Another Gas Station Scam

[Pat]

ABC reports this afternoon that some stations along the east coast are charging you for using plastic. The price on the Marquee is not the same that shows up on the pump when you do plastic.

For cash customers, you are not charged extra, but either have to pay first or go in the store where the chances of you buying something is higher.

Be aware.

Regards,

[CKMustangCobra]

It's been that way with some stations in Orlando for a while now. :/

[TiTo35]

WELL since they call that a scam...beware of the carwash prices too...I am tempted to a gas station wash...then I think again and say HELL NO!

[Bluerauder]

ABC reports this afternoon that some stations along the east coast are charging you for using plastic. The price on the Marquee is not the same that shows up on the pump when you do plastic.

For cash customers, you are not charged extra, but either have to pay first or go in the store where the chances of you buying something is higher.

Be aware.

Regards,
Our local news did a story about this a couple weeks ago. Apparently the fees charged by some of the card companies to process the transaction is eating up the profits for the station owners. Most of these station owners are getting shafted nearly as much as we are with these high prices.

[Aren Jay]

Time for the station owners to raise the price $0.50 a gallon. Now would be the time to do it and if one does it the rest will follow.

:)

[justbob]

I thought it was illegal to charge more for credit consumers?

[jgc61sr2002]

That two priced system is spreading on Long Island.
You have to read the sign, some state " CASH ONLY PRICE".

[Aren Jay]

The Cash only price, or more common, cash discount price is illegal in Canada. I believe the credit card companies will pull machines from places that do this, if you complain to them.

[ctrlraven]

Video:

http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/play...up/?cl=8732718 (http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?cl=8732718)

[Motorhead350]

I'm ready to flip out.

[crabby125]

I personally think there is nothing wrong with this as long as the stations are properly displaying the "cash price" and credit price. Most people in the vid shown above are outraged because they did not take the time to read the prices above the pump.

The average price for the "same price cash/credit" station is 3.99/gallon for regular. The average price for the cash only stations are 3.89 and as low as 3.85/per gallon.

[offroadkarter]

That two priced system is spreading on Long Island.
You have to read the sign, some state " CASH ONLY PRICE".



I saw that yesterday

[O's Fan Rich]

the 2-3 % that credit card companies charge the accepting vendor was not a big deal at 1-2 bucks a gallon. At 4-5 it starts becoming 8-10 cents, which is around the amount the dealer makes on a gallon... not profit, gross... remember they still have to pay bills and themselves with that 8-10 cents a gallon.

[Eric-Blk2004]

This is not a scam it is business.

Credit card companies charge the station for the convience of using their machines to process customers. This is why a lot of places do not accept American Express, American Express charges the business more so that the card owners can earn points to get rewards, etc.

The station usually foots the bill in order to bring customers in, if they don't pay and someone else does all credit consumers go there and they lose on volume. However - with the rising cost of fuel the station owners can no longer foot this bill and instead pass it on to the consumer. It is simple economics and not a scam or anything to be outraged. Its pathetic that this is news, they play on people's ignorance just for hits/ratings.

I love the media.

[ctrlraven]

This is not a scam it is business.

Credit card companies charge the station for the convience of using their machines to process customers. This is why a lot of places do not accept American Express, American Express charges the business more so that the card owners can earn points to get rewards, etc.

The station usually foots the bill in order to bring customers in, if they don't pay and someone else does all credit consumers go there and they lose on volume. However - with the rising cost of fuel the station owners can no longer foot this bill and instead pass it on to the consumer. It is simple economics and not a scam or anything to be outraged. Its pathetic that this is news, they play on people's ignorance just for hits/ratings.

I love the media.

That is true that it is business when they properly display the two prices. Now if they don't display the prices that ripping people off.

[Larry Staunton]

A Texaco station in Virginia Beach, Va. is offering an .08 cent reduction in regular gasoline if you use a Texaco credit card. The price is $3.90.9. So far no penalties for charge cards.

[Master]

Pretty much everything in the Petroleum industry is stacked in the company's favour.
1) They offer discounts if you use their credit card. 2c/l is common. However, this is what they were offering back when gas was 75c/l. So, it was in the range of 2.7 percent. However, with the drastic increase in price, they still offer only 2c/l, or 1.4 percent. This means that for being loyal, they raise the cost to me, but not my discount and screw me over for fun.
2) They offer a summer drive-in contest that still has the same 75c/fillup "prize" that they had 5 years ago. As a precentage, it is almost laughable.
3) The retail folks, if they can be beleived, are getting even more royally screwed. They SHOULD be making a certain margin (be is 4%, 5%, whatever) on the fuel. Instead, they tell us that they make "x" number of cents per litre regardless of the cost of fuel. What business would continue to operate under this premise? I am a regional sales manager and of course, I know that I am expected to bring in "x" dollars at "Y" margin. If I sold the same volume at twice the sell price, but with the same profit dollars that I did for half the volume, then I'd have cut my margin in half and would be fired post-haste.
4) These cute little stickers that the companies put on their pumps to let you know how hard done-by they are (you know, the ones that show 30% crude costs, 67% taxes and only a paltry 3% profit to the company). Well, here is a news flash. Its easy to live on 3% margin when what you are actually doing is making all of your corporate profit from the actual crude oil which you sell to yourself through your overseas, untaxed oil companies. You think Exon, PetroCanada, Ultramar - all of these guys - don't own or own major shares of the overseas oil companies? You have no idea how much they make from these. Then they sell to their North American affiliates at hugely inflated prices showing that the North American oil companies are only able to make the oh-so-small 3% profit. So sad, eh?
If I produced widgets overseas for 3c and was marketing them in North America, you know I'd sell them to my company for $10 and sell them for 10.50. The huge profit comes from selling to myself, and the income in my offshore account is non-taxable. The North American company can tell people what a great deal they are getting and at the same time report very low earnings and pay very low taxes. Brilliant.

