Nebraska Gas Price Fraud, Part 2

Driving back from Nebraska on Easter earlier this year I was the victim of one of the most blatant gas price scams I have ever heard of. Put simply, the pump charged me a different price than what was advertised on the pump. Fraud at the pump is somewhat notorious on I-80 traveling through Nebraska, and I have complained about a North Platte gas fraud incident before. If you are ever stop for gas in Nebraska avoid the Cenex at the Ogallala exit. Here is what happened to me along with photo evidence of the gas scam they are running there…

We usually stop and eat at the Ogallala exit because they have a Runza at the Cenex gas station there. Being Easter, the station was closed as was the Runza, so we ate dinner at the McDonalds next door. While my family ordered our food I filled up the gas tank. The photo to the right shows what the pump looks like when you drive up. It clearly says $2.199 per gallon. Click on any of these images to see the full resolution photos that show the whole photo.

The next photo shows what the price changes to after you start pumping gas. As you can see it changed to $2.239! When you have finished pumping it switches back to the cheaper price. I couldn’t believe what just happened! There was no sign anywhere showing that the gas cost $2.239. It could have charged me whatever it wanted.

Since the gas station was unattended on Easter, there was nothing I could do but warn another victim who had just pulled up to the pump. Finally we noticed that the sign by the road said “cash price” in tiny letters next to the price. Apparently the advertised price is only if you have cash. And since the station is closed, nobody can pay cash. Credit card is the only option and they don’t tell you what that price will be. If you pay with a credit card they change the price to some arbitrary and unadvertised price. You don’t know the price until you actually start pumping. It could be $7.50 per gallon and you would be at their mercy.

There are dishonest people everywhere, I suppose. Crooks like the owners of the Cenex Station can get away with their scams because they have found a way to exploit their customers. Their scam might even hold up in court, but I wonder if in the long run it is worth it for them. I can tell you that I will never buy gas from that station again. I will tell every person I know who travels through Nebraska not to stop at that Cenex station. The price change cost me less than $1, but I will never buy gas from a Cenex station ever again. I hope you think twice before buying Cenex, too. Hopefully they actually lose money from their rip off methods.

This entry was posted on Sunday, May 10th, 2009 at 2:26 pm and is filed under Customer Service Complaints. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.