Credit card limit at gas pump when filling-up

[FL-JOE]

Just a note on not getting a receipt after pumping gas or fuel.

Had a call from an interstate service station years ago (won't mention the retailer) that a large motorhome had just left without paying for over $200 worth of gasoline.  I just happen to be a few miles away and located the older couple motoring along.  I stopped them and they insisted they had paid at the pump.  After a phone call my dispatch confirmed with the retailer that the couple did not pay.  I elected to follow them back to the service station instead of arresting the driver.  When we got back the clerks ran more checks and figured out the couple had in fact paid for their gasoline purchase.

The moral of the story, always get a receipt or proof of purchase.

Currently we fuel at Pilot or Flying J.  Even though I will snap a photo of the diesel pump I also get an immediate receipt on my I-phone app which I can either print later or just pull up and take the information off of it.

[pjstough]

47 minutes ago, FL-JOE said:

Just a note on not getting a receipt after pumping gas or fuel.

Had a call from an interstate service station years ago (won't mention the retailer) that a large motorhome had just left without paying for over $200 worth of gasoline.  I just happen to be a few miles away and located the older couple motoring along.  I stopped them and they insisted they had paid at the pump.  After a phone call my dispatch confirmed with the retailer that the couple did not pay.  I elected to follow them back to the service station instead of arresting the driver.  When we got back the clerks ran more checks and figured out the couple had in fact paid for their gasoline purchase.

The moral of the story, always get a receipt or proof of purchase.

Currently we fuel at Pilot or Flying J.  Even though I will snap a photo of the diesel pump I also get an immediate receipt on my I-phone app which I can either print later or just pull up and take the information off of it.

Interesting story.  So you had a couple that paid for over $200 worth of gasoline, but because of errors at the retailer it showed they hadnt, and because they didnt get a receipt, they could have been arrested and jailed, had it not been for the way you handled the situation.  I would think that there would have been hell to pay had the officer who stopped them had arrested and jailed them for stealing gasoline.  Sounds to me like the retailer was very lucky it was you who handled the situation and not some other LEO who could have not handled it so well.

[FL-JOE]

I would like to think 99% of my fellow Troopers would have handled it the same way.  I don't remember much about their motorhome except it was large and newer.  They were what I considered at the time an "older" couple (60's).

Even when I gas up my car or bike now and the pump doesn't provide a receipt I always take the time to go inside and get one.  It is possible other branded stations has the apps to get receipts but Pilot/Flying J is the only one I utilize.

[Barbaraok]

I usually take a couple of pictures  to get the 'best' view, but it can be a hassle.  Not so bad at truck stops that have covers for the trucks, but the RV islands at Flying J are usually not covered so glare is a constant thing!

[sushidog]

Good info. I never get a receipt, but after hearing that story I will from now on. Don't you have to swipe your card for the pump to work? I didn't think you could get away with pumping gas and not paying since they authorize your card first, before you pump. Maybe thieves know something I don't. I haven't seen a gas station that lets you fill-up and pay afterward in a long time.

I'll tell you what I have started to see since traveling in California that was not a practice 16 years ago when I lived there. Many if not most gas stations charge 10 cents more per gallon for credit card purchases. Their sign out front has one price per gallon (the cash price) while the pump rings up 10 cents a gallon higher when you put in your card. I didn't think they could legally do that. 

Chip  

[Barbaraok]

I also get an alert for each and every credit card purchase over $0.05!  Yes, means I get several texts when we are traveling, but that way I always have 'proof' that I just made the purchase.   So far this year I've found that Every Flying J and Pilot station we've stopped at has Apple Pay (as well as the other phone pay systems) in place and Loves also has it.  I use that whenever possible as I said before.   

[Kirk W]

8 hours ago, sushidog said:

I'll tell you what I have started to see since traveling in California that was not a practice 16 years ago when I lived there. Many if not most gas stations charge 10 cents more per gallon for credit card purchases. Their sign out front has one price per gallon (the cash price) while the pump rings up 10 cents a gallon higher when you put in your card. I didn't think they could legally do that. 

Most truck stops that I have been to show 2 prices for diesel, one for cash & 1 for credit. 

As to keeping credit card receipts, we keep them long enough to enter each purchase into our computerized financial records, which we then reconcile to the monthly bill, just as we do with our checking account.

Edited June 2, 2019 by Kirk W

[JimK]

I cannot begin to imagine the thousands of times I have fueled the RV or my cars.  I have never kept a receipt and don't ask for them.  It must have been decades since the time when you could fuel up and then pay.  Every pump runs the credit card before starting to pump.

The biggest issue I have had is scumbucket dealers who ask if you want a car wash.  If you make a mistake and push the wrong button, you will be charged.  

[Kirk W]

39 minutes ago, JimK said:

It must have been decades since the time when you could fuel up and then pay.

Those who pay in cash still do that by going in first to get the pump enabled. Some stations do ask you to leave the cash with them, but not all of them do. 

[hemsteadc]

10 hours ago, sushidog said:

 Don't you have to swipe your card for the pump to work? I didn't think you could get away with pumping gas and not paying since they authorize your card first, before you pump. Maybe thieves know something I don't. I haven't seen a gas station that lets you fill-up and pay afterward in a long time.  

