Consumerist
Royal Farms refuses to fix a broken gas pump that charges customers even after the gas stops flowing. The pump in Abingdon, Maryland has overcharged Tom on five separate occasions, and Royal Farms refuses to issue a promised refund.
Tom sent us his letter to Royal Farms:
On July 8th, 2007 I pulled over at one of your Royal Farms gas stations to fill up my car.Call your credit card company and chargeback the excess costs for as many visits as they will allow. Next, call your local department of Weights and Measures. They have inspectors who love discovering leaky pumps. You will make their day. Finally, find a new gas station! One that charges for the amount of gas pumped.What occurred at this Royal Farm gas station was a complete shock to me. I swiped my credit card and began to pump gas into my car. While the gas was pumping I got a very important phone call, which I needed to answer. I answered the call and took a few steps away from the gas pump.. The pump continued to pump the gas, however, at some point the pump stopped pumping. I remember hearing a loud click sound when the pump shut off. As this was a very important call, I talked on the phone for a few more minutes.
When I finally got back to the gas pump I was shocked to see that the meter was still running; eventually it slowed but still continued to run. Both the gallons number and the dollar amount continued to increase even though the gas was no longer flowing. I removed the pump handle from my car to make sure.. While holding the pump handle in my hand, I watched both the gallons number and the dollar amount still continue to increase. At this point I called the county police station to report fraud; however was informed that they wouldn't come out unless I go no cooperation from the gas attendant.
As far as I am concerned this is stealing and is no different than me getting gas without paying for it.
I called the gas station attendant to show him what was going on.
He witnessed the problem.
Unfortunately, he was unable to do anything about this and was unable to offer a refund.
I was given the name and phone number for the store manager with instructions to call her the next day. As instructed I called and spoke with the store manager. She promised to issue a refund back to my credit card which of course hasn't happened yet.
On 10/18/07, I returned to this same Royal Farms gas station and the same thing occurred again. At some point the gas stopped flowing however, the dollar amount kept on increasing.
On 10/31/07, I returned to this same Royal Farms gas station and the same thing occurred once again. At some point the gas stopped flowing however, the dollar amount kept on increasing.
On 12/6/07, I returned to this same Royal Farms gas station and the same thing occurred once again. At some point the gas stopped flowing however, the dollar amount kept on increasing.
On 12/13/07, I returned to this same Royal Farms gas station and the same thing occurred once again. At some point the gas stopped flowing however, the dollar amount kept on increasing.
(Photo: jrdnjstn)
Comments
Yeah, they have people that measure this sort of thing and if the pump is off more than the acceptable range, they'll fine the station.
YI'm not usually one of the "blame the victim" guys, but, uh, after the 5th time, you'd think he'd learn to stop...
Especially if he's never getting a refund.
At which point do you decide to stop letting them rip you off? The next time you go back? The 10th? How many times?
That is jacked up though. I would have not left the first time it happened until I got a refund. If I went a subsequent time I would have not left until I got a refund. Then I would have never returned.
Not that I'm blaming the victim here, but after the first time you received no response and no credit, WHY did you go back there??
@Xkeeper: yeah fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice......
that guy is an idiot for still doing business their.
and if its just one pump thats broke, it makes this guy a bigger idiot.
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me five times? Wait until you hear about the Attorney General's law suit and fine then go back to this station.
Leader : "There's an old saying in Tennessee - I know it's in Texas, it's probably in Tennessee - that says, fool me once, shame on ... shame on you. It fool me. We can't get fooled again."
good call alice.
Uhm, isn't talking on cellphones dangerous at gas pumps?
its really hard to say that this guy doesn't have it coming after he returned for the 5th time, but when will consumers learn to do their voting with their dollars? i'd also call the local news if i was this guy and have them do a story on it so others in the community would boycott it.
@rewinditback: your comment gave me a headache trying to decipher it. lol.
I'm assuming he was "taking one for the team" to make sure it was fixed by everyone else. I grew up in a small town and small injustices like this (especially if it is only one pump) have a tendency to be known by the locals and a way to take advantage of people traveling through.
I agree with the chargeback, but this needs to be fixed even after he gets his so it doesn't continually happen to people less able to defend against it.
Tom doesn't sound like a candidate for Mensa does he?
@causticitty: That's probably why he walked away from the pump a little, and didn't notive that it didn't stop counting.
And I know of several small towns with only one station, and it costs a lot to drive to another just to get gas - esp to pay more maybe.
The pump will have a tag with the last inspection info. I bet it has contact info of some sort.
