Document text
- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Archives Revels Classifieds Real Estate Guide Weather Subscribe Contact Us December 22, 2004 Pumping ire By Jennifer Squires Ashland Daily Tidings Leslie What pulled off Interstate 5 at Exit 19 early the Wednesday before Thanksgiving to fill the gas tank of the rental car she and her family were driving from Eugene to California. What chose the Rogue Valley Station, the Shell franchise on Valley View Road, over the Valley View Union 76 station because it was an easy right turn into the pump area. Despite the presence of clearly visible signage, some customers are surprised when they get charged full prices after getting gas in the full serve lane. Complaints filed with the attorney general's office were found to be without merit. Denise Baratta | Ashland Daily Tidings The sign advertised unleaded fuel at $2.09 a gallon that morning. "We thought the high cost of gasoline from Eugene to Ashland was just due to bad mileage on the rental car," What said. The partial refill came to $25. Around Sacramento, the Whats concluded the station had overcharged them, so on the return trip, they stopped at Exit 19 again. The assistant manager told the Whats they had pulled into the full service pump, which is more expensive per gallon than mini service. The cost of full service is listed in digital numbers on the pump. The row of full service pumps are labeled on each end at the top with FULL, while the street-side row of mini service pumps carry a MINI tag. Full service, which includes a windshield wash and the offer to check the oil with the tank of gas, comes to 35 cents a gallon more than mini service. Mini service at the Shell station is just a fill-up, according to an attendant at the station. "They had asked if we wanted our oil checked, but had not offered to clean the windows," What said. "Cleaning windows and offering to check under the hood is pretty common service in Oregon, so it didn't set off any warnings." The Rogue Valley Station does not advertise the cost of full service on its large display sign, nor do attendants inform customers they have pulled into the row of full service pumps - the four closest to the building - before pumping the gas. Legally, the station only has to put the cost of its cheapest gas on the display sign. "No one told me what type of service I was going to have," said Hien Tran, a traveler from San Jose, Calif., who also paid for full service at the Rogue Valley Station over the Thanksgiving weekend. "I was totally surprised." It's not illegal The Oregon Attorney General's office has received 15 written complaints against the Rogue Valley Station between 1998 and 2004, although not all of the reports related to the differences in mini versus full service costs at the station. "Most of our complaints concerned consumers alleging that the price of gas on the street sign wasn't the same as the price of gas on the pump sign and they felt this practice was misleading," said Jan Margosian, the Consumer Information Coordinator at the Attorney General's office. The Attorney General's office ran an investigation from Aug. 26 to Nov. 1 of this year, but closed the inquiry due to insufficient evidence to prove a violation of law. "The street signs were clearly marked that the lowest cash price was at the mini-service pumps," Margosian said. "The signs met the law." The Better Business Bureau in Portland has had one complaint filed and resolved against the station in a three-year period. AAA of Oregon had no reports of customer concerns. Lasting impressions Some out-of-town consumers who've failed to look up at the "full" and "mini" designations feel Shell deceived them, despite the results of the Attorney General's probe. "I think it's totally cheating the customer," said Tran, who stopped at the Rogue Valley station because it was convenient. "I don't think I would ever come back to that station again." What took her disdain a step beyond boycotting the business. The Whats stopped at Shell as they returned from California on the Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend. She demanded an explanation from the assistant manager, then approached a customer at the full-service pump to ask him if he realized he was paying more per gallon than the display sign advertised. Two station attendants chased her off the premises, threatening to call the police if she didn't leave. "We didn't even think it was some big tourist scam. Now I know it was," What said. "I can't imagine we would ever go back to Shell. There's always choice. I just really don't want to do it." DailyTidings.com Home Page Archives | Revels | Classifieds | Real Estate Guide | Weather | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2005 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Slippers Women's & Men's Slippers Ceramic Piggy Banks heloc libor rate Calenders 2005 Calender 2005 Accelerate Weightloss Products Memory Foam Mattress afsa studentloans home equity loans teleconferencing W2 Forms fasa student loans Matchmaking & Dating Scripts African Safari Conference Calls - $50/Month Security Systems student loan consolidation wholesale diamonds Currancy Exchange web conferencing Online Casinos Community Click Here Site Search: .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams