Gas station...Fraudelent Behaviour ???

This is one for the American members mainly.

Here we have a couple of video's about a scam at a petrol station named CITGO.
Apparently this scam was widespread in Bulgaria a few years back.

From the video description,

Is this a fraud or just a mistake?! Let the regulatory organs decide that!After that I went to get my 25$ back and I was told by the gentleman that sometimes it gets loose and that was the reason for what you saw on my video! Interesting, don't you think! I left with empty tank and do not have any plans to visit CITGO anymore!

These companies rake in billions per year. Im thinking maybe a member of staff is doing this without the companies knowledge.
Or it could be a faulty valve.
I dont know but i thought our American members should be aware of this.

Maybe a member is near one of these stations and could go check it out.

Interesting, I think the gas pump scam goes on far more often than we know via improperly or outright fraudulently calibrated gas pumps.

Most gas stations are independently owned and only pay the gas companies to use their logos.
I have heard of stations replacing the circuit boards that does not measure the gas correctly though.

a reply to: SecretKnowledge

I think I will be checking each tie now when I fill up. It could be a mechanical failure on that pump, but if he had gone to the next pump and it did the same thing I would be inclined to say they were all rigged.

I remember filling up one time (I fill up about twice a week on average!), and the guy on the next pump being very upset that he'd just pumped (according to the pump) 19.5 gallons into his car's 18 gallon tank (according to his manual) - that he said was about 1/4 full when he came in to the gas station.

I know that there are 'reserves' in cars that will mean a tank showing empty actually has a little in there, but 1.5 gallons +???

I've never seen these creeping digits before. I'll keep my eyes open.

Something similar happened to me once when I was out of town. What I thought was some weirdo waited for me to get gas and then asked me if he could look at how many gallons filled my tank. Apparently he had just been charged a few gallons more than his tank holds. Turns out all of us that got gas filled our tank between 8 and 15 more gallons than the tank allows.

That 'weirdo ' got me free gas that day. Apparently if the pump isn't working properly gas can't be sold. But, what I found most interesting was I didn't even know how many gallons my tank had. I didn't even realize I was being scammed! The ' weirdo ' was a really kind elderly man that knew cars like you would not believe. Pointed out things that you know but don't really think about too. When your vehicle is brand new it holds the most gas and then time wear and tear reduce that amount ... end result. They shut down the gas station.

I worked at a Shell station as a teen and saw this happen a couple times. It was explained to me by our technicians that it's some form of "vapor lock" due to temperature variations or something to that effect. Completely normal, it happens here and there but it does suck!

a reply to: SecretKnowledge

there are people who are paid to go around to gas stations to fill up a rigged car to check the pumps caliberations out.

they're something like secret shoppers?, they are employed by some states to keep the gas stations on the up and up.

not sure how you would get a hold on them, probably through one of your states agencies .

Most states have a regulatory body that comes out and certifies the gas pumps. If you look, you'll see the sticker on the pumps indicating the last time (month/year) that the pump was checked for accuracy.

Having that said, filling up in the morning is the best time as the colder weather creates less fumes...meaning you get more actual gasoline.

In a remote town in nevada i filled my tank one time with 22 gals of gas in a 17 gal tank.
I was driving on fumes when i hit town but you still can not put 22 gals in a 17 gal tank.

Another thing i know is temperature can change the amount of gas you get.

Don't ever buy gas on a hot day from stations with above ground tanks.

In states like calif you are paying for gas and vapors and the station collects the vapors and it goes back into the station tanks.
At a few station while filling my tank i have felt the hose and the gas is hot even from underground tanks.