Aug 21, 2008 7:30 pm US/Eastern
CBS Exclusive: Is Your Gas Pump Short Changing You
MIAMI (CBS4) ―
Whenever Doral driver Humberto Yepez buys gas, he's not really sure he's getting his money's worth. He doesn't know if he's getting a full gallon out of the pump or maybe a little less. Yepez said "Sometimes, I have my doubts".
A CBS News investigation finds he's not alone.
Because there are no national laws regulating the accuracy of gas pumps, critics say state inspection laws vary greatly.
CBS News has found some states, like Florida, may not get around to inspecting all its gas pumps for a year or more.
Henry Opperman, a former U.S. Commerce Department official, said "When an inspection period would go beyond, let's say, a year and a half, I think that's really going beyond what regulatory oversight should be".
CBS News found Florida is the only state in the nation using what's called a "Risk-Based Assessment". That means stations with bad pumps are inspected more frequently than stations where the pumps have routinely passed state standards.
CBS 4 Consumer Investigator Al Sunshine found locally that means some local gas pumps may not be inspected more than once every 18 months.
Sunshine said, "Budget cuts and manpower issues are affecting their ability to inspect every pump at least once a year around the state, but they insist Florida consumers are getting what they're paying for."
Still, CBS4's Sunshine found consumer complaints are up in Florida.
Some critics worry some gas stations are taking advantage of consumers.
Humbertio Yepez still wonders why his car sometimes runs further after some fill-ups and said, "Sometimes it lasts a little longer at some stations than others. When Sunshine asked him if he was concerned that some stations may not be giving a full gallon, he replied, "Yes. I would say sometimes, yes."
CBS4 Sunshine found Florida's gas inspectors claim that they have about a 98% compliance rate when it comes to getting a full gallon.
But he cautions that there are about 200,000 gas pumps statewide, and that means there could still be about 4,000 gas pumps statewide giving customers a little more or a little less than what they pay for.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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