Bakersfield.com: Kern County news, events, classifieds, shopping, & search

RSS Feed   Print Story   E-mail Story        

Dianne Hardisty: There's more pain at pump than you think

by DIANNE HARDISTY, Editorial page editor
dhardisty@bakersfield.com | Friday, Jul 11 2008 9:03 AM

Last Updated: Thursday, Jul 17 2008 11:38 AM

Once upon a time, filling your car up at the gas station was not unpleasant. It wasn't "pleasant." After all, who wants to buy gasoline? But it wasn't that bad, either.

Those were the days when station attendants filled up your tank, checked your water and oil, and washed your windows. Oh, yeah, and the gas was cheaper.

Then came self-serve pumps. And as the fuel prices increased, the service decreased. Today, we have to get our sorry butts out of our cars to fill up our own tanks with gas that is priced beyond anyone's imagination.

This is not written to bemoan the loss of the "good old days." It is written to warn that a trip to the gas station includes something new these days — financial risk.

Manuel Villicana fights a continuing battle to protect Kern County consumers from getting ripped off by local merchants. The deputy director of Kern County's Agriculture Department, Villicana oversees the measurements and standards division. He and his eight inspectors make sure we get what we pay for — that the grocery store scanner rings up the correct total; the produce scale is accurate; the 17-ounce box of Cheerios contains 17 ounces.

Villicana says the most common complaints these days are about gas sales. Some question pump accuracy, but most complain about the way station owners are charging for fuel.

Cash or charge? Seems like a simple question. But the way prices are posted and credit or debit cards are charged is anything but simple.

A growing number of stations charge more for credit card sales than for cash sales. Villicana says often the big sign over the station advertises the lower "cash" price, while a smaller sign posts the "credit" price. This can be a 10-cent-a-gallon difference.

Station owners are required to pay credit card companies 2 percent to 3 percent of the charged amount. The profit margin for station owners on gas sales — which is about 10 cents a gallon — can be eaten up or exceeded by this "transaction fee."

Villicana receives many complaints from credit card customers that they were charged more than the "posted" price for gas. County inspectors have been issuing "notices of violation" and ordering station owners to prominently post both cash and credit prices.

If you use a bank debit card rather than credit card to pay for gas, station owners may charge you a fee, but you likely will pay the "cash" price. Banks generally do not charge stations transaction fees for debit card use.

But you may encounter hidden financial worries when you slip your debit card into the pump. You may discover your bank account has been frozen for days.

Here's how it works: Say you slip your card into the pump and buy $20 worth of gas. Commonly a $75 "freeze" will be placed on your bank account. If you make additional withdrawals, it will appear you have $75 less in the account.

A "freeze" is placed on your account because the bank and station owner have no idea at the time your card is slipped into the pump how much your purchase will be. The freeze reserves money to cover the actual charge.

It gets squirrely at stations where pumps automatically shut off at $100, $75 or lower amounts. This shutoff protects the station and bank from getting ripped off for more than a set amount of money if a card has been stolen or there is some other problem.

Typically, customers are told to swipe their cards again to reactivate the pump. But these are "new transactions," with accounts frozen for additional amounts.

A friend encountered a malfunctioning pump that twice shut off at $2.70. She later learned her account was frozen twice. She was billed hefty overdraft charges for subsequent purchases. "I could have sworn I had money in the bank," she told me.

Villicana insists station owners make their charges and consequences, such as "freezes," better known to customers.

So what's a consumer to do?

* Use cash to pay for gas.

* Pay higher credit card prices.

* Go inside the store to pay if you use a debit card. Your account should not be frozen if you use your PIN number and the actual amount of the purchase is charged.

* If you think you have been cheated, e-mail Villicana at villicam@co.kern.ca.us or call him at 868-6300.

E-mail Dianne Hardisty at dhardisty@bakersfield.com.