Maryland Dept. of Agriculture has a Weights and Measures program (all states do) that is responsible for certifying gas pumps. Their URL is: [www.mda.state.md.us] Their phone number is 410-841-5790.
There ya go.
I'm surprised the editors of Consumerist would even publish this story. Why would they risk their advertisers thinking this fool is representative of their readership?
@causticitty: No. That's a myth. Your cellphone does not generate enough heat to ignite gasoline vapor. Even if your phone arcs and there's a spark, that spark doesn't generate enough heat to ignite gasoline vapor. Feel free to talk away.
I find it ridiculous that this guy called the police without even speaking with anyone who works there.
Also, isn't there usually a weights and measures contact on a sticker on each gas pump?
Did he call the manager back to follow up? Maybe she forgot. It just says he kept trying the pump again and again (for some reason).
Also, yeah, a charge back from your credit card company would help.
@ClayS: Did anyone consider that maybe the OP was testing the pump to determine if any measures had been taken? I'm not saying he did, but it is a possibility. Personally, I'd have been out there with a camcorder videotaping the proof!
@ClayS: "This fool" returns to a business that consistently overcharges him, delivers customer service that doesn't serve the customer, and resolves disputes by promising refunds they don't deliver. What advertiser wouldn't be eager to tap into that demographic?
@NickRB: Uhhh.... no it isn't. There are documented cases of this occurring- such as the one below-
[www.cbsnews.com]
I often think blaming the consumer is mean-spirited, but I've gotta go with the group on this one. At best, you might have found me get caught the first time, then caught again a very long time later; or caught once, then caught again very soon after, when I happened to not need much gas, but happened to have my camcorder handy.
Seriously, if it's this repeatable, your local TV news would love this story. It'd let them beat the gas price horse a little more.
This happened to me... well, except the pump kept flowing while the price/gallon indicator froze. I ended up with a full tank of gas for 37 cents. The attendant let it slide since there was no way to prove how much gas I had pumped into the car.
@goller321: It's a myth. Go watch the MythBusters episode where they did everything humanly possible to make a cellphone cause gasoline to explode.
The real culprit of gas-station explosions? People getting back into their car, which generates a static charge, which then creates a spark when they get out of the car. No doubt someone was on the phone when this happened, and hence the myth started.
@RottNDude: nice! i'm never that lucky.
Their gas pumps may suck, but Royal Farms makes a mean potato wedge.
This is a crime. This is fraud. I don't see any information about any arrests going on. Why is it swift justice if a consumer does it, but when a company does it, there doesn't seem to be any response?
Think about this. The gas station stole this man's money. The police should have come right then and there and gotten an answer. Instead, they said that the gas station could "make things right". Even if they did, and refunded this man's money, they are still guilty of defrauding customers.
To me, this is analogous to the story of the man who stole the $3 steak, then went back later to pay for it. He had a chance to make it right, and attempted to, and was arrested anyways. Again, the customer gets the shaft while the companies skip away scot-free.
@mgyqmb: great example! A+
On the other hand, anyone can surely benefit from the gas station error. This error was occurring when he paid with a credit card. Anyone who ever pays this way will tell you that it's a faster method than paying cash to the attendant and then pumping gas. When one pays with a credit card, the pump can run until the tank fills up (or the customer releases the handle on the pump, in this story)
After paying in cash, the gas starts to minimize flow around the time the customer has .30 or .25 left worth of gas to pump. The consumer notes that the gas stops running but the cash meter continues. Let's assume that there are other pumps in the same station and that both the meter and gas still run after the handle is released: Customer goes inside to pay for $20 worth, person goes back out to car and pumps gas. Whether or not the cash meter stops at $20 or not, as it normally does after pre-paying in cash, chances are that gas is still being pumped in the car. If the cash meter on the station still runs, the extra gas being pumped in the car is at the cost of the station owner, not the customer as he or she had just paid $20 worth earlier.
@NickRB & IBANIX : Actually there is enough energy for cell phones to ignite a gasoline/air mixture (I test products for use in explosive atmospheres (mines, oil refineries etc.) for a living). However to cause an explosion the gas/air mixture needs to be JUST RIGHT, and you would need to 1) have some sort of fault in the battery (to cause overheating) or 2) drop the phone and have the battery ejected (causing a spark between the battery contacts and the phone contacts) or damage to the battery itself that would cause overheating.
In a laboratory environment, I am able to ignite a gas/air atmosphere with a "AAA" battery. A cell phone battery has significantly more energy.
Is it POSSIBLE to cause an explosion with a cell phone...YES
Is it LIKELY that a cell phone wuold cause an explosion...NO. Conditions have to be just right, and there would have to be some sort of fault ot accident involving the phone to cause an ignition.
Sorry for going off like that, but that MythBusters episode just REALLY pi$$ed me off :-)
Chargeback bro!
However, the credit card co. might have a hard time believing you filled up 5 times at the same faulty pump. You gotta admit that was pretty stupid of you.
a. Complaint letter too long, with too many details. Better letter would be:
On Dates 1, 2, 3 and 4 I was overcharged at your station because of a faulty pump. The pump readout continued to climb even though I had stopped fueling my vehicle. I estimate the total of the overcharges as $x, which I expect to receive in the form of a check within 30 days.
That's it. No one cares about the "very important phone call" or that you think it's wrong to steal.
b. Why would you call the cops because you were overcharged for gas?
c. What kind of idiot experiences this then goes back FOUR MORE TIMES?
Along the similar lines...
I filled up my tank at the local station, but their credit card readers were down. He did the carbon copy thing, and phoned it in while I was standing there. He gave me my receipt, and I went on my way. 2 months later, the charge still hasn't shown up on my statement. Should I go back to the station and let them know of their mistake? Or should I just appreciate the free gas?
@Rachacha: Right. In the real world, it's NOT GOING TO HAPPEN.
@NickRB: I'm with you. If the attendant would not have refunded me my money, I would have called the police back and reported theft.
Would the store have let me pump gas and then say to them, have your manager call me tomorrow and I will issue payment then??? I don't think so...
BTW...Tom is an idiot. he was not taking one for the team. Maybe he is trying to establish enough usage to setup a class-action lawsuit against the company on behalf of all Maryland residents.
Yeah you probably should never have left the first time without a police report if the attendant was unwilling to help you. Be that as it may, the Department of Weights and Measures has full authority to shut them down. Of course, now the risk is that they have fixed the problem in the meantime and you have no evidence. This probably won't be the case, given that all pumps in most states are sealed by the DWM and if the seal is broken, the DWM will still fine them or revoke their license. I'm glad someone's taking a proactive stance so that other people aren't screwed by the same station.
@Xkeeper:
I agree. You can't fix stupid. Also, using a cell phone while pumping gas??????? Ummmm Hello? That is so not safe.
Regardless of whether or not a cell phone can spark an explosion, I am sure there is a sign posted on the pump forbidding their use. The station has every right to set its own rules and the person pumping the gas is expected to follow them. So, this guy should not have been on the phone. Besides, he should have been paying attention to the pump, not wandering around yapping on the phone. So, there's your safety issue - you are filling your car with a highly volatile, explosive liquid. Pay attention to what you are doing!
@parse:
You make a very good point!
@Rachacha:
Wouldn't you agree that starting a car is much more likely to start an explosion than using a cell phone?
There can actually be some arcing with relays and solenoids being energized. Yet how often does that happen? The key as you say is the fuel-air mixture needing to be just right, which isn't likely.
@goller321: and @dapuddle: Better go read up on this myth at Snopes.com:
[www.snopes.com]
The New Paltz incident is specifically mentioned at the end and the fire department determined it wasn't the phone. Cell phones produce very, very low levels of electricity. You are at far greater risk from static electricity generated from getting out of the car than by having a cell phone ring.
@Rachacha: "In a laboratory environment, I am able to ignite a gas/air atmosphere with a "AAA" battery. A cell phone battery has significantly more energy."
Voltage alone isn't the issue; load, amp hour rating play into it. Also, generating a spark off a battery contact isn't all that easy and assuming it will happen if the battery falls out is a huge leap.
Perform an experiment where you ignite fumes with a cell phone, and then I'll buy into it being more dangerous than static electricity.
Bad pump for sure. But the solution is somebody needs to call the state consumer affairs office. All states have a weights and measures dept that tests both tanks and pumps. They show up and find the pump in error you will see how fast the pump gets fixed.
slow comments day? lol.
@Solo_Racer: Several factors play into electronics causing an explosion...
1) Voltage (an "AAA" battery has a nominal 1.5V, a cell phone battery is generally 3.7V nominal)
2) Short Circuit Current (Any alkaline battery will give you about 5-7Amps instataneous (all that it needs). Lithium batteries generally have a short circuit current of 7-10A or higher), and
3) stored energy in the form of a capacitor or inductors (internal circuitry from the cell phone.
Static electricity is an issue as well, and I don't contest that.
The point being that the area surrounding a fuel pump is considered by fire marshalls as being a potentially explosive atmosphere, but only in case of an accident or a fuel spill.
Hey Consumerist...can you start a sister site, maybe "Scientist.com" so that we can argue scientific theories !