I'm probably an idiot but a 1990 camaro rs has a 15 gallon tank on it right? So would it be a problem if I was able to put in 20 gallons at a gas station or is that normal?

 

yeah thats weird man...

 

i went through something like that years ago. i called the phone number on the gas pump and the state sent someone out to check the calibration. they're protocal was to not disclose any information for some reason but they spent hours there working on the pumps. my wife worked for the store and said all the pumps were out of calibration. store policy was to not tell anybody because everybody in town would come in there complaining they got ripped off and wanted a refund. crazy.

 

Right: the capacity of the tanks in these cars is like 15.5, dry to full. So if your pump said you put in 20, ... ,, ..... , somebody might be going to jail. Hopefully. That's THEFT.

 

Absolutely call the number on the pump. I think every state requires them to have a number for the agency that handles that. In California they are a sub division of the California Department of Food and Agriculture called the Division of Measurement Standards. Each county has an office.

 

Really they don't regularly check the pumps? That's horrible.

 

Here they are checked yearly.

 

Among the oldest forms of fraud in all of human history...

Any idea why coins are knurled around the edge? It's because historically, people would shave just a little precious metal from around the edge, and keep it, and pass the debased coins in the market. Over time coins got smaller and smaller, and worth less and less.

Next oldest form of marketplace theft is probably the unequal scale trick, which is basically the same as the falsified pump.

CRIMINAL offense, meaning someone goes to jail for doing it, as well as civil, meaning the victim gets paid back plus some extra. State laws vary in the details but all have it. Again, it's one of the oldest forms of commercial fraud there is, EVERY civilization for the last 6000 or so years I know of, has punished it SEVERELY. Go read Hammurabi's Code from about 700BC Babylon, if memory serves it was punishable by loss of a critical body part. Typical.

Go for the jugular, you won't be disappointed.

 

I was in the retail gasoline business for over 20 years and while fraud does occur the majority of cases are due to faulty equipment or mistakes by the station employee. In Texas fuel retailers are regulated by The Texas Department of Agriculture Weights and Measures Division. Check online to see who is responsible for regulating pumps in your state. There may also be a link to report suspected fraud or to check past inspections of specific retail outlet.

 

I always knew the employees who have access to the pump internals could easily manipulate the price per gallon , as in charge everyone 10 cents more per gallon than the placards indicate and scoop the difference at the end of the shift (whereupon they would set the pumps back to the correct price per gallon before the next shift starts) . I never knew it was as easy for them to alter the amount given VS amount displayed , I guess I always thought that since the price per gallon changes almost daily it would be pretty easy to change the price per gallon , but I'm surprised there would be any access at all to the adjustments for actual VS indicated fuel dispensed , since once set and verified by the division of weights & measures there would not need to be any regular adjustments of it .

 

also from my wife working a convenience store, she noticed the owner adding water to the tank! we never bought gas there again. found out it was perfectly legal as they were allowed 2% of water in the main tank at the time. unbelievable some of the things people do to make, (steal), money. my lesson is to buy gas from a reputable retailer, not some fly-by-night, hole in the wall station.
i'm not gonna google all night but found this from new york:
On rare occasion, gasoline and diesel fuel may gets contaminated. Water is the most common form of contamination observed in gasoline. Water may enter underground storage tanks from many sources, and it does not mix with gasoline. Water sinks to the bottom of the storage tank and may get pumped with the gasoline if the water levels get too high. Retailers are required to limit the water levels in the storage tank to prevent this.

http://www.agriculture.ny.gov/WM/wmpetrol.html