Today I logged into my bank account to see what checks had cleared. And I noticed that a gas station near my house charged me twice. $10.01 for my actual transaction (I remember being ticked that I had that extra penny on there), and then another $10.00 – which is an extra charge. I did NOT have two transactions on the same day. I had one. I put in $10.01 just to cover that day’s commute so that I could fill up that night in Rock Hill, which has cheaper gas. So why did I get charged twice?
What sucks is that my bank account has no timestamp on the charge, so I don’t think I can go to the gas station and complain that I got charged twice – they’ll think I’m lying and that I just had two different transactions on the same day. But I didn’t. I got gas ONCE – for $10.01. And even if I had the receipt showing the $10.01, they’d probably say, “Well, there’s no way you can prove that you DIDN’T then have a $10.00 transaction.”
So I’m a little frustrated. That’s $10. Which may not be a lot to some, but it is to me. So I’ll respond by never getting gas there again – even if I’m on fumes, I’ll drive past that gas station and go to the locally-owned non-Exxon/Mobil/Texaco/BigOilCompany station another mile away.
Update on this post: Okay, so my friend MB emailed me and made me realize that what probably happened was that I filled up on two separate days but they charged me on the same day. I use my debit card for gas, and fill up every seven days. The double charge is listed on the 21st, but my prior fillup is listed as the 11th. So it’s likely that I put $10 in on the 18th, which took me to the 21st, when I put in $10.01, and then two days later I filled up in Rock Hill. So, I’m not mad at the gas station anymore. But I still think I’ll start supporting the local place down the block. They charge the same, but aren’t owned by a big conglomeration.
I would go back and complain anyway, even without the time stamp. They may actually own up to the mistake. It could be a dishonest employee who has made a string of overcharges and you might not be the only one complaining. Go for it!
Yes, I agree. Even without a time stamp, you need to make them aware of this. Plus, you should be able to dispute this with your bank/credit card co.