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O/T Is this actually Legal???

A

Anonymous-0

Well-known Member
Yesterday I went to the gas station to fill up, pulled next to the island, got out of my gas pig, stuck the nozzle in and the attendant came out and stopped me. She said "we are in the middle of a price change and you will have to wait". I waited, and then the pump jumped 10 cents higher! I pumped, went in and paid and asked what was the reason for the price change, " i asked did you guys just get a load of fuel?". No she replied "we change it whenever we want".

If that isnt wrong i dont know what is....If you buy fuel for a gas station for "x" you should have to keep that price until your next load, then adjust the price......
 
By that logic, if you put wheat in the elevator when its $5 a bushel, you should have to sell it for that, no matter what the price fluctuation in the meantime.

Gas in a tank is no different than grain in a bin- its yours, to sell at whatever price you can get, regardless of what you paid for it.
 
Not saying that you should have but I in similiar circumstances have put the pump handle very carefully back in the holder on the dispensing machine,replaced my gas cap and calmly drove across the street or some other local where I was certain the price was not liable to change in the middle of the day. Changing the price when customers are on the Station Drive is plain disrespect for your buisness and they don"t deserve to have you or I for a customer.
 
In this neck of the woods if you are at the pump you pay what was on the sign when you drove in. I would have demanded that.

Areo
 
Gotta agree with co counsel Mike

YES ITS LEGAL FOR A PRODUCT OWNER TO CHARGE WHAT PRICE HE DESIRES FOR HIS PRODUCT REGARDLESS WHAT HE PAID FOR IT OR IF HE HAS A SUPPLY STORED UP OR NOT and the Buyer has the free choice to buy it or not, thats kinda how the free market works. HEY Im NOT saying (dont shoot the messenger) I like or dislike what you say, Im ONLY answering yes its legal

That being said, when the price of crude jumps notice how fast the retailers raise the price (even if they just filled their tanks with lower priced gas) buttttttttttt when crude drops, notice how slowwwwwwwwwwwwww they drop prices hmmmmmmmmmm

Best wishes

John T
 
FWIW, I do agree with John Harmon- she'd have got a dirty look and a drive-off. Not that she would have given a whit- she's the min. wage help, and not the source of the problem.
 
Really you got to be kidding . and why is diesel some places a buck a gallon higher then gas ?? why do they do this??? because they can and who's going to stop them . Sure won't be the government ya think they are going to bite the hand that feeds them .
 
We need (Federal) laws to determine what ANY business should be able to sell their product for; write your Congress Critter.

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I don't like high prices as much as the next guy, but I'm not quite ready to resort to communism. Market demand sets prices, not government.
 
I don't believe market demand it the cause (excuse) anymore. Around here, they used to jump the price of gas up on Thursdays to stick it to the week end drivers. That's not cause and effect. That's effect before there's any cause.

Market demand cannot explain why one gas station is 20 to 30 cents a gallon higher than one a few blocks away.

Plus, gas is 35% to 50% more per gallon than it was 3 yrs ago. I don't think demand has increased anywhere near that much.
 
She told you of the price change BEFORE you filled up. You had the option to fill up or go somewhere else. If you are really angry, open a gas station near her, always sell for ten cents under hers and put her out of business!

My local grain buyer's bids change all day long and they can't update the written board in the window all day so they do it once per day.
 
Consider for a moment what you propose.

Station A and Station B are across the street from one another. They are both selling gas at $3.50/gallon.

A truck pulls into Station B and delivers a load of fuel. Station B raises its price to $3.75. Immediately all the traffic goes to Station A, which quickly runs out of fuel, while Station B sits empty.

Station A then takes delivery of a tank of fuel and raises its price to $4.00. Now all the traffic goes to Station B, which is still selling at $3.75.

Even socialists like you and me can see there are cases where the free market does a pretty good job of allocating resources.
 
#1 Most states require by law that the product be sold at the advertised price. If the sign says 3.13 then you get it for 3.13. They just have to wait till you are done pumping. That has happened to me before and I kept doing what I was doing and told the clerk to call the cops. They back down real fast then.

#2 I'm not willing to go with communism and thats what you would have if the government fixed prices. There are laws about gouging and I believe that big oil is doing just that but the government is in charge of investigations and prosecuting.......our politicians are not going to release "the dogs of war" on companies that make very large contributions to BOTH parties.

#3 the stations have little to do with prices, they get told by the supplier what to charge and will often get a call telling em to raise prices right now.

#4 it's called inflation.

#5 years ago there was no where near as much demand for diesel. Demand causes the price go up.

Rick
 
That happened to me just the other day at Walmart. Their pumps are changed remotely and I was fueling diesel. I put the nozzle in and started to insert my credt card and the price changed right before my eyes. The attendant said if I didn"t like it go some place else. I did, The trouble is that Walmart is 5 to 10 cents cheaper.
 
