Category — Consumer protection

Add this to warm weather expansion and the cost goes up.

Common glitch at pump adds to gas costs, also cheats station

ALBANY, N.Y. - Angry about the price of gas? Just imagine paying for gas you don’t get. Some alert consumers have noticed it over the years: A pump that seems to hesitate a second when the lever is squeezed. Anywhere from 2 to 6 cents tick off before the rush of gasoline starts. That’s what happens with a common, hard to diagnose and mostly ignored problem with the “check valve,” which is supposed to make sure gas flows at the same time the price meter starts.

But even if your gas pump works, it can still be off as much as $5 for every fill up. Tests by local regulators allow a pump to charge as much as 6 cents more than the gas delivered in a five-gallon test. [snip]

This isn’t considered to be gouging by Weights and Measures officials but it still costs the driver.