Is Gas stations ripping us off on top of oil companies?????

Thanks for a great tip. It's just crazy. We are already spending an arm and a leg on the stuff. I know most stations don't make much from selling gas, but cut us some slack. I have heard of this before and have been watching when I hit the pumps.

Gas companies are ripping people off, that's for sure. Here in California we don't generally have the extra gas problem mentioned here because the state often has people out checking gas stations for this sort of misbehavior and if caught, the gas station is closed down:)
The gas people are not ripping me off, as my car does not run and I am not likely to fix it anytime soon LOL

Wow-they aren´t under control in the USA?

Here in Germany they have an Institue controlling the pumps called the "Eichamt".

They take care for these things.
So every scale or pump is wearing a sticker of the Eichamt and the year they were controlled by them.

If you pay for pound, you get the pound.
If you pay for the litre gar, you get the litre gas.
Otherwise the Eichamt would close the shop or gas station because of breaking the law.

very interesting

I saw something pretty much the same thing in an email not long ago. The calibrators really are pretty accurate... but also you have to consider evaporation as you are filling your tank. If you pump fast a good bit of gas evaporates and gets sucked back down into the company's underground tank.. The old companies that were set by hand might have been able to cheat you, but it is hard to cheat with the computer read outs.

It matters what time of day that you pump it, because when it is later in the day the ground warms and therefore so does the gasoline. I don't believe the gas stations are ripping us off... it's just the way gas is.. it evaporates very quickly when being pumped.

The gas stations aren't making a killing on their gas either. You'd think they are at $4 and more a gallon, but they aren't.

In fact, the email that went around and came to my account was later found out to not be true after all.. and I don't believe this one is either.

I don't think that there are alot of gas stations that are doing this, but like you say in the post, if you do find one that does it, then contact the state. I can tell you from personal experience that you will also notice that some stations are blending water into their tanks (which in most states is legal, only in small amounts especially in diesel), I have customers that say they notice a difference when they fill up at a certain truck stop. I have seen this for myself in fuel samples that I have taken, as well as milage charts that show high water content. But, like I said this is legal as long as it is not above the state maximum. But, I don't think it is very common, and I think that your post makes good sense.

I already pay close attention when I pump gas, you better believe that! I think they're pretty strict with it in Pa. and inspect the pumps frequently, at least I hope so. I haven't been ripped off, of that much I'm sure, not since the prices have gone through the fricking roof. Most of the stations here are privately run and I don't think the owners make much on the gas to start with. I think it's a shame because I'd actually feel a bit better if some of the profits were going to a local business owner instead of to the greedy-guts oil companies.
Annie

I don't put much credibility into emails as sources, but I wouldn't be surprised anyway. We're getting ripped off everywhere else, so why not? You know?

I'm from the Philippines and i had friends who had these kinds of experiences. My husband actually knows a guy who works in the energy sector and he indeed validated this kind of rip-off. What these gas station managers overlook (or they may be a part of it) is that when the "gas boy" puts in the nozzle into the vehicle (NOW YOU CAN'T SEE IF GAS REALLY COMES OUT OR NOT, releases the clip and the meter starts running, THE FIRST FEW PESOS (philippine currency) are getting CHARGED but there is NOTHING BUT AIR COMING OUT. So what the government did was make "surprise calibrations" and they shut down/ penalize gas stations with uncalibrated pumps. They also calibrate octane ratings so you get the right gasoline for your car. Even after all this though, its all just getting harder because gas prices keep going up and the different taxes on gas implemented in our country keeps it expensive.