Posted on 12/10/2007 10:08:19 AM PST by John Cena
(AP) Dozens of drivers made a mad rush for cheap gas after a station employee accidentally changed the price to 33 cents a gallon.
An employee closing Trig's Minocqua Shell for the night mistakenly entered the price of a gallon of gasoline as 32.9 cents instead of $3.299 on Monday night.
He left about 10 p.m., but drivers could still use their credit cards to buy gas.
Word of the bargain spread fast in the rural northern Wisconsin community, with 42 people buying 586 gallons of gas in an hour and 45 minutes. One person had pumped 27 gallons and two purchased 18 gallons.
Local police saw the horde at the station and called store manager Andrea Reuland, who went to the station and pushed the emergency stop.
"There were cars two deep at each of my pumps," said Reuland, who knew many of the drivers and told them they were being dishonest _ the main store sign had the correct price.
"I was very upset that there's that many dishonest people," she said. "They knew there was a problem, and they took advantage of an employee's mistake and I think that's terrible."
The employee, who has been there for about six months, had changed the gas prices 25 times in the past six months.
"It was an honest mistake," Reuland said. "I could have done it."
Area residents were still talking about it Friday morning.
"Was it you guys?" a woman in the station asked Reuland. "Why do I always miss the good stuff?"
I think he is legally wrong as well.
There you go again, throwing around "facts" you've gathered on the interweb like you know what you're talking about ... the quote is also be attributed to the song
Come From the Heart
Written by Susanna Clark and Richard Leigh
When I was a young girl, my daddy told me
A lesson he learned; it was a long time ago:
If you want to have someone to hold onto
You're gonna have to learn to let go.
You got to sing like you don't need the money;
Love, like you'll never get hurt;
You got to dance like nobody's watchin'.
It's gotta come from the heart , If you want it to work.
Now here is the one thing I keep forgettin':
When everything is falling apart
In life, as in love, you know I need to remember
There's such a thing as trying too hard.
You got to sing like you don't need the money;
Love, like you'll never get hurt;
You got to dance, dance, dance like nobody's watchin'.
It's gotta come from the heart, If you want it to work.
You got to sing sometimes like you don't need the money,
Love sometimes like you'll never get hurt,
You got to dance, dance, dance like nobody's watchin'.
It's gotta come from the heart if you want it to work.
Guy Clark didn't write it and says in concerts that he is jealous of those who did. It was written by his wife Susannah Clark and a friend named Richard Leigh. Guy says they spent about 20 minutes on it.
Keep firing away, I've still got time to kill til the ribs I'm smoking are done.
I guess ya have to read all my posts in the thread .....question was asked.
Stay safe !
Fair enough,
That’s where I saw the lyrics when someone sent them to me in a song.
I didn’t know there was more history, just that it was right on target and was who we were....
I’ll look for more sources.
Thank you.
I didn’t think about that aspect of this. Probably many of these “patrons” are regular customers. As a small business owner, I wouldn’t want these “patrons” on my property. They are backstabbing cutthroats who probably account for a consistent product shortage in the store. I couldn’t imagine stealing from someplace I frequent...not that I steal.
He did raise an interesting point. If you would like to rebut, go ahead. I’d be interested in your reasoning.
No actually it’s the law. They have to sell you items at the lowest marked price, otherwise it’s a bait and switch. That’s why smart retailers are very thorough when they change prices, missing one item can be very expensive. And for this situation that means if the pump actually said the price was .329 then it doesn’t matter what the road sign said.
In Wisconson, retail gasoline stations are not allowed to sell gasoline at a discount. I wonder if they will fine the owner in addition to his loss at the pumps.
Wisconsin State Demands that Gas Station Stops Discounting Gas
http://educate-yourself.org/cn/wisconsindemandsgasincrease09may07.shtml
While a number of states have laws preventing service station owners from selling gas at below cost, Wisconsin’s act requires wholesalers to mark up gas 3 percent and retailers to add another 6 percent.
See post #55 for a statute (don’t know what jurisdiction) for an example of how states can define theft. It’s been 30 years since my coursework in Criminal Law and Torts but I seem to recall that where it’s obvious mistake, you are essentially stealing.
In the case of gasoline, everyone knows the approximate price, and it’s clear that a mistake was made by the station. The fact that customers were lined up and spreading the word shows they knew and were taking advantage.
Hey I remember that law, dumb bad law, it would really suck for this guy, not only did he lose all that money from but he could get nailed for illegal discounting.
No, every gas pump that I’ve ever seen has both a price and the amount listed. 10 gallons rings up to $X.XX then you paid the asked price for 10 gallons. The price fluctuates daily, sometimes hourly, they still “bought” 10 gallons of gas. The fact that this merchant decided to forego a “face to face” transaction, and then mucked it up, doesn’t make the customers into criminals. It would be impossible to prove intent any way. Dishonest?? Yes. Criminally punishable?? No. It happens too many times every day, the courts would be clogged with these petty offenses even if you could prove it. But I leave it to you Matlock, I’ll bet you a week’s pay though that no charges are filed.
Thanks. Not knowing the law, it seemed reasonable to judge this the same as an incorrect price in a store. I appreciate your explanation. It seems valid.
I think he is also going to also have to pay the state and Federal taxes which will be more than the people actually paid.
Wisconsin 32.9¢/gallon
Federal 18.4¢/gallon
http://www.wisconsingasprices.com/tax_info.aspx
I'll bet thieves who switch tags have a field day in NY.
Nope, but if they were selling couches tables and chairs for 10 bucks each you can bet I would buy a few.
In a destant disert, no doubt.
At my college, an ATM machine was restocked incorrectly (20s in place of 10s....this was back when you could get $10 bills out of an ATM, I know I'm dating myself).
Anyhoo, the kids went wild and cleaned out the ATM. Of Course, there was a record of all their transactions, and their bank accounts were adjusted accordingly. LOL!
The rats would like to set the price. They refuse to allow others to take actions that would increase supply and reduce the price. These restrictions are only the tip of the iceberg. They want to dictate the kind of vehicles available, the contents of the fuel, the number of miles you drive, and sharply increase taxes on fuel. This would only be news to you if you have not listened to statements made by the rats and rinos. If the rats and rinos get their ways, we will look back fondly at $3.00 per gallon in 10 years.
I think the difference is where there is a huge disparity in price (materiality) such that the “reasonable person” would have or should have known it was in error, yet took advantage.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.