To BP Amoco:
Last fall, in a moment of inattention that is extremely unusual for me, I drove off with one of your gas nozzles.
NO, actually, I didn’t drive OFF with it, I just pulled forward until I felt the breakaway joint breakaway, and stopped, cursing under my breath, and took the nozzle out and placed it on the ground.
Not being one to walk away from my mistakes, I went into the store to let them know, filled out the appropriate form, and went about my day.
Then, several months later, I get a bill for $72, for repairing the hose.
Now, let me splain something to you, lucy: When a guy “repairs” that hose, they take the two ends, push them together, and they “click”. As long as the seals are intact, whcih can be inspected visually, this is all that’s required. A strong eight year old boy can do it easily. As can a fit man in his eighties. Why it should cost $72 is beyond me, but that is inconsequential. You paid that, and I paid you.
Now, dozens of times in a month some fuckknuckle drives off with a hose at that specific store. Most of the time, they actually drive off with it, requiring you to install a NEW hose. That store has a policy of not hunting those people down, so the actual criminals, the ones who are doing you the most harm, go unpunished, while the people like me, who are honest and own up to their mistakes, have to pay the bill.
This, incidentally, is why there is no useful form of gun control; people who will follow the rules and obey the law are never the problem.
Anyway, I called and said to the obudsman at BP, and said, “I have been a loyal customer for at least ten years. Can’t we just overlook this moment of inattention on my part?” (not expecting anything, but hell, you gotta ask, right?) The extremely rude BP representative made it clear that not only was I going to “pay the $72, but you should consider yourself lucky BP doesn’t press charges”
Nice.
SO here’s some math for you, you asshats.
I buy around 40 gallons of gas a week. That’s around $90, at today’s prices. Times 52, $4680. Timesthe next 20 years? $93,600 Still, for a corporation like BP Amoco, chump change.
But, I convinced our corporation to drop the BP cards, and switch to Shell cards. So, there’s 128 employess, who average about the same gas usage, who will not be buying BP gas anymore. So, that $93,600 becomes $11,980,800 over the next twenty years, that you pissed away because you HAD TO HAVE that $72. Good for you. Choke on it.
Fucktards.
18 comments Og | Uncategorized

Nice. I *so* hope this gets all the way back to corporate.
It costs $72 because people who work on gas pumps have to be certified to do so, not just anyone can do that work . . . and that’s what they charge.
Jenny
your humble TubaDiva
Actually, the coaxial unions are made specifically so that unskilled, untrained personnel can reconnect them, the instructions are written directly on the union, and they consist of: “Push until you hear a click”. It is BP’s policy to hire an outside contractor to do this. And, the contractos charges $70. The other two bucks is for the two bucks worth of gas he pumps into his OWN TANK to “test” the nozzle.
You know… makes you wonder what good it is being an honest bill and tax paying individual.
Especially the “honest” part.
No good deed goes unpunished.
Og explains why BP Amoco does not deserve your business. In this day and age, with people doing their best to not buy gas, you’d think they’d be a little more respectful of their customers. Apparently only the dishonest ones….
it has to be put back together by a certified technician? i guess that’s much like how, in NJ and OR, it’s illegal for you to pump your own gas… it has to be done by the “certified technician” who works at the station.
you know, because their gas pumps are so much more difficult to use than everywhere else. sheeeeah!
did you let any of the higher-ups at BP know about the ombudsman? what would they have pressed charges for, anyways? you obviously didn’t “steal” it, since you returned it. it couldn’t be vandalism, because it was obviously an accident. hm.
Considering that Shell gas is cheaper anyway, good move!
And PLEASE tell me you printed this off and sent to BP Corporate offices. If not, can I?? ;-)
feel free!
og,
I did the same sort of thing about 10 years ago with Enterprise rental cars.
To make a (very) long story short, they billed my credit card not once but TWICE, the second time AFTER I had put a hold on the card, for charges that were supposed to be paid by someone else.
In a nutshell, I was in an MVA (I got T-boned by a 17 year old kid who didn’t realize that his street ended at the state highway – not my fault) and the body shop took more than the insurance-recommended time to fix the car. They owned up to the rental charges and contacted Enterprise.
Enterprise billed me ANYWAYS. I IMMEDIATELY put a call in to the credit card company and halted the charges.
Enterprise billed me AGAIN. I put a second stop on the credit card *AND* halted all further charging so they couldn’t bill me again.
Well, I complained to the dealership where I bought my car (the owner and my dad have been friends for decades; hence why I own Chrysler products).
Not only did the dealership stop working with Enterprise, they recommended that CHRYSLER stop dealing with Enterprise…
Oh, BTW? This accident happened four days before my wedding. We drove to Quebec on our honeymoon. We upgraded the rental Escort from the accident to a brand new Cadillac Sedan DeVille.
