampede coming, while it could be a herd of zebras, most likely it’s buffalo. 

 
Anarchy99 said:
Trying to figure out how this happened and how to resolve it.

My vehicle was on empty, and I stopped at a local gas station to fill up. I inserted my card and hit the button for regular, the one furthest left on the pump. Initially, the pump didn't respond so I tapped it three more times, and it then reset and was ready to go. I am 100% certain I hit that particular button multiple times, as that is the same one I use every other time I use this station.

I fueled up and got 22 or 23 gallons of gas. When I was done, I thought the total amount was way higher than normal. I did the math and the pump charged me for Super Premium+, which was like 55 cents more per gallon. There is absolutely no way I selected the Super Premium+ option. None.

I went in to complain to a clerk, who said too bad. He brought in his manager, who also said too bad. They both said there is no way that I would be charged for the wrong type of gas and there is no way for the pump to malfunction. They concluded I had to press the button for the most expensive option. They gave me the number for the owner of the station and said the owner will tell me the same thing they did . . . go pound sand

Wasting $12 is not going to kill me, but I didn't select that option. Their point was I got the more expensive gas and had to pay for it (even if the pump somehow selected the wrong gas). My concern is that they are doing this to multiple people and no one realizes it. IMO, since my entire household uses this station regularly, they should offer to refund the difference and at least say they will research to see if the pump is operating properly. Given that they show no intention to do that, I won't hold my breath.

Options for what to do next? (The most logical one being to just eat the money and go to a different station moving forward.)
Click to expand...
contact your state’s AG

 
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