Stories when filling up at "gasoline station"

TornadoRed

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West Des Moines (formerly St Paul)
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narongc73

Veteran Member
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Nov 14, 2005
Location
VA/OH
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2006 Jetta TDI
Ive done it 2 or 3 times in Virginia Beach - recently I had someone come out and say "I already prepaid!" and I'm like oh.. sorry.
Pretty easy to play ignorant at a big Wawa though. Half the people going from pump to store are going in to buy ****, not prepay.
No idea why people prepay unless it's required. I would have said hey thanks for prepaying! :D
 

JSWTDI09

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Las Vegas, Nevada
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2009 JSW TDI (gone but not forgotten)
No idea why people prepay unless it's required. I would have said hey thanks for prepaying! :D
In many cases people prepay because they can't afford to fill their tank. If you only want to buy $20 worth of gas (with cash) you usually must prepay. At many stations all cash buyers often have no other option than to prepay. If you use credit cards, it is much easier to pay at the pump.

Have Fun!

Don
 

narongc73

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Nov 14, 2005
Location
VA/OH
TDI
2006 Jetta TDI
In many cases people prepay because they can't afford to fill their tank. If you only want to buy $20 worth of gas (with cash) you usually must prepay. At many stations all cash buyers often have no other option than to prepay. If you use credit cards, it is much easier to pay at the pump.

Have Fun!

Don
That makes sense. Although why are some diesel pumps prepay only? I avoid those at all costs. I guess because they are ancient.
 

romad

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May 27, 2011
Location
Prescott, AZ
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2005 Jetta GLS Wagon "Cranberry"
Out here all self-serve pumps are pre-pay, whether inside or at the pump. ARCO was best because you could also pre-pay with cash at the pump and only go in if you had change coming back. Unfortunately, they seem to be eliminating cash pre-pay at the pump so that ends the last benefit over going to other stations with the same price per gallon.
 

kjclow

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Charlotte, NC
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2010 JSW TDI silver and black. 2017 Ram Ecodiesel dark red with brown and beige interior.
That makes sense. Although why are some diesel pumps prepay only? I avoid those at all costs. I guess because they are ancient.
The few diesel pumps I see that are pre-pay, or leave us your card, are older and do not have built in card readers. I often wonder how fast their fuel turns when they make it harder for the working stiffs to roll through.
 

tactdi

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Jun 21, 2010
Location
North Carolina
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2005.5 Jetta
The few diesel pumps I see that are pre-pay, or leave us your card
Last time I left my card at the counter to pay for fuel since the pump would not take my card (AMEX), a few months later, fraudulent charges showed up on my card, had to get the card cancelled. It was not until a few days after, that I remembered I had left the card at a QT station. It had been years since I needed to leave a card to "prepay".

It is one of those risks that you know can happen, remember is happening to someone you know, so you don't do it, and when it does not happen to you after several years, you relax and forget.
 

PlaneCrazy

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Jan 3, 2000
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Province of Quebec, Canada
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Gone...
Last time I left my card at the counter to pay for fuel since the pump would not take my card (AMEX), a few months later, fraudulent charges showed up on my card, had to get the card cancelled. It was not until a few days after, that I remembered I had left the card at a QT station. It had been years since I needed to leave a card to "prepay".

It is one of those risks that you know can happen, remember is happening to someone you know, so you don't do it, and when it does not happen to you after several years, you relax and forget.
The one time I was asked to leave my card at the counter (in this case because the card reader was defective), I refused and went and refuelled elsewhere. It was in a locale where I didn't feel confident leaving my card. Thanks for the head's up that I should never do that anywhere.

Will be a moot point after the spring when my wife's TDI wagon will be bought back and replaced with a TSI wagon. Last TDI in the family will be my son's (still in my wife's name) B5.5 Passat. With nearly 300k km on the clock, original transmission, and LOTS of rust, it won't be much longer. Timing belt is due at 320k. My son doesn't want to invest that kind of money into at that point. Our last diesel after that will be my 18 hp Kubota garden tractor.
 

