Do you get a receipt at the gas pump?

[Tiny]

The being charged more for your gas purchased than you saw on the pump when you bought gas is interesting.   

A long time ago, I saw a charge for $100.00 from the gas station on my credit card (when looking online).  It was a PENDING charge and it displayed as pending for a lot of days.  It did eventually go thru for the amount of the gas of I bought (and not $100.00).      I still sometimes see a pending charge for a gas purchase but it's usually $1.00, before it goes through for the amount I spent.  

I also noticed (this was pre-pandemic) that gas stations would prominently display one price per gallon (and in little print: with car wash) and then also in little print it would display the price per gallon without a car wash.     I got burned by that a time or two - when gas prices were fluctuating day by day.  I pumped gas for what I thought would be .10 cheaper than at my typical station (and it didn't seem to out of line - as gas prices would jump up overnight at different stations - back then .05 or .10 wasn't that out of line).    But then the price I was charge was .10 per gallon higher than I expected.   I was pissed at the deception.  The pump showed the lower gas priced.  When it asked if I wanted a "car wash" I pushed No.  and then I pressed the button for the type of gas I wanted and I swear it had the lower price (with a wash).   When I was watching the numbers roll as the tank filled - I saw the price per gallon was higher AND the button showed the higher "no wash" price.     I was annoyed.   

I try to avoid the gas stations with the deceptive pricing strategy.   I wasn't all that upset with the price of the gas - just that I wasn't use to having to read the fine print when deciding where to buy gas.      

I don't think I've ever been "overcharged" for my gas purchase.   But then my car has a 12 gallon tank and I tend to buy between 5 and 7 gallons of gas at a time (every 7 to 15 days)  so my charge is rarely over $35 - usually it's les than $30.    I do some math while I'm pumping to come up with an estimate for what my total will be.    the pump would have to be over charging me a more than .10 a gallon for my "guesstimation" amount to raise a red flag.   (6 gallons at $4.09 a gallon = 24.54 - my guestimate would $24.00 )     I live in a densely populated urban area - there are gas stations everywhere and prices can be all over the place (as each suburb has it's own taxes/fees as well as "taxing districts" and who knows what else.)  I try to buy gas in my suburb so the taxes my suburb collects stays in my suburb (why should I pay for some other suburbs "schools" or whatever...   ) 
 


 

[TheOtherMe]

I have not seen any instance where I personally do not think I have been charged more than what I see on the pump even when I don't get a receipt.

I don't drive off until the pump is saying insert your card, so my transaction is finalized.

[haapai]

If I were digging myself out of credit card debt (like I had two decades ago), I would find it very difficult to follow the same strategy today.  We used to tell folks to freeze that card in a baggie of water or imprison it with duct tape.  The goal was to get folks to stop using that card by making it as difficult or embarrassing as possible to use it. 

But let's face it, paying for gas inside is a PITA and getting a refund for gas that wouldn't fit in the tank is an even bigger PITA.  Lets also talk about how the pump stops making pumping noises fifty cents before you've pumped what you've paid for.  I'm also a bit sensitive to how other people perceive someone paying inside for gas.  To me, doing that just screams "I'm either a tax cheat or unable to get a credit card". 

If I were digging myself of credit card debt these days, I'd probably use a credit card to pay at the pump, get a receipt, and immediately make a payment for the amount on the receipt. 

[minnesotapaintlady]

Jun 7, 2024 16:50:02 GMT -5 haapai said:

If I were digging myself out of credit card debt (like I had two decades ago), I would find it very difficult to follow the same strategy today.  We used to tell folks to freeze that card in a baggie of water or imprison it with duct tape.  The goal was to get folks to stop using that card by making it as difficult or embarrassing as possible to use it. 

But let's face it, paying for gas inside is a PITA and getting a refund for gas that wouldn't fit in the tank is an even bigger PITA.  Lets also talk about how the pump stops making pumping noises fifty cents before you've pumped what you've paid for.  I'm also a bit sensitive to how other people perceive someone paying inside for gas.  To me, doing that just screams "I'm either a tax cheat or unable to get a credit card". 

If I were digging myself of credit card debt these days, I'd probably use a credit card to pay at the pump, get a receipt, and immediately make a payment for the amount on the receipt. 

A debit card would work at the pump too, also most gas station chains have their own personal cards that just work at their stations.

[TheOtherMe]

I don't like the lack of protections with a debit card.  If I was in that situation, I would get the chain credit card with the ridiculous 30% interest rate so I would pay it off monthly.

[minnesotapaintlady]

Visa branded debit cards have the same protections as credit, so if you take a couple additional precautions so someone can't drain your account it's pretty safe. My son just used debit for about 6 years but kept the bulk of his money in linked savings accounts that couldn't be accessed with the debit and also had text alerts set up if there were any transactions on his card so if there was fraud he'd know immediately. I actually have alerts set up on all my cards, debit and credit.