Beware of buying gas at the 76 station on Hwy 99 [1395 Hwy 99], if you use a credit card!!

Last month I bought gas there, as I do occasionally, and after I got home I looked at the receipt and was surprised to find that I had paid 8 cents per gallon more than I expected. I called the station, and was told that credit card users pay a higher price than cash customers. I asked why this wasn't posted on the big price sign, and was told there is a sign at the pumps. Well it must be pretty darn inconspicuous, because in all the times I've been there, I've never seen it. I wonder how many hundreds [thousands?] of other people have been charged more than they thought. This sneaky overcharging is obviously intentional. Why is the low cash price posted on a huge sign for everyone to see, but the higher credit price posted on a small, inconspicuous sign where many people won't see it? Why aren't the two prices posted in equal size, or the higher price on the large sign? We know why-because people would see it and go elsewhere. This amounts to bait-and-switch!
If people pulled in after seeing the higher price posted, they would be thrilled to find they were getting a lower price for paying cash [if they saw the sign]. Instead, people pull in thinking they'll be paying a low price, and then get furious when they see they've been ripped off!
My trip to that station cost me more than $1.50 extra, but that was my last trip there! I will no longer patronize that station, cash or not. I know of no other station in the area [except AM/PM] that charges more for using credit cards.

After contacting the station, I then contacted KMTR and the Register Guard about this, but they didn't feel it important enough to warrrant a story.

Thank you for sharing your story.  I know there is a gas station in Eugene that posts "FREE Car Wash" without posting their prices on a big sign at all.  This is the first time I've heard of a non AM/PM that charges more for credit cards.

I've passed the story onto our news room.

Sounds like you contacted them already yourself.  I will say that sometimes it's a matter of chance when you contact them.  For instance yesterday there was a pedestrian killed in a car accident, a police officer killed a 19 year old, a woman blew up her house by smoking next to an oxygen tank.  On days like that your story would have been dropped from all the breaking news.  Sometimes you just have to submit on a slower day, or be persistent to get a story on the air.

They did ask if I would be interested in giving my complaint in front of their cameras, but I declined. I told the news dept. that I was thinking of standing with a sign in front of the station, and they said if I did that, to let them know.

Thanx for the Heads-Up, Rebel.  I'm sure this will save a number of people from getting stung.  It may even help get the credit card price posted better.

I've encountered this phenomenon before and have developed a habit of only paying for gas with cash.  Even at locations where I KNOW credit and cash price are the same;  just to enforce the habit.

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An ascendant man, living in a degenerate age, MUST, by definition, live in contradistinction to his times.

I always use my credit card to pay for gas, because I earn cash back. The reward amount at gas stations was recently lowered to 3%, but that's  still  3¢ per gallon I usually save. So it really made me made to discover that I had paid 8¢ per gallon MORE for using my card.☹

Thanks for the insight! I recently learned too that gas stations such as Arco and others often "pre-charge" your debit or credit card for up to $75 per visit to insure that there is enough on the card to cover the cost of a fill up, even if you only need a few dollars worth of gas! This is all fine and good unless of course you are traveling and have to stop every few hundred miles to fill up. At a pre-charge of $75 or more, your debit card or credit card could be maxed out in a hurry on a long trip! Best to pay in cash or check with the individual fueling station before a fill up!

Many stations are doing this now.  So I ask first.  That 76 station was one that I did ask and I didn't see any posting...luckily I had cash and I normally don't buy gas there...

Another thing I noticed is that many stations have bumped their mid grade and premium up higher then the previous ratio.  For many years each higher grade was 10 cents more...now it's 12- 14 cents more with each higher grade.  My motorcycle calls for premium, now I'm using more discretion on where I buy my premium as well as where I use my C.C.

I've never seen or heard of the pre-charge on cards...but I've seen more and more charging additional for credit card purchases.  I was told by our local gas station that it's due to the high rates the credit card companies charge per transaction.  I'd rather swing by my bank's ATM for cash rather than lose those precious cents of gas.

Great heads up! I don't carry much cash, if ever, and rely upon my debit card. I have gone traveling before and bitten hard by the pre-charge where Arco will hold up to $50 in your account. I barely limped home on a just a few gallons of gas on my last trip between Sacramento and here. Ugh!

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If at first you don't succeed, then skydiving's not for you.

Well I hate to say this however I use that gas station alot. The signs for CC prices are right on the poles as you enter the pumps. They are as big or bigger than the ones on the street. I guess some people can not see maybe she shouldn't be driving.

Well written, cwtr.  I use this station from time to time myself.  I did have one of the people working there inform me of the difference prior to starting the pump.  And now that this practice has been in effect for a while, the employees ask you the method of payment.

I guess the bottom line is that people need to pay attention to what is going on around them.  Especially when their money is concerned.

 

Also for accuracy in the infformation:  AM/PM does not accept credit cards.  You may however, use your debit card, for a .45 fee.  Another example of people needing to pay attention.