[486]

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Mar 1, 2014
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MN
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02 golf ALH
Last time I left my card at the counter to pay for fuel since the pump would not take my card (AMEX)
pump wouldn't take your card because someone unplugged the card reader from the pump and plugged it into their computer stashed in the pump

happened to me once, but I caught it
 

Tom Servo

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Joined
Jul 9, 2000
Location
LA (Lower Alabama)
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2005 Gol TDI, blue and falling apart
Great, you guys got me worried now; I had to leave my card with the attendant for the first time in probably 5 years the other day at my regular fill stop because the pump wouldn't read the card or my Winn-Dixie fuelperks card. And on top of that it was one of those big truck nozzles. I've got an older TDI so it fits, but it is still a massive hassle.
 

TonyJetta

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Joined
Sep 15, 2005
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Tucson, Az
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'15 Jetta TDI SE / '06 Jetta TDI DSG Pkg0 / '96 Passat TDI
mine's debit, and even then they covered it.
Not always. Your bank / CU must have better policies than average. The fraudulent charge limits for debit cards are much higher than credit cards. AS I recall, you are responsible for $500 on Debit / $50 on Credit cards.

Tony
 

naturist

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Apr 2, 2001
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Bro Jerry's hometown, Virginia
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2001 Jetta TDI, 2005 Jeep Libby CRD, 2012 BMW X5 35d
I don't leave my card ANYWHERE. If it isn't IN MY SIGHT at all times, it is too vulnerable to fraud/theft. So, I'm really sorry when I find a station that asks me to leave my card, really sorry that they are in a location where they feel too vulnerable to drive-offs. When asked to leave my card, I simply go somewhere else for fuel.
 

ATR

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Jun 18, 2005
Location
Baltimore
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2011 Golf TDI 6MT
I don't leave my card ANYWHERE. If it isn't IN MY SIGHT at all times, it is too vulnerable to fraud/theft. So, I'm really sorry when I find a station that asks me to leave my card, really sorry that they are in a location where they feel too vulnerable to drive-offs. When asked to leave my card, I simply go somewhere else for fuel.
/\ This!

If the pumps don't have credit card scanners I would simply ask them to put about the amount that I think it'll take to fill it up :)
 

Mark_J

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Deer Park, Washington
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2015 TDI Passat SEL Premium, 2017 Fiat Spider, 2017 Ford F350 6.7 Diesel crew cab PU, 2016 Harley Trike, 2016 Tesla Model X P90D (I know went to the dark side)
If I prepay with cash at the counter, the diesel is $.10 cheaper. Costs 10 cents more to use the debit or credit card. Most stations give discounts for cash, so a lot of folks prepay to get the discount on their fuel.
 

romad

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Joined
May 27, 2011
Location
Prescott, AZ
TDI
2005 Jetta GLS Wagon "Cranberry"
If I prepay with cash at the counter, the diesel is $.10 cheaper. Costs 10 cents more to use the debit or credit card. Most stations give discounts for cash, so a lot of folks prepay to get the discount on their fuel.
At the ARCO stations out here, the price per gallon is the same whether you use cash or debit (ARCO doesn't accept credit cards), BUT there is an added debit transaction fee of around 50¢ per transaction so a cash purchase is always that amount less than a debit purchase.
 

GWbiker

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Jul 13, 2015
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Arizona
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2015 Golf S TDI 4dr.
I don't leave my card ANYWHERE. If it isn't IN MY SIGHT at all times, it is too vulnerable to fraud/theft. So, I'm really sorry when I find a station that asks me to leave my card, really sorry that they are in a location where they feel too vulnerable to drive-offs. When asked to leave my card, I simply go somewhere else for fuel.
+1. I use Shell, Chevron and Valero CC for D2. Their pump scanners seem to always work.

A few times on the motorcycle and stopping for gas, I was asked to leave the Visa CC due to scanners being out of order.

NOPE. I went elsewhere for fuel.
 

