Keep your gas receipts! - Montana Owners Club

Emmel · 05-08-2009, 11:16 AM

Our friends we met in Florida called us and told us a little story about gas receipts.
While making their way home north, they were pulled over by the state patrol. It seems they just fueled up and the trooper said they left without paying! Well, Paul pulled out his receipt to prove he had indeed payed his bill. The trooper then called the service center and reprimanded them for their accusations. They may have had a drive off, but it wasn't that 38 foot fifth wheel pulled by a dually that tried to run off.
This is a warning to everyone, don't leave the fuel center without the receipt!
Patti has been upset with me at times because I demand a receipt, so now she understands why I grumble when the pump runs out of paper and I go inside to get my RECEIPT!

Waynem · 05-08-2009, 12:47 PM

If for some reason you do not get a receipt, or it blows out the door as you are getting in or out, you credit card company can also verify that you paid at the pump. It might take a little longer, but you may also have a claim for false arrest.

What in the world would make a clerk think a 5th wheel would try to run off???

ehmcfarl · 05-08-2009, 02:00 PM

Emmel, I had the very same thing happen to me at Wal-Mart. We had filled up our vehicle and then went into the Wal-Mart store. A few minutes after we went into the store I was paged, when I went to the customer service desk a policeman was waiting for me. He said that the Wal-Mart service station had reported that we had driven off without paying. I showed him my receipt and we went back to the service station. The policeman told the Wal-Mart manager that we had our receipt showing that we had paid. The manager couldn't apologize enough about the false accusation. The policeman said that false reports like this happened a lot at Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart is so gung-ho about everything concerning theft. I realize they have to be concerned; but, they need to be more accurate. So, I agree, be sure that you get a receipt, even if you have to go into the office and ask for one.

SlickWillie · 05-08-2009, 02:28 PM

Both Rockport and Aransas Pass, TX have enacted ordinances preventing the activation of gas pumps without prepayment. If a clerk does so, they can be charged. This was in response to numerous drive offs costing city police many wasted man hours.

jjackflash · 05-08-2009, 08:41 PM

In California it's pay first with a credit card or cash before you start pumping!
Jack

Art-n-Marge · 05-08-2009, 09:27 PM

I always pay via credit card for accounting sake and use the credit card machine at the pump. If there is none or it's not working I use the credit card with the attendant inside and will usually collect the receipt at that time.

I have not used or seen a fuel-up-first-then-pay service station IN SO LONG so I would expect not to run into this problem. Arco is the most prevalent NO CREDIT card gas stations, but I haven't used them in so long because they rarely have diesel so I never even consider them.

I don't like to get the receipts for fuel because they clutter the cab, they are hard to chase down on a windy day and I have relied on electronic-age credit card records to keep track of things. I'll stick to my routine and hope I don't get accused. If I buy other goodies, then I pay separately in the store and sometimes I save these receipts if there is a chance I'll need to return or exchange something.

Nevertheless, that is good advice.

Champ_49 · 05-09-2009, 01:26 AM

Ok here is another story that happened to me. After a nights racing we were heading to another race for the next day, and some friends of ours were going to spend the night at a motel. We asked if we could use there shower and they agreed. Right next to the hotel was a gas station where I decided to fill up before going to take the shower. While filling up my wife always goes in the store gets something and pays for the gas at the same time. So after getting the fuel we left went next door to the hotel and was using the shower when a police officer came to the room and knocked on the door. Well guess what, my wife for some reason thought I had payed and I thought she had payed and we drove off. WOW.......how embarrassing and scary. We told the officer what had happened and he said ok as soon as you are out of the shower please go pay. Wich of course we did right away. I apologized to the clerk and the officer was long gone. In reality we were very lucky that everyone understood. Dave

Glenn and Lorraine · 05-09-2009, 01:34 AM

Always do. Always pay with credit card. If I forget to get a receipt for ANY credit card purchase Lorraine will hang by my you know whats. It's hell being married to an accountant and a tax accountant at that but it's also nice at tax time. Haven't paid to get my tax returns done in nearly 40 years.

