BPWCP/ARCO AM/PM Dishonest, consumer fraud, stