This year, the Florida Department of Agriculture's Bureau of Petroleum Inspection received nearly 6,000 calls from consumers who suspected their neighborhood gas stations were ripping them off. Turns out, it might have been the gas stations that were shortchanged.
In a review of 2008 inspection reports from Hillsborough County gas stations, Creative Loafing found that the majority of gas stations cited for improper meters, which measure how much gas is pumped for a certain price, had inadvertently provided extra gas to customers because of the faulty meters. In fact, two Citgo stations on Hillsborough Avenue — Silver Seven Food Mart and Touch Down — unknowingly gave away two gallons of gasoline for every five pumped each time a customer filled up.
"We find more pumps giving away fuel than we do shorting the consumer," says Steve Hadder, a field inspector with the Department of Agriculture's Bureau of Petroleum Inspection.
From January to September, the Bureau of Petroleum Inspection cited 58 gas stations in Hillsborough for failing accuracy tests used to determine if gas pumps are giving consumers the correct amount of gas they pay for. Of those, 17 gas stations shorted customers, but only by a teaspoon or less of fuel. Some stations had pumps cited for both giving away and shorting customers on fuel. If cited, gas station owners must shut down the offending gas pumps until fixed.
Hadder says the reason for most inconsistencies are old or damaged gas pumps. It's rare for gas stations to knowingly manipulate pumps, he says, because owners or employees cannot tamper with the pumps without state officials catching on.
During the 2006-2007 fiscal year, Bureau of Petroleum Inspection officials inspected retail and wholesale petroleum facilities throughout Florida. Officials cited only 3,481 pumps for improper calibration.
Hadder says customers can protect themselves by checking inspection stickers on individual gas pumps. Every gas station in Florida must be inspected every 12 to 18 months. If the sticker's missing or out of date, or if you suspect fraud, Hadder says call the state's consumer hotline (1-800-HELP FLA).
"Every complaint we get we send an inspector out to check it out," he says.
This article appears in Dec 10-16, 2008.