RickW · 05-09-2009, 02:59 AM

I can not remember the last time I paid cash for fuel. My AmEx bill reads like a copy of War & Peace some months but it is a great way to review our spending each month. Plus I only have to write 1 check.

As for the automated pumps I will admit that I while I always request the receipt, if the pump is out of paper I will not go inside. I think some places keep the paper out of the pumps just so you will go inside and hopefully buy something else. I have never been accused of not paying but I know that if I did not have the receipt a quick call to the credit card company would clear it up quickly.

The only place around me that still allows you to pump with out paying is Murphy Oil (WalMart). Last year when gas hit $4/gal they must have had 2 or 3 drive offs a day. Each drive off was very time consuming initially for our PD. We finally had to go to them and ask them to discontinue the Pump before you Pay feature. They refused. So we started to dispatch the drive offs as a lower priority call.

richfaa · 05-09-2009, 03:27 AM

We have a dedicated credit card that we use to pay for all diesel fuel and we do keep receipts.That was a good reminder.

Emmel · 05-09-2009, 03:32 AM

All in all, I think most of the stations have the pay before pump rule. There is still one place here in Troy where the clerk actually activates the pump for you while you're at the pump. If they were busy inside the convience store, they could miss you driving off.
If you don't take that little piece of paper and get stopped, the phone call you have to make to the credit card company could take a lot of time if it has to go to another country before being transfered to the accounting department.

kilch123 · 05-09-2009, 02:02 PM

Another reason to keep the receipts. A friend this past winter had his injector pump, lift pump, and all 6 injectors replaced due to gasoline in the diesel (his receipt showed he used the diesel pump) and then the insurance investigation found gas in the tanks of the store he bought at, and his insurance went after the retailer for reimbursement ($4800 damage, fortunately he wasn't out of pocket) Your credit card statement will not show that you bought diesel or gas - just that you payed xx dollars

Art-n-Marge · 05-09-2009, 02:13 PM

I guess it's better to be safe than sorry. The receipt does show the fuel type. I wasn't saving receipts because I didn't need to save them for tax reasons. I guess there's other reasons, like CYA (cover your Axx)

I suppose I should go back to that habit and be on the side of caution. This day and age with so much awful service by uncaring or careless employees, it's a safeguard that will protect little ole me.

Thanks for the tips,

dsprik · 05-09-2009, 06:07 PM

In Central FL it is mandatory (Twp/City ordinances). Strange feeling here in N. MI (many stations) when I can just pull a nozzle off the pump and just start filling without any cc or cash advance. They may eventually catch up to the other areas of the US, but it almost feels like driving without your seat belt. Erie feeling...

bigmurf · 05-09-2009, 06:48 PM

Dave: What do you expect from people that put major appliances on the side of the road? ggg

dsprik · 05-10-2009, 04:31 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by bigmurf

Dave: What do you expect from people that put major appliances on the side of the road? ggg

We are getting some great deals, though, Murf.

richfaa · 05-10-2009, 07:31 AM

We did have a strange occurrence concerning fuel on the way home from Florida. We do keep receipts and use a dedicated credit card for fuel purchases. I check the credit card against the receipts so I can see what bills are in and pay before any interest charges kick in.. we noted a fuel receipt for 53.17 that we got at the pump but the charge on the credit card statement said 57.17. Don't know what the outcome of that is yet as it is in the hands of the credit card company.. We got into the habit of checking receipts against credit card charges during the years we were doing a lot of Business travel as it was not unusual to find charges from Hotels/ Motels and restaurants on the credit card statement that I never incurred.

skypilot · 05-10-2009, 02:58 PM

It can take 2 to 3 days before a charge from a credit card will actually post to your account -- most companies use intermediate companies that do the credit card interface and they in turn update. It is not unusual to find a Saturday charge at the local shell station not post to my VISA until the following Tuesday, and in several cases Wednesday. I called the bank (cc issuer) one time asking about the delay and was told it was due to the credit card processing company for the respective store used. Bottom Line: I get a receipt at the time of purchase as well.

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