http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080411/ap_on_fe_st/odd_cheap_gas WILMINGTON, N.C. - Traffic was backed up and police were called to control the crowd after a Wilmington gas station accidentally set the pump price at 35 cents a gallon. ADVERTISEMENT The Wilmington Star-News reported Friday that hundreds of drivers flooded a BP station for the cheap gas after the price dropped around 9 a.m. Thursday. Station employee Shane Weller said the price for premium gasoline was supposed to be $3.35 a gallon. He complained that customers paid the cheaper price all day without saying a word. It was all the extra traffic that led station employees to the mistake around 6 p.m. They found it after calling their district manager, looking for permission to changing the price as a way of stemming the flow of customers. I would have rented and brought in one of these...Yeah it might have tipped them off but by the time they would have done something (9 hours) I would have sucked them dry. 10000 gallons X $3.00 savings per gallon = $30,000 = Brand spanking new car.
Cars backed up for miles and these morons didn't realize something was wrong until 9 hours later? Somebody is getting fired. I tip my hat off to the people who capitalized on this though. A tanker truck in unrealistic, but I would have filled my car and a bunch of gasoline cans before I left.
Maybe they thought every other station ran out of gas. Maybe they though another national disaster happened. Maybe they though.....oh never mind they are morons.
Headline news was saying this morning that people who paid by credit card would be charged the full amount and that people who paid by cash obviously are the ones who get away with it.
I would sue for false advertising if my card was charged a higher amount. The only way they would win is if the store guy pleads insanity...oh wait never mind...
i was going to say that...but i dont think the sign said .35 cents...just when you filled up the computer system was wacky. even then i'm sure theres some kind of legal action people could take to get out of paying a normal amount. the gas station f'ed up, their fault. also depending on how much you spent, might not be worth suing over, cost you more than its worth...especially by the time word got out, unless you filled up multiple cars, cans, with gas...i dont see how it would be worthwhile to do so.
Questions for you: 1) Would a company that has the necessary equipment, including the driver with a Hazmat endorsement on his CDL, be a party to to such a scheme? There are a few regulations in regards to the distribution and handling of gasoline and not sure if the hired company would risk their permits to help you out. 2) Is the hose on the pump long enough to go to the top of the tanker to fill it? Or did you plan on climbing up and down with a 1 - 5 gallon container? Would you be in violation of some type of EPA regulation(s) by just pouring the gasoline from a container into the tanker because you would be letting some vapors escape by doing that? 3) Would your credit card be authorized to handle that large enough of a purchase at once or would you be paying cash? 4) Even if you cleared the hurdles above, you are not allowing for the cost of this project, which wouldn't be cheap. 5) On a purely business basis, would the company with the needed equipment risk their business relationships in the petroleum distribution industry so that you could make money? Their Good Name should mean something to them while you wouldn't care since it would be a one-time project for you. 6) You give projected profit numbers based on 10,000 gallons of gasoline. Did the station have that much fuel in the underpriced category for you to get? Probably more questions that I haven't thought of yet, but will let you get started on those for now.
Rent one or get one in black market. Cut a deal with the guy who is going to get me one. If the guy is into business we could work something out for 35 cents a gallon gas! I actually thought about this one before you asked. Engineering problem. Not too tough. Get a tube long enough to pump into and attach the other end of long tube into the top of the container. Easily covered by multiple credit cards and some cash. Cost would be the truck. What else? Isnt this the same as question 1? I was wondering about this too. But if they had enough gas for hoardes of people for 9 consecutive hours (perhaps more because thats how long it took them to find out they were being robbed, didnt say they ran out), I am guessing I would be close to those numbers? Keep em coming. It's making me believe that I actually ran away with all that gasoline.
I'm SO glad I filled up in Austin (where it is also about 3.35) before coming to HTown for the weekend.
There is no way they would be allowed to change the charge on a credit card! With the amount of people that went to that station, I bet they can easily file a joint lawsuit. Morons.
What's sad is that the station owners makes less than a dime in profit from the gas. The fat cats have already been paid. These people are sticking it to the little man.