Tyler

By KENNETH DEAN
Staff Writer

A few pennies here and there doesn’t sound like much, but to consumers hit with high gas prices, every cent counts. When the consumer notices he is being charged for gas before he squeezes the handle, sometimes he might get a little upset. But what can the consumer do?

Veronica Obregon, Texas Department of Agriculture chief communications officer, said the consumer needs to call her agency to report faulty fuel pumps.

“Typically when there is an increase in prices, the Department of Agriculture receives an increase of complaints. I think this is because consumers have a heightened sense of awareness and are making sure they are getting what they are paying for,” she said.

According to information from the TDA, those complaints have more than doubled in the past year as gas prices continue to rise.

The Tyler Paper called Ms. Obregon after being contacted by Mark Waters, a Smith County Precinct 5 deputy constable and interstate interdiction officer, reporting a consumer problem at an area gas station.

Waters said he went to the Speed Trak at 2615 Commerce St. to fill his personal pickup.

He pulled out his credit card to begin the fueling process.

“I chose the 87 grade of unleaded and lifted the handle. I heard the pump make a noise and when I looked up I saw the pump adding money before I ever activated the nozzle or squeezed the handle,” he said.

Waters said that when the pump stopped it had charged him .25 cents.

“I hung the hose back up, got my receipt and went and talked to the attendant who told me that it happens all the time,” he said.

Waters said the woman told him customers have a tendency to drain the hoses of all the gas in them after they turn off the pump and when a new customer begins the fueling process the hose has to be recharged.

Waters responded that the customer draining the hose had already paid for the gas and the next customer should not have to pay for the customer before them.

“She offered to give me the quarter back, but I refused and just went somewhere else. After this happened to me, I just wondered how many times a day this is happening across the country and how much money is being made,” he said.

Yasmin Rafeek, Speed Trak manager, said she was unaware of the problems with any of the pumps, but then said there had been a few complaints.

“I did not know of this, but we have had the people checking the pumps, but they say they are fixed. We will have the fuel guys come fix this immediately,” she said after seeing photos a reporter took that showed he was charged .07 cents from her station and had not pumped a drop of fuel.

Ms. Obregon said as the fuel costs continue to rise there was no doubt her agency would receive more complaints.

“Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples takes this very seriously and wants to make sure Texans are not paying for fuel they are not getting. Every time we receive a complaint we take it seriously and follow through with an investigation,” she said.

Ms. Obregon said in some cases the pumps are giving the consumer more than they are paying for, but it is the cases where the customer feels cheated when a complaint is often filed.

“Typically it is faulty equipment that is to blame and not human involvement,” she said.

She said that between May 2006 and May 2007 there were 976 gas pump complaints filed with her agency and during the same time period from 2007 to this past May that number had increased to 1,952.

Ms. Obregon said the TDA inspects gas pumps every four years and during that inspection they can determine if a station has cheated consumers.

“We can tell so even if we never get a complaint when they do the inspection it will show up,” she said.

According to the department’s Web site, there are four levels of severity on malfunctioning pumps and fines can reach up to $500 per pump not working correctly at a station.

Ms. Obregon said the TDA has 72 weights and measures inspectors throughout the state checking more than 68,500 fuel pumps a year.

An inspector will place an “out of order” tag on any pump not dispensing the correct amount of fuel within the allowable tolerance. An entire station can also be tagged out of order if a majority of the pumps are dispensing fuel in favor of the station owner, even if the pumps are within the tolerance level.

She added that the owner or operator is responsible for having a pump fixed and re-inspected by TDA before the pump can be further used to sell fuel. This is in addition to any penalty the owner or operator may incur.

Waters said he hoped the next time he pulled up to a pump he wouldn’t have to worry about being cheated.

“The gas companies are already charging us too much for fuel and now they do this?

Ms. Obregon said consumers need to file complaints when warranted.

“If you think you are being cheated at the pump Commissioner Staples wants you to call and report it,” she said.

Anyone with a complaint about a fuel pump issue should call 1-800-TELL-TDA (835-5832).

A gas pump shows 7 cents being charged before gas was pumped Tuesday morning at the Speed Trak at Commerce Street and Loop 323. Officials say that complaints of being cheated out of gas are rising right along with fuel prices.
(Staff Photo By Kenneth Dean)