Always get a receipt for gas!
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Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 14,570
From: University Place, WA
Always get a receipt for gas!
Lifted from The Consumerist:
_______________
You probably wouldn't try to leave a retail store without a receipt, but you might not think about it when you're at the gas pump—after all, it's not like you're going to bring the gas back for a refund. But a reader points out that you should always have your proof of purchase just in case you end up in an awkward situation:
"I pulled out of the lot, turned left, and I wasn't more than 200 yards away when a cop comes up behind me, lights flashing. I knew I couldn't have been speeding so I was genuinely confused. He said the woman at the United Dairy Farmers said I drove off without paying for gas."
Here's the full story:
I had an interesting experience on Friday and a life lesson I think is worth passing onto other readers. On Friday I stopped at a United Dairy Farmers (local Cincinnati convenience store/ice cream parlor) to fill up while gas is relatively cheap. I pulled up to the pump, swiped my card, filled up, and paused before printing the receipt. Usually those things just end up wadding up in my pocket or under the seats of the car, but what the hell, I hit yes anyway. I then went inside to get a soft drink.
"Anything else?" the cashier asked. I said no, paid in change, and went back to my car. I pulled out of the lot, turned left, and I wasn't more than 200 yards away when a cop comes up behind me, lights flashing. I knew I couldn't have been speeding so I was genuinely confused. He said the woman at the United Dairy Farmers said I drove off without paying for gas. I said that was incorrect, and he said "She said it was a silver car, and she pointed at yours." I do drive a silver car, but I had paid for gas, and wait! I told the officer I had my receipt, and he wrote down the details: Amount, pump number, last 4 of my credit card, and the time. I also pulled out the credit card I paid with and my license, just to verify everything was on the up and up. He was cool about it, apologized, and I was on my way.
Lesson here is to always print that receipt out. I rarely check it against my statements now that I don't fill up as often. But without that 3x1 strip of paper I would have had a totally different story to tell. Needless to say I won't be taking my business to United Dairy Farmers anymore - being falsely accused of theft is a dealbreaker.
________________
Sounds like the cop was getting his coffee and doughnut at the UDF. :D
Some other good reasons for getting that little receipt:
In the Pacific Northwest there have been several incidents where either the Cherry Point refinery or their distributors got things in the gasoline that DO NOT belong in any gasoline - plasticizers and other contaminants. That receipt gets your car repaired at THEIR expense instead of yours.
In another area they had a run of cars get ruined because they filled up at a station that had lower gas prices than the rest. Turned out that the station was using way more alcohol than they were supposed to in their fuel. The people who ran into that problem are, of course, asking for damages. But the ones without a receipt are pretty much out of luck.
And of course there's always the "Oops! We have diesel in our gasoline tanks! Sorry!" problems that can make for expensive clean-out of the fuel system and engine...
Get those receipts and save 'em!
_______________
You probably wouldn't try to leave a retail store without a receipt, but you might not think about it when you're at the gas pump—after all, it's not like you're going to bring the gas back for a refund. But a reader points out that you should always have your proof of purchase just in case you end up in an awkward situation:
"I pulled out of the lot, turned left, and I wasn't more than 200 yards away when a cop comes up behind me, lights flashing. I knew I couldn't have been speeding so I was genuinely confused. He said the woman at the United Dairy Farmers said I drove off without paying for gas."
Here's the full story:
I had an interesting experience on Friday and a life lesson I think is worth passing onto other readers. On Friday I stopped at a United Dairy Farmers (local Cincinnati convenience store/ice cream parlor) to fill up while gas is relatively cheap. I pulled up to the pump, swiped my card, filled up, and paused before printing the receipt. Usually those things just end up wadding up in my pocket or under the seats of the car, but what the hell, I hit yes anyway. I then went inside to get a soft drink.
"Anything else?" the cashier asked. I said no, paid in change, and went back to my car. I pulled out of the lot, turned left, and I wasn't more than 200 yards away when a cop comes up behind me, lights flashing. I knew I couldn't have been speeding so I was genuinely confused. He said the woman at the United Dairy Farmers said I drove off without paying for gas. I said that was incorrect, and he said "She said it was a silver car, and she pointed at yours." I do drive a silver car, but I had paid for gas, and wait! I told the officer I had my receipt, and he wrote down the details: Amount, pump number, last 4 of my credit card, and the time. I also pulled out the credit card I paid with and my license, just to verify everything was on the up and up. He was cool about it, apologized, and I was on my way.
Lesson here is to always print that receipt out. I rarely check it against my statements now that I don't fill up as often. But without that 3x1 strip of paper I would have had a totally different story to tell. Needless to say I won't be taking my business to United Dairy Farmers anymore - being falsely accused of theft is a dealbreaker.
________________
Sounds like the cop was getting his coffee and doughnut at the UDF. :D
Some other good reasons for getting that little receipt:
In the Pacific Northwest there have been several incidents where either the Cherry Point refinery or their distributors got things in the gasoline that DO NOT belong in any gasoline - plasticizers and other contaminants. That receipt gets your car repaired at THEIR expense instead of yours.
In another area they had a run of cars get ruined because they filled up at a station that had lower gas prices than the rest. Turned out that the station was using way more alcohol than they were supposed to in their fuel. The people who ran into that problem are, of course, asking for damages. But the ones without a receipt are pretty much out of luck.
And of course there's always the "Oops! We have diesel in our gasoline tanks! Sorry!" problems that can make for expensive clean-out of the fuel system and engine...
Get those receipts and save 'em!
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Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 3,294
From: San Gabriel, CA
Wow interesting! I always get a receipt, and I also always use the Chevron card so it shows up on the statement of when/where I got gas... but I typically do throw away the receipts after one month-- so I saved all of July's in my driver side door slot, then when August came, I threw those out and I have the August collection started now-- hopefully saving for one month is good enough!
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Posts: 818
From: Raleigh, NC
Know the little rectangular compartment with the lid on gen1 xB's? I think I have a years worth of gas receipts stuffed in there... with other receipts... and the cheap pair of shades I bought, just so I could put something in there and always had intentions of wearing. 
Thread Starter
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Posts: 14,570
From: University Place, WA
I have a receipt for every one of Vanilla's fill-ups since I got her in January '05, each with the odometer and trip odo reading written on it. (Engineers are like that...)
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Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 818
From: Raleigh, NC
In thinking about it, if you use a card, don't they pre-authorize you for a limited amount, like $70 or something, and then adjust it? If that is the case, a receipt is almost a must in case they forget to adjust.
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