Next time you fuel up you might want to remember this cautionary tale. We all know how high fuel prices are, but how shocked would you be to check your statement and see a nearly $85,000 charge for gas?
That’s exactly what happened to a Nashville man. Ray Crockett was driving through Nashville when he noticed a Mapco gas station was selling gas for $2.93 a gallon, so he decided to stop and gas-up. He used his debit card to prepay for $30 worth of gas.
Gassed-up and ready to go, Crockett go into his Nissan Maxima and headed on his way. Little did he know, the gas station had actually charged his card 2,800 times higher than his actual $30 purchase.
Crockett realized there was a problem when he tried to use his card to order food at a fast food restaurant and it declined.
I stopped to buy lunch and was told my card was declined, Crockett told ABC News. I said, ˜no the card is good because my paycheck is was deposited.’
When Crockett called his bank, he discovered the gas station made a gigantic error. Unfortunately, the error locked up Crockett’s account, leaving him with no access to funds for the weekend. He told Mapco of their error and the company offered Crockett a $100 Visa gift card to get him through the weekend.
Crockett thought his bank and the gas station would resolve the situation quickly, but they didn’t. Crockett’s bank, Citibank, and Mapco gave him the runaround for the next week.
I didn’t have funds to hire an attorney, I was out of money, Crockett told ABC.
Nearly a week later, the situation was resolved, and Crockett had access to his account.
ABC News reported that this isn’t the first time Mapco has overcharged its customers. “According to NewsChannel 5 Investigates, Mapco has overcharged at least 16 people for gas. Nikki Johnson pre-paid for gas and saw a $58,278.35 charge appear on her statement.”
Surprisingly, errors like this are common. The only safeguard is to pay via check or cash.