Illegal Price Changes At The Pumps!

[Graeme]

Hello I recently wrote this article for my site at www.ourtake.net (there is absolutely no advertising on the site)

In breif I entered a gas station the price advertised was 95.6 When I got to the pump (within 5 minutes) and started pumping gas the price had changed, although I did not realize this at the time.

I ended up having to pay 108.9 for my gas.

It isn't the 7 dollars more that I really care about, but the fact that the reason I entered the gas station was due to there sign the fact that I did not receive what was advertised is wrong. six other customers also complained because they did not realize their was a price change.

I propose a law to ban on immediate changes in the actual price at the pump after a change on point of sale advertisements. Instead there would be for instance a 10 minute window between the the advertised price change and the increase in price at the pumps. Obviously if the price is lower it can be updated at the same time.

A link to a petition of support for such a change is below please electronically sign the petition (the E-Mail address is kept confidential, if you want put a fake one in)

Thanks
Graeme

 

[Graeme]

Re: Shell Canada Rips Off Customers At The Pumps

I have set up a petition and would ask that you all sign it if you agree to making an amendment to the consumer protection act as follows: (Click here to sign)
http://www.webpetitions.com/cgi-bin/print_petition.cgi?99500664
This petition is to find the level of support for an amendment to the Canadian "Consumer Protection Act" to include a provision which would make illegal, the act of changing an point of sale advertised price and then immediately changing the actual price for the product or service so that the price is set to a value less favorable to the consumer in a time period of less than 10 minutes from when the newly advertised price is updated; or not less than another prescribed amount of time as based on the reasonable expectations of the consumer to expect that the last point of sale advertised price be valid for a given product or service. (Actual times would either be set by legislation or by case law)

[A CASE IN WHICH THIS LAW WOULD COME IN TO EFFECT]
This law would relate to the current ability of a gas station to advertise one price for gas and then change that advertised price to a greater amount, then immediately change the price at the pumps to reflect the newly advertised price.

The practice prescribed above would be forbidden. Instead the station would have to change the advertised price a minimum of 10 minutes prior to changing the price at the pumps.

This would help ensure that a consumer entering the gas station premise due to an advertised price and/or with reason to believe that they will be charged said advertised price when they purchase the gas, will actually be charged the amount expected. This would only be the case for price increases. Price decreases from the advertised price could be made at the pumps at any time.

If you agree that this or a substantially similar amendment should be made to the Canadian "Consumer Protection Act" and you are a resident of Canada or a Canadian citizen and you are of 18 years of age or older then please sign this petition.

This petition will be delivered to Members of Parliament once a significant number of electronic signatures have been collected.

Date Started: June 6, 2006

(Click here to sign)
http://www.webpetitions.com/cgi-bin/print_petition.cgi?99500664

 

[Graeme]

Come on Folks, A little support here would be nice, I am doing this for all of us...

As an update, I may be taking shell to court now and seeing if the law can be changed with case law.

the consumer protection act doesn't specifically ban the practice of immediate price changes at the pumps. but section 15 does not limit the possibility for such an infraction to exist.

 

[dekhqonbacha]

Are you doing it for all of us? or you are doing it for yourself and you need our support?

 

[Graeme]

Re: RE: Illegal Price Changes At The Pumps!

Are you doing it for all of us? or you are doing it for yourself and you need our support?

My situation is over and done with. It is not worth the effort of filling suit to retrieve 7 dollars, and I doubt the courts would even look at it. On a side note I have cost that gas station a few thousand per week in sales. My father is in the paving business and his and a few other companies will no longer purchase gas from that gas station. (they previously did on a regular basis)

The petition, should it gain enough support, will be submitted to MPs to see if one would be willing to draft a bill to make the amendment.

This is most certainly for the benefit of all Canadian consumers.

 

[dekhqonbacha]

interestingly nor my father neither his collegues had this kind of problem.

None of my friends, most of them are drivers haven't had such problem

I'm hearing about it only from you.

It's quite interesting that you are trying to defend us from nothing.

 

[sha_zapple]

RE: Illegal Price Changes

Good customer service dictates that you pay the price as advertised, but as you said its not a law.

If its too good to be true, it usually is!

 

[dekhqonbacha]

Re: RE: Illegal Price Changes

Good customer service dictates that you pay the price as advertised, but as you said its not a law.

...

Did I say that?

 

[Graeme]

Re: RE: Illegal Price Changes

Good customer service dictates that you pay the price as advertised, but as you said its not a law.

If its too good to be true, it usually is!

Well it is illegal to make a false representation of a price. My argument is that it is very misleading to post a price on the large sign and then change the price instantly between the large sign and the pump.

For instance if there was control of every pump then the company could have (at least during slow periods) a very low advertised price. Then as soon as a customer enters the property that price could be increased until the customer begins pumping.. at which time the price would then be lowered again to get another customer up to the pump. I bet that 1.) many will not notice the increase. and 2.) those who do still won't drive away.

 

[dekhqonbacha]

Me, personally, I never had this problem before, and none of my friends has complained about this either.

Maybe you live in wrong town.

 

[Graeme]

Re: RE: Illegal Price Changes At The Pumps!

Me, personally, I never had this problem before, and none of my friends has complained about this either.

Maybe you live in wrong town.

okay, but wouldn't you prefer never running in the the problem.

 

[dekhqonbacha]

I don't care about the thing that is unlikely to happen.

High gas prices, pollution, wars, terrorism, instabily, incertainity bother me more than advertised gas price. It's still high, no matter how high it is.

 

[Graeme]

well if I can't do something about this, I don't have a chance with any of the other stuff you mentioned

 

[Nikki]

Re: RE: Illegal Price Changes At The Pumps!

Me, personally, I never had this problem before, and none of my friends has complained about this either.

Maybe you live in wrong town.

It is interesting that because it doesn't directly effect you, you don't care. It would be interesting to see what you would think if it did happen to you. Now I am not saying that this is an effective way to spend your time, I am simply saying that it could happen to you.

People back in war times in Germany didn't do anything to stop Hitler because it wasn't directly effecting them. By the time Hitler was done he was persecuting everyone that was different. If all those people had just stood up to begin with things may have been different. I am not saying this is the same situation in anyway I am just saying that "it won't happen to me" probably isn't an effective argument.