Don't trust the price on the sign at your local gas station. Always double-check that the price matches that on the pump you're about to use. Hubby recently dashed into a local station where the sign read $3.03/gal. Much to our horror, and after he'd pumped his gas, he looked at the price on the pump. It said $3.89. Needless to say, we won't be going there again! I made hubby confirm the price for me before he pumped a single drop, last time I was with him for a fueling stop.
Source: Hubby's recent experience at a local Shell station.
By Lelia Jo Cordell from Springfield, OH
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It absolutely is illegal ! First off they must honor the posted price. Then you need to place a call to your county's weights and measures division, they will investigate your claim and if the station is found to have posted an incorrect price, they will be heavily fined.
This happened to me and I drove back by the same station a half hour later and they still had not changed the sign. It may be illegal but it's still going on and I think it's intentional. That's about like the advertised sales in the grocery stores when they don't enter in the correct amount in their computers. For necessary items a store can make a great deal of money by overcharging people who do not keep an eye on what's rung up by the checker.
I only wish I'd kept better notes at the time and that hubby would cooperate in helping me fight them. He's not nearly as money-conscious as I am. Drives me up a wall sometimes! Grr!
Great tip, JPJ! It's definitely a good idea to double check the sign price to the pump price so you won't have any surprises after pumping! Employees do make honest mistakes when they change the prices on the sign though. I have a friend who works a second part time job at a gas station to help make ends meet and he made an entire dollar mistake just a couple of months ago because he was tired and not paying attention.
Thanks, Deeli. I know your friend is honest and made an honest mistake. Unfortunately in this case, hubby neither mentioned it to the clerk nor called weights and measures. We're just quietly taking our business elsewhere. It just isn't easy finding affordable gas and when they do these seemingly unethical things, it only makes it worse. :P
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