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Texas gas stations may get away with 'pump jumping' if not enough people complain

If you get short-changed at the pump, the station may be able to get away with it.

SALADO, Texas — When we pull up to fill up, we expect to get what we pay for.

If you get short-changed at the pump, the station may be able to get away with it.

The KVUE Defenders warned you in February that changes in a state law will limit the state pump inspectors.

“Pump jumping” happens when a gas pump starts billing you before you ever pump gas.

It “jumps” ahead.

Sometimes a few cents, sometimes a lot more.

“Watch what happens when I push the button to the gauge,” said Justin Humphries on a Facebook video. “I am still here. Haven’t even put the nozzle in the tank, 28 cents... 29 cents.”

I’m hesitant to post this because I don’t want to slander any business. I’m a believer that if your unhappy with a...

Posted by Justin Humphries on Monday, June 25, 2018

Humphries counted the numbers as they climbed without pumping.

He was at JD’s Truck Stop in Salado, Texas.

“Their excuse is the air in the fuel lines. It’s a bunch of b***. It p*** me off,” said Humphries on the video.

Humphries filed a state complaint.

Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller regulates gas stations and handles consumer protection at those stations.

Miller said he can’t force the station fix the problem because this is only one complaint. It’s not enough to order an inspection under new state law.

“We sent a notice to the store owner and said you have a problem that you may want to fix. We don’t demand they fix it. We don’t fine them if they don’t fix it. We can’t even follow up to see if it has been fixed,” said Miller.

It goes back to house bill 2174, passed by the legislature in the 2017 -- a bill we warned would limit the authority of regulators.

The bill requires three complaints before the state can call for an inspection. It also requires pump inspections, not be performed by state inspectors, but by someone the company hires from a state-approved list.

“I’m really ashamed of how Texas is treating its consumers when it comes to feel quality and responding to fuel complaints,” said Miller.

Humphries posted a new video a few days after the first one. This time, the pump jumped seven cents.

So, the KVUE Defenders checked it out.

The pump did not jump.

JD’s general manager would not go on camera, but showed us a work order and said he ordered the pump to be fixed immediately after he received the state’s notice.

As KVUE was editing this story, press officials with the Texas Department of Agriculture said they had another pump jump case in Georgetown.

Click here for information on how to file a complaint about a gas pump.

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