I googled and found that it's not about driveoffs, it's about CC companies and their concern about 'problem transactions' and not knowing the size of the purchase beforehand.

Edited June 2, 2019 by hemsteadc

[JimK]

1 hour ago, Kirk W said:

Those who pay in cash still do that by going in first to get the pump enabled. Some stations do ask you to leave the cash with them, but not all of them do. 

It has been quite a few years since I paid with cash.  I seem to remember having the pump activated and then leaving my drivers license while I fueled.  I am sure there are a few small towns with lax procedures where you could fuel up and then pay without leaving money or an ID.

I guess some people routinely pay with cash to avoid an extra charge for using a CC.  Typically that is only a few cents extra.  A few years ago I stopped at a Mobil station where the markup for using a CC was over 50 cents a gallon.  I noticed before  I fueled and went to another station.  I did send an email to Mobil customer relations.  They responded that the station was independently owned.  I told them their name was on the station.  The problem was soon corrected.  

[Barbaraok]

Jim, when you are pumping 50+ gallons of diesel at a time, the 5, 6 or 7¢ difference adds up quickly.   

[Lance A Lott]

I once had a good Samaritan chase me down for not paying at a pump that wouldn't take my card, I kept putting in the wrong pin LOL. Fortunately the attendat was able to prove that the transaction showing on the pump was for the customer before me. He did think I had driven off and asked his friend to go after me.

 

[hemsteadc]

2 hours ago, Barbaraok said:

Jim, when you are pumping 50+ gallons of diesel at a time, the 5, 6 or 7¢ difference adds up quickly.   

Sure, but that depends on how much you pump and the price of fuel at other stations.

[Kirk W]

 

 

 

2 hours ago, Barbaraok said:

when you are pumping 50+ gallons of diesel at a time, the 5, 6 or 7¢ difference adds up quickly.   

What has puzzled me is the fact that most truck stops list a cash price and a higher credit price for diesel nowadays, yet when I fill my truck with diesel at the car island, I am charged the lower price. Does everyone using the truck islands pay more for credit card use? 

[richfaa]

We use the RV plus  and do not get charged extra.

[Big Rick]

The “credit” charge is for ComData and the fleet cards I believe 

[bobsallyh]

We have been in the Vegas area for several weeks. Numerous locations in the Vegas Valley, diesel is cheaper than unleaded. I filled up at a Rebel the other day. The sign said "$3.15 for diesel, cash or credit. Price for unleaded was $3.31, cash only. Amazing.

[Lou Schneider]

3 hours ago, Kirk W said:

What has puzzled me is the fact that most truck stops list a cash price and a higher credit price for diesel nowadays, yet when I fill my truck with diesel at the car island, I am charged the lower price. Does everyone using the truck islands pay more for credit card use? 

Most likely that state has different fuel taxes depending on the class of vehicle the diesel is going into.

I pay with a credit card that gives me 3% cash back on fuel purchases. Around here the difference is about 10 cents for cash vs. credit.

At an average price of $3 a gallon, I get back 9 cents a gallon.

So my net cost of using credit instead of cash is about 1 cent per gallon.

Edited June 2, 2019 by Lou Schneider

[JimK]

6 hours ago, Barbaraok said:

Jim, when you are pumping 50+ gallons of diesel at a time, the 5, 6 or 7¢ difference adds up quickly.   

$3? $5?  That would not seem to be worth the issues of carrying large amounts of cash especially when you can avoid going in the station to have the pump activated and then returning to pay.  Also don't forget about the credit card points or cash back.  Those could be worth more than the extra charge.

[Barbaraok]

Who said I paid cash?  You were amazed that some people used cash, I gave you a reason why.    We mostly use whatever credit card has the best cash back with our GoodSam/Pilot-Flying J card so we get the cash price for diesel plus some cents off  and then between 3-5% back on the credit card.  Yes, sometimes Flying J/Pilot is more expensive.  But when I take everything into account, including getting in and getting out, things even out for us.    

Getting in and out is more of an issue for us than the few cents difference between places.  

[Jaydrvr]

4 hours ago, Big Rick said:

The “credit” charge is for ComData and the fleet cards I believe 

Comdata is actually considered something like "super cash" and not only qualifies for cash price, but often comes with the negotiated fleet price. Jay

[packnrat]

sometimes listing as a cc works.

if not then just swipe again to finish filling up.

[kb0zke]

We have a box that gets all receipts. When it starts looking like it may be an attractive kitty toy Jo Ann starts putting them into the computer. Each receipt is compared to what Quicken thinks it is (info downloaded from CC), and details fixed (not everything at Walmart is a transfer). Those receipts that are important for other reasons are then filed in the appropriate place, while the rest are fed to the shredder.

Should someone decide that we had driven off without paying for our fuel we would have the receipt to prove that we did pay. The receipt would also have the mileage written on it, so it would be easy to prove that the receipt is, in fact, for the fuel we just purchased. The date and time stamp would also support that.

[hemsteadc]

I don't remember ever getting a receipt.. or a need for one.