Are You Getting Hosed?

Gas prices got you down? Well, maybe it’s not entirely the oil companies to blame. The Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) just released its first report on fuel stations out of compliance. The state law requires the pumps at the fuel stations to be checked at minimum once every four years. With all of the gas stations in Texas (estimated to be close to 14,000), this must be a pretty hefty task, for the TDA’s 72 inspectors.

The report lists all the gas stations that were overcharging customers by more than 6 tablespoons per 5 gallons (the acceptable tolerance in Texas), due to equipment measurement error. For you math nerds that is almost 7 cents per 5 gallons (assuming 6 tablespoons at $3 per gallon). Some stations overcharged as much as 12 tablespoons per 5 gallons. While it doesn’t seem like that much at first, this “Bonus” charging adds up and the state is taking it very seriously.

Stations that are more than twice in excess of the tolerance now are fined $100 per pump for the first offense — and $200 per pump for the second offense. The department's minimum fines quadrupled in May, the increases were the first since 1996.

Pumps are tagged and closed until the operator calibrates the machine and gets it recertified by the state, the department said. A fine could be as high as $500 for a second offense on a pump that's more than four times greater than the accepted discrepancy.

Over 60 gas stations were cited in Harris County alone. Click here to see if your favorite fill-up spot was on the list (not the most user friendly table).

The TDA also quickly noted that there are other stations that are undercharging customers, but it didn’t release that list…Darn!