Sacramento Area Local News

  As people fill up their tanks, all they can do is hope they're getting every last drop of fuel they bought. You're forced to trust what the meter reads.

"Gasoline is one of those products you buy that you can't hold in your hands," said David Lazier of Sacramento County Weights & Measures.

He says it's virtually impossible for the motorist to know. It's Lazier's job to keep service stations honest. His team inspects the more than 385 stations in the county each year.

"Most inspections are unannounced," said Lazier. "We just show up within a 12 month period and say here we are."

We've learned gas stations are legally allowed to cheat you 6 cubic inches, or a bit less than a half a cup for every 5 gallons of gas pumped. Beyond that, pumps get red tagged and can't sell fuel until they're fixed.

During the March inspection at the Park n Gas Station on Folsom Boulevard, a third of the pumps were violating the law. Pump 10's numbers were the worst; out of compliance by more than double the legal limit the inspector red tagged it and two other pumps. The issues have since been fixed.

Two meters at a Chevron station on Florin Road were red tagged last November. Pump 5 was also out of compliance, more than double the legal limit. Both meters were fixed.

Sometimes inspectors find all the pumps at the gas station are within the legal limit, but every single pump, every single meter on those pumps, is cheating the customer within what the law allows.

Lazier says that tells him, "There was probably some overt act to set the pumps in that manner... intentionally done so that the profit margin could be increased."

And over the span of a year, cheating every customer that fills up within the margin allowed could put millions of dollars in the pockets of gas station owners.

During the January inspection at a Valero station on Franklin Boulevard, inspectors say all 24-meters were in favor of Valero. In other words, no customer at this station got what they paid for.

Inspectors uncovered the same issues at a Venco and a Ferell Gas Card lock station in Elk Grove.

"If we do a follow up inspection and we find the same sort of situation at that point, we'd refer to the D.A.'s office for a criminal complaint," Lazier said.

We asked Lazier's team to reinspect some of these stations. First Venco card lock, which does have an advantage to the normal surprise inspections. There's no attendant, so the county has to set up an appointment -- they know inspectors are coming.

On the day of this inspection, Lazier's team finds no problems. In fact some pumps were giving away extra gas. Next we spring into the Valero on Franklin for a surprise inspection, and every pump passed.

"I'm glad they're checking on it," said Stan Shelton as he filled up his tank. "You know because you really you rip people off easy, without people realize they're losing they're money."

But even if they pass, you may not realize you could be getting cheated.

"Am I really getting what I paid for every time I go to the pump?" I asked Lazier.

"Based on our data over the past year 98.6% of the time you're going to get what you pay for."

You should know this, too: Stations also sometimes give too much gas. Those are generally older pumps that work in your favor.

There are three things you can do to make sure you're not getting overcharged:

1. Make sure the meter is at zero before you pump.
2. Check to see if the price on the pump matches the price on the sign.
3. If you pay cash or debit, make sure it doesn't show the credit price on the pump.

Selecting debit should charge you the cash price. If you swipe your card, and don't select debit or credit, you may be charged the more expensive credit price.

These stations responded to their inspections.


Park N Gas Statement

The three Red Tagged pump was service and repair.


Venco Statement

We strongly deny any accusation that our pumps have been manipulated in our favor. We pride ourselves on our service to this community and we are in this business for the long haul. As such, the promise of what would amount to a very small short-term gain would not be incentive enough for us to risk any damage to our reputation. We find it unfortunate that the County did not choose to approach us with any of these questions when the inspection was initially done almost a year ago. We encourage any customer who might have questions to contact us directly at (916) 685-4611.


Valero Statement

I am responding to your letter dated Nov. 10, 2008 regarding gas station inspections. I would like you to know that Gas meters are calibrated by licensed 3rd parties. Over the period of time if gas meters loses its calibration, it can go either way + or -. The gas meters are inspected yearly by Department of Weight and Measures. If there is any correction needed, it is done accordingly.