Mark_J

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Deer Park, Washington
TDI
2015 TDI Passat SEL Premium, 2017 Fiat Spider, 2017 Ford F350 6.7 Diesel crew cab PU, 2016 Harley Trike, 2016 Tesla Model X P90D (I know went to the dark side)
Interesting about the transaction fee at your ARCO stations, because here they stopped charging the transaction fee over a year ago. So debit is the same as cash. Thought it was a nation wide change.
 

ericy

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Joined
Aug 24, 2004
Location
Rehoboth Beach, DE
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2015 Golf TDI (wife's car)
I don't leave my card ANYWHERE. If it isn't IN MY SIGHT at all times, it is too vulnerable to fraud/theft. So, I'm really sorry when I find a station that asks me to leave my card, really sorry that they are in a location where they feel too vulnerable to drive-offs. When asked to leave my card, I simply go somewhere else for fuel.
You have a false sense of security -one of the more recent scourges are credit card skimmers. Crooks basically use a key they have obtained to open the pump and insert a circuit card inline which records all of the card numbers of the cards that are inserted into the pump. Some of the more advanced skimmers support bluetooth, so the crooks don't even need to risk opening the pump again to collect the data.

Unlike ATM skimmers, from the outside, you can't tell whether a skimmer is present or not in a gas pump. Typically the crooks will install the things in pumps that are furthest from the attendant or where their vehicle shields the pump from the attendant. Unfortunately this is where you might find the diesel pumps, but I guess I don't care as much about that any more.
 

najel

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Jan 10, 2014
Location
Madison Lake, MN
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2002 Golf 5 speed
In fact, they are getting even more sophisticated than that. They have skimmers that just slip inside the exisiting card slot, and special tools to get them back out, without ever opening the machine. This page is a really good read if you're interested to learn about this stuff and how difficult it is to spot them: https://krebsonsecurity.com/all-about-skimmers/

I just decided that I do pay attention, but I won't worry too much. I have had my number possibly compromised a few times, and each time, my CC company spotted the charges before anything happened and sent a new card.
The other thing I have is set up alerts so they text me when my card gets used online or for large amounts. It happens instantly, like when I buy something, my phone buzzes before they can ask "Receipt with you or on he bag?". This way, if something does happen, I can notify the CC company right away.
 

romad

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Joined
May 27, 2011
Location
Prescott, AZ
TDI
2005 Jetta GLS Wagon "Cranberry"
Interesting about the transaction fee at your ARCO stations, because here they stopped charging the transaction fee over a year ago. So debit is the same as cash. Thought it was a nation wide change.
It's possible, Mark. I don't use a debit card so all of my transactions have been cash pay-at-the-pump-island. I'll have to see if they still have the signs about the fee posted if I go back to an ARCO.
 

kjclow

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 26, 2003
Location
Charlotte, NC
TDI
2010 JSW TDI silver and black. 2017 Ram Ecodiesel dark red with brown and beige interior.
You have a false sense of security -one of the more recent scourges are credit card skimmers. Crooks basically use a key they have obtained to open the pump and insert a circuit card inline which records all of the card numbers of the cards that are inserted into the pump. Some of the more advanced skimmers support bluetooth, so the crooks don't even need to risk opening the pump again to collect the data.

Unlike ATM skimmers, from the outside, you can't tell whether a skimmer is present or not in a gas pump. Typically the crooks will install the things in pumps that are furthest from the attendant or where their vehicle shields the pump from the attendant. Unfortunately this is where you might find the diesel pumps, but I guess I don't care as much about that any more.
A station in Charlotte area just got hit with this. The big thing that should have tipped someone off sooner was that the state inspection locktag was broken.
 