Feel free to post some opposing views. These are only my thoughts on the subject and are subject to review and comment.

[de minimus]

Feel free to post some opposing views. These are only my thoughts on the subject and are subject to review and comment.

Nope I think you got it pretty much right.

[Master]

How about these?
5) With their proprietary credit cards (mine is hosted through MasterCard), they put a pre-auth limit of $100 per fill-up. That wasn't even adequate for the dually at 75c/l. This means that on the road, I have to authorize, fill to $95 (The last five aren't worth the interminable wait), reset, reauthorize, and refill. Now, as if this isn't bad enough, becuase I've had to authorize twice to fill the dually, when I use it again to fill the generator I find my card is suspended. Now I have to go in to the counter. By this point, I'm in a pretty lousy mood. I am scheduled to the minute when I'm on the road, and this BS just slows me down and makes me irate. So much for their superior computer analysis of spending habits. Happens everytime and the computer hasn't learned the following:
a) Its me, everytime.
b) You can't fill my truck in a single go.
c) I pay my bills before the due-date religeously.
And these hassles are the thanks I get.

2) Theft: How many other business do you know of where if there is shrink, theft, loss of some sort, the government steps in and creates a SPECIAL criminal charge specific to that one crime with a punishment related to that crime? Yeah, they exist, but not to pander to one specific lobby group's interest for sure.
Jeeze, at this rate, the restaurant business should be able to lobby the govt to prevent dash-n-dines by creating a special "restaurant Law". Say, if you D&D, upon conviction you not only get the basic charges, but a special "Restaurant" conviction as well. This is what the gas lobby has achieved. I want special laws for my business as well.
Should I have lobbied the govt for such a law when my company's generator and compressor were stolen? Should I have said, anyone who robs a dynobusiness should have their license revoked as well? Its just bizarre.

7) Prepaying. They are actually talking about making it a law that you must pre-pay. Shouldn't this apply to all businesses then? Why just the billion dollar gas industry? Oh yeah. They are the billion dollar gas industry. That is why.

[Aren Jay]

My Credit card, which I don't pay for but someone does, gets a 5% discount on top of whatever discounts I get at the pump. SO if they are only getting 3% then they are losing 2% on my gas purchases. Somehow I doubt they are losing money on my gas purchases. In total I'm getting about 7.2% discount.

[Master]

Yup. Spin doctors extroadinaire.

[Dr Caleb]

7) Prepaying. They are actually talking about making it a law that you must pre-pay. Shouldn't this apply to all businesses then? Why just the billion dollar gas industry? Oh yeah. They are the billion dollar gas industry. That is why.

That would be the kind of Bull$h1t I'd expect of government.

If you prepay with CC or Debit - they take $100 or whatever, and don't return it right away. They credit you back what you didn't spend, in a day or two.

Nothing like legislating an interest free loan.

[Aren Jay]

Pay at the pump, works great.

We even have those little computer chips that you hold up to the pump, no credit card needed. Extra discount too.

Mine expired when my Dad Expired.

[Master]

Dude, no it doesn't! That is what I'm using. My "PayPass". It still shuts off at $100. That is how I got so PO'd. And here is the funny thing. I can only go to $100 at the pump with my "PayPass", but if I fill 'er up (to the tune of $200), then I can carry on with no problem, but I have to go in to pay. Where is the sense in all of this?

[quota]

I do not understand why there should be a price difference. Yes, there is a fee for the CC company. But as far as a profit remains, the seller should consider that allowing CC payments attracts more clients.

Maybe I am wrong, but i thought that more clients = more business volume = more profits. So it should be up to the seller to decide what he wants. And to eventually sell for plastic at the same price as for cash !

JP

[Bluerauder]

I do not understand why there should be a price difference. Yes, there is a fee for the CC company. But as far as a profit remains, the seller should consider that allowing CC payments attracts more clients.

Maybe I am wrong, but i thought that more clients = more business volume = more profits. So it should be up to the seller to decide what he wants. And to eventually sell for plastic at the same price as for cash !

JP
Refer to Rich's post #13. If a station operator grosses 8-10 cents on each gallon of gas sold and his "station operating expenses" are 6-8 cents. That leaves 2 cents. If the credit card fee takes that other 2 cents, it leaves nothing for profit. 0 x anything = 0 More volume doesn't help at all at the station operator level. Of course, the credit card companies and oil companies see it a little differently.