Demand has actually DECREASED in my area. Prices at the pump are anywhere from $.03 to $.12 UNDER $3 as we speak.

No matter what, we don't need MORE government interference in the economy.
 
Most of the gas stations in my town are owned by the same man. He screws people even day with his prices. They change whenever he wants them to. You can go to every boardering county around and get it cheaper. There are a couple of gas stations in town that are not owned by this man. I know for a fact that they raise or lower their price only when the recieve a load of fuel. They are the ones that get my business.
 
If I were dictator-in-charge I would impose a wage and price freeze. Immediately return to paper money backed by GOLD and SILVER. Then I would lower the cost of EVERYTHING by 33.3%. I would cause wages to stay the same. I would put a 10% across the board tax on EVERYTHING. After two years I would lower the tax to 3% (used only for defense, infrastructure, and OLD AGE pension) on EVERYTHING and allow employers the option to RAISE pay levels, but not lower them. The economy would be booming to the point of no return by then! I am 100 % capitalist in my economics beliefs, but I am not for 100% greed, which is what most companies are working off of now, from mom and pop's corner quick-stop to Exxon/Mobile. People who won't behave have to be MADE to behave!
 
Don"t know about increase/decrease in demand in the Dallas area, but where I live regular unleaded has dropped to just over $3, but diesel has not come down.
 
Well, if you already had the nozzle in the truck, you should have kept going, not your problem. Especially since all pump are electronic now.

My first thought when I read your title ..."Is this actually legal?"... "Only if you don't get caught"
 
One other piece to bear in mind is that in many cases the pump price isn't set by the station owner if they are selling for a major brand. It's common for the fuel supplier to contact the outlet and announce a price change.
 
I pulled into the station one day,and there was a girl on her way out to the pumps. I stuck the hose in the car and started filling. She went to the other pump and started changing the price . She stood back and waited til I finished and went inside to pay then she changed the pump I had used. I got it at the lower price next guy paid 3 cents a gallon more. I think if you had started pumping instead of being a nice polite person they would have to give it to you at the price on the pump when you filled up. I go into the hardware store , paw thru the bins of stuff find they didn't change the price tag on and when I check out I get it at the lower price, of course, I speak up.
 

I don't think that I have ever seen gas jump 10 cents at one time, but if I did I think that I would have left and gone elsewhere.
I still think though that we ought to be thankful that we pay so much less than most of the rest of the world. In most other counties you can pull up to the pump and say "wow! that's a good price" then you see it's for a liter instead of US gallon.
 
Now John, it's not always legal to charge what ever the gas station wants. When we had the 9/11/01 attack people here panicked, gas station lines in some places were a city block long.
Two stations in my area raised their price(do not remember exact price) to around 8-9 dollars a gallon that afternoon and people were waiting in line to pay that for it.
The State of MI. prosecuted those two stations. Gas stations had to pay back the difference to anyone that had a gas receipt from then. Plus stations were fined.
 
One of the only things I remember from Econ 101 in college is that costs have nothing to do with price in a free market economy. Price is only determined by what a willing seller and buyer agree on. Obviously costs have everything to do with profit, but that is dealt with in the business/accounting classes.

Kirk
 
Oh , you should live here as not only do they just jump 10 cents they will jump 30 or more . Diesel went from a bargain basement price of 3.76.9 to 4.19.9 in a matter of seconds. while gas dropped to 3.13.9 at the same time . ain't checked yet today .
 
Fer sure, (never say never lol) theres always some sort of govt regulations, I was referring to free market capitalism in general, hey all we need is moreeeeeeeee nanny state big brother government regulations and restrictions YEAH RIGHT

Take care now

John T
 
I was filling up at a BP station one time. The guy came out and changed the price on all the pumps except the one I was using and when I was done, he raised that one also. Excuse was "I just got word to raise the price". Brother in law drives a tanker truck delivering to stations. He will call sometimes and say gas is going up .10 on Thurs. or whatever day is given.
 
I have a station near me that changes the price three or four times a day. If they changed the price while you were pumping the gas that would be illegal but it's legal for them to change the price at will.
 
You must not live near Michigan. That happens weekly here. Just yesterday it went from 2.98 to 3.35. .20 to .30 each week is the norm with a gradual deacrease, SOMETIMES. Been that way for years.
 
They change the prices around here any time they like. The closest city is really bad for it. In the morning it could be 1.159 a litre and at noon it could be 1.249. The closest town has 3 stations. Shell, Petro-Canada, and an independent which is always 2 cents less per litre, and the cheapest in the area. I try to remember what his price is(approx.) and if the others are way out of line, I just don't buy it. I have a 5 gallon jerry can with me, enough to get me 100 miles, and try not to ever let my tank get too low. I will actually go to town(12 miles) just to buy gas from this guy. Sounds stupid, but it boils my blood to see the other big companies make that kind of money.
 