251

TDI Owner/Operator
Joined
May 11, 2002
Location
NW IN
TDI
2015 Passat TDI SEL
I pay with cash when refueling so no worries here. A good number of diesel pumps in my area don't have card readers anyway - have to go inside regardless if one wants to use cash, credit or debit as payment method.
 

naturist

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 2, 2001
Location
Bro Jerry's hometown, Virginia
TDI
2001 Jetta TDI, 2005 Jeep Libby CRD, 2012 BMW X5 35d
You have a false sense of security -one of the more recent scourges are credit card skimmers. Crooks basically use a key they have obtained to open the pump and insert a circuit card inline which records all of the card numbers of the cards that are inserted into the pump. Some of the more advanced skimmers support bluetooth, so the crooks don't even need to risk opening the pump again to collect the data.

Unlike ATM skimmers, from the outside, you can't tell whether a skimmer is present or not in a gas pump. Typically the crooks will install the things in pumps that are furthest from the attendant or where their vehicle shields the pump from the attendant. Unfortunately this is where you might find the diesel pumps, but I guess I don't care as much about that any more.
I'm aware of the skimmers existence, thank you. I just prefer not to make it any easier for the bad guys if I can help it. It's one reason I can't wait for the 3rd generation of credit card systems (mag stripe = G1; chip set = G2; Applepay and similar near-field systems = G3) to come into widespread use. I already use Applepay whenever I can. But the service station industry has fought ANY changes tooth and nail.

EDIT: BTW, discounts for cash are rare in my area. Nearly all stations take CC same as cash.
 

Tom Servo

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Joined
Jul 9, 2000
Location
LA (Lower Alabama)
TDI
2005 Gol TDI, blue and falling apart
I'm aware of the skimmers existence, thank you. I just prefer not to make it any easier for the bad guys if I can help it. It's one reason I can't wait for the 3rd generation of credit card systems (mag stripe = G1; chip set = G2; Applepay and similar near-field systems = G3) to come into widespread use. I already use Applepay whenever I can. But the service station industry has fought ANY changes tooth and nail.

EDIT: BTW, discounts for cash are rare in my area. Nearly all stations take CC same as cash.
Cash discounts used to be rare here, but they're gaining in popularity. Some stations only offer cash discounts on diesel, but not unleaded. Dunno why, since they're often close to the same price here in the southeast. If a station does offer discounts on all fuels, it's always a bigger discount (6¢) for diesel than unleaded (2-3¢). It's not a deal, though, since competing stations just charge the cash price for credit diesel, so there's no point in the extra hassle.

For what it's worth, you're totally right about the service industry resisting change. They won an exemption to the rule that required chip+pin readers to be in use by a certain date (October 2015?) or the liability would fall to the merchant. They are exempt for at least another year if I remember correctly.

Tap to pay (Apple Pay or Android Pay) are not widespread in my area yet, but it's telling that I have to swipe a card at the Circle K to get fuel, or I can go across the street and be all 21st Century and tap to pay with my Android phone to buy a bag of ice at the little automated ice house. When your industry has been left behind by a shady fly by night ice machine, you're really living in the wrong decade!
 

romad

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Joined
May 27, 2011
Location
Prescott, AZ
TDI
2005 Jetta GLS Wagon "Cranberry"
For what it's worth, you're totally right about the service industry resisting change. They won an exemption to the rule that required chip+pin readers to be in use by a certain date (October 2015?) or the liability would fall to the merchant. They are exempt for at least another year if I remember correctly.
The US did not adopt chip+pin but rather chip+signature and yes the change in liability DID go into effect 1 Oct 15 for point-of-sale (POS). Here are the deadlines:

The Timeline for EMV Chip Card Liability Shift in the US

  • April 19, 2013 – Maestro shifted liability for international chip cards used in the US.
  • October 1, 2015 – Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover liability shift for POS terminals.
  • October 1, 2016 – MasterCard liability shift for ATMs.
  • October 1, 2017 – Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover liability shift for pay-at-pump gas stations, as well as for Visa and AmEx at ATMs.
So fuel stations have two systems currently: card+signature if you pay INSIDE but only a card swipe if you pay OUTSIDE at the pump. It'll be interesting how they handle the signature out at the pump; most likely it'll be waived for purchases under a certain amount, say $50. I've run into POS stations that waive signatures now for purchases under a certain amount but the amounts aren't standardized.
 
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