I paid the overage (~ $200) in pennies.
http://sekimori.org/archives/2005/05/perhaps_the_bp.php
Perhaps the “BP” stands for “bad press”?…
Sometimes you have to wonder how somebody who is so bad with people gets the “Ombudsman” job. How hard is it to apologize without treatening somebody? They could have kept the $72 and just said, “We’re sorry, that’s our policy, we hope you understand”, and you would probably have cut them some slack. Instead they had to go all Vogon on you. I don’t blame you for going to Shell (…until they piss you off!…)
And don’t even get me started on Enterprise Rent-A-Car.
Mikey: Here in Oregon, they don’t pretend that the no-self-pumping rule has anything to do with safety.
It’s so “the old ladies won’t have to get out in the rain and pump their own gas”, and “to keep all those high school kids employed”.
No, really. Those are the reasons that get trotted out every few years when someone pushes for rescinding that stupid, stupid law.
Note to self: If I ever do such a thing, I will be sure to click the damn thing back together and drive away. If it f*cks up or blows up, then let BP explain it to the lawyers.
Damned straight, Joan.
Oh my Gosh, I just stumpled on to this webiste. This just (about a week ago) happened to me at Shell (in Southern California) . I stopped when I heard the noise. The hose was lying on the floor. The pump had break-away hoses. I picked it up and went inside the store. I gave them my name and number. The next morning as I drove by the Shell station, I noticed that the pump was working. Just yesterday the faxed me a bill for over $1,200. This was an estimate that some outside company did (which the estimate was done after the pump was being used!). I was shocked when I saw the bill. When I had looked at the hose, it looked like you could just put it back into the the othe part of the hose. Does anyone know who I can contact. I really did not trust the owner to begin with.
This just happened to me on May 4th. It happened at a Shell station. I drove off with the hose still attached to my car. I immediately stopped and found the hose on the floor. I brought the hose into the station and left my name and number (the hose looked like something that could be just put back in….it was a breakaway hose). That afternoon when I drove by the station I saw that the pump was already back in service. The owner called me the next day and said…oh we temporarily fixed it, but we are going to have someone look at it next week. A week later the owner faxed me a bill for over $1200.00. This was an estimate from a private contractor that was completed a week later – even after the pump was in use! I am trying to figure out who to call because I don’t believe I need to pay this.
This exact same thing just happened to me on Mother’s Day 05 (5/8/05). I put the car in drive and drove off less than a foot. I wasn’t going more than 3 miles/hr. I heard the snap and immediately stopped and got out. The 2 men working inside came out. One man immediately went to attach the hose, but the other man stopped him and told me that I should just pay them $200 right now so it doesn’t go to my insurance. I asked how he knew it was $200 and he said because another customer did it yesterday and they got an estimate for him. They wanted me to cut them a check right there. I refused and they asked me to fill out a report. I did as asked. Months went by and I didn’t hear anything. Today August 19, 2005 I received an itemized invoice created by the station. It was not an official invoice with a work order, but a piece of paper with their descriptions on it. This was their cover letter:
Dear Sir/Ma’am,
This is an official notice of report of damage to service station. Kindly remit the invoiced amout within 30 days to Mac Chevron, 20021 Ventura Blvd, Woodland Hills, CA 91364. Please call either Moti or Hiram at 818-970-8212 if you would like us to remit to your insurance company or for any questions you might have.
Thank you for your cooperation and understand.
Moti Balyan
Operations Manager
Now nothing happened to the hose, nozzle, or even breakaway. In fact the one worker wanted to attach it, but was stopped by the other. They already tried to scam me out of $200 and with this new scam are trying to charge $558.25 and requested it to be paid in cash. Not to mention I went back the next day and saw the hose/nozzle/pump in use.
Here is their hand made invoice and descriptions:
H E 800 – Nozzle $125.95
H E 75 – 085 8’5″ Hose $184.75
HE 75- 085 5″ Hose $65
H E 8701 V
Breakaway $70
Test system $70
TAX $42.55
Total $558.25.
I am writing a letter back to the company with refusal to pay. Nothing happened to the nozzle and/or hose. In addition, I looked up on Chevron’s corporate website about their stations and they are equipped with breakaway hoses to protect their customers because this happens frequently. In addition, I plan to send the letter to corporate and to the better business bureau. If anyone else has any other suggestions I would gladly take them. This is fraud at its best.
Service Station:
Sherman Oaks Chevron
14505 Ventura Blvd
Sherman Oaks, CA 91403
818-715-0505
Mac Chevron
20021 Ventura Blvd
Woodland Hills, CA 91364
818-710-8212
Moti Baylan
Operations Manager