A number of yrs back , I was pumping gas into one of our trucks when the pump shut off . I looked around and saw that the guy behind me had his pump shut off also. I went in side , asked the thing behind the counter why the pumps were shut off while I was pumping? . The , "I don t give a damn" reply was they they were raising the price rite then .This was in the middle of the afternoon .
I piad up , said to look close at my rear as you will never see it going out this door agin. Never went back . This was at a major truck stop on I44 in SW Mo. WE had been long time customers .
 
Diesel $? Look at the diesel pump for a little sticker that says something like - ultra low sulfur as required by law since 2007/2009 being dispensed- not recommended for pre 1990 or so diesel engines. If you go to a farm station that delivers to farms as offroad diesel- might see a "low sulfur" tag and a die stain- this will be cheaper wholesale as the last pass through refinery to get out last bit of sulphur isn"t done- but you"ll not be able to put it in your new diesel pickup gas tank legally. Diesel market shares demand with winter heating oil and jet fuel. High sulfur diesel only goes offshore, to railroads and generators with scrubbers. RN.
 
So how many miles will owners of diesel pickups have to drive? To save enough $$$ on fuel to pay for the diesel option and extra service costs?
 
I don,t understnd it.. Their gas.. they can charge what they want and change the price any time they woant. As the customer you have the advantage of going where you want WHEN you want. Just that simple, now is it good bussiness, lots of answers there but they have to change sometime, you just happened to be there when the word came down.. Filled up this afternoon regular unleaded 10% enl $ 2.93 Middle Tennessee
 
I don't think they can drive enough miles to get payback unless they are actually towing a load all the time.
 
They have to shut down the system to change the price- can't do it one pump at a time. Would be nice if they waited until no one was pumping, but in a busy station that might not happen for hours. So they just do it when they get the word.

But they could be a little more "customer friendly" in their explanation, so they wouldn't so often see the south end of a north-bound customer. I think if it was explained like I explained it above, with a smile, most folks would understand.

They stop the system to reduce the price, too- bet that doesn't meet with as much resistance.
 
John, that isn't what MF's question asked. He had already put the nozzle into the tank. Is there a point when a transaction is made? At what point does a merchant and costumer have to accept that whatever price is on the table is the price of the transaction. What MF is asking is whether the merchant may change the price during the transaction, in this case after the pump and tank are joined?
 
Implied by the question is a costumer pulling into a gas station which posted price A, only to be stopped and required to pay price B, after beginning the transaction. I can't speak to the law, as it so rarely applies to what courts decide, anyway, yet morally, it is bait & switch.
 
we have two speedway stations in town about a mile apart.It's not uncommon to see a .50 spread from one to the other.
 
Alot of folks around here put $4.50 corn in the bin last fall and then sold it in June for $7.50. How wrong is that?
 
States have different laws, here in the socialist republic of Wicsonsin the gas stations have a minimum mark-up required by law, are only allowed to change prices once a day and have to sell gas to you at the price that was on the state mandated sign when you drove in. If you break the law they'll fine you $300 or maybe $500 if you didn't contribute enough the the District Attorney's re-election campaign. That being said I go across the river to Michigan, they pay more taxes but the gas is usually cheaper....go figure
 
Would YOU also allow COMPANIES to go BANKRUPT and LAY off all their EMPLOYEES? Because THAT'S what would HAPPEN before YOUR two YEARS are UP.
 
My Brother-in-law runs a gas station. The margin on fuels is so tight he has to chase the price up and down to make much at all on gas. The margin is usually less than a dime to him. If he did not raise prices as they went up he would not be able to make up what he losses when they go down.

He has shown me the books. The profit is in the convenience items. If you buy $20 of gas: that would be about 6.5 gallon or a 65 cent profit. You buy a fountain drink for 99 cents and he makes 75 cents on it. Beer and candy bars have an even better margin. So a few hundred dollars of soft drink mix and water will make him more than a few thousand dollars of gas.

I used to own part of a fuel distributorship. Good friend needed help getting started. He was making four cents a gallon on diesel in 1988. His price was set by the company he bought from. If he marked it up any higher they would not sale him any more. So he had to store a semi load and deliver it to make four cents a gallon on diesel fuel. Call it #2 home heating fuel and he got to make six cents per gallon. He was able to buy me out after two years and I was glad to get out of it.
 
If you haul a load of grain in to sell, the price it was when your scale ticket was punched is what you get even if it cganges before you get unloaded and once a gas transaction is started it should be the same way, no change untill next transaction.
 
I had the exact opposite thing (well nearly). I was at an Ashland station paying for my gas when the other clerk anounced that the station across the street had dropped their prices. The two conferred and decided to follow policy and drop theirs too. This all happened as I was paying. I paid the higher price but the next guy...

Aaron
 
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