Quick gas station rant

[Big Poppa Smurf]

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ARCO gas is not good for your car.

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I seriously doubt this. Any tank truck driver will tell you it all comes out of the same tank. Gasoline is about the most commoditized product around. In all but the biggest cities, there are no more than three or four refineries or pipeline terminals that supply all of the gasoline in the town.

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Bingo. The non-name brand gas companies just get the stuff at the bottom of the tank I believe.

[firstyearclay]

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I'm not sure about in other parts of the country but it seems that here in san diego more and more gas stations are switching to debit/atm only at the pump instead of credit cards. Most also charge a fee for this, but that is of far less concern than the inconvenience of not taking a freaking credit card.

Getting gas is a huge inconvenience as it is imo, and having to walk into the station and wait in line makes it like 10x worse.

I pulled up to one tonight, realized they didnt take credit cards at the pump, and got back in my car an drove away. I plan to boycott all of these gas stations from now on unless i am in a huge hurry or really really need gas.

Anyone else feel the same way or am i turning into an stubborn old man?

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NL,

I am in Bay Park and I had to get gas the other day on Morena. Same [censored] dude. I had to use cash. bah!

Its like this in Vegas alot more then here. I hope this doesnt get worse.

FYC

[punkass]

Also, there hasn't been a time where I was able to use my debit card as a credit card (exception: hotels and car rentals). When I swipe my debit card at the pump, it asks me "Credit or Debit", and I pick credit. No ATM fees, money taken out of checking account in a day. Same thing for the grocery store, online shopping, etc.

[RR]

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anyway, thankfully I havent seen a pump in Phoenix that doesnt take credit. What is effing annoying tho is the pumps that only let you put $50 in, I cant fill my tank for less than 50, so to fill up I gotta run my [censored] card twice.

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I used to work at a place that had pumps like this many years ago. I didn't know these pumps still existed, but back then what happened was if you ran your card it did a $50 hold like a hotel does so if you had less than $50 available the card would be declined at the pump. I think these days they are able to get authorization if there is $1 available.

[4_2_it]

All clear in Philly. We pump our own gas and pay with credit cards.

[RR]

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I know this wasn't intended for me but this reminds me of how random "asking for ID" is. About a month ago I made a purchase for about $400 and wasn't asked for identification when paying with my credit card. A few days later at the same place I spent $10 and was asked to show identification when paying with my credit card. This seemed backwards to me but whatever.

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It is a violation of their agreement with MC and Visa to ask for ID (I think this only applies if the card is signed), but a lot of places do anyway. I don't know if some merchants have their own agreement that does allow them to ask for ID (the Post Office always asks for ID).

[chopstick]

I have not yet seen a gas station that does not allow credit card usage at the pump. I'm in the D.C. area.

I'm not surprised that the stations want to have their customers use something other than credit cards, as credit card usage means the gas station takes a 2-4% hit on the transaction. That can really add up fast.

Someone mentioned that the fees to the gas station are the same for debit/credit - I was under the impression that the credit fee was higher, can anyone else please chime in on this?


Not to hijack, but another thing about gas stations that I'd like to add to the rant is the attempt to sell you stuff at the pump prior to your transaction being completed - like when you swipe your card, pump your gas, then hang up the nozzle and before you get the receipt? y/n prompt, it asks if you want a car wash. You have to answer that before you can get your receipt. For those of us who use those receipts for tax purposes, this is really annoying.

Also annoying is the "Debit?" question that pops up right after you sweep your card - the way this is done makes me think that the fees to the station are less for debit than for credit. I dislike this as well, but wonder if enough people use their credit cards as debit cards for it to be a reasonable question. The car wash is most certainly not, and I actively avoid places that do that.

[Dids]

Don't know of any place where I can't use a credit card.

[censored] is right, Oregon is the worst place ever for gas. I almost killed a guy because I pulled up, realized I didn't have cash or something, and then drove off, and I was unaware that he'd already pulled off the gas cap and was sitting there holding it when I returned.

[Borodog]

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Am I the only who is driven crazy by fact that Visa markets itself on not needing ID yet anytime I go to Tacobell,Subway or some other place where I am spending under $10 I am asked for an ID almost every time. Ridiculous.

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You must be really sketchy looking. I'm a dirty hippie looking dude and they never ask me for ID.

Maybe they're askeered.

[Josey_Wales]

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"- Cashiers are supposed to ask you for ID if you haven't signed the back of the credit card. However very, very few cashiers ever check for this."

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I do not understand this. If I sign the back of my card, potential thieves would know how I sign my name and could then forge it. I consider myself a pretty good forger of signatures and if i were a thief, I could do it. ANy purchase made without my authenic looking signature would be fraud. IMO, signing the back and not asking for ID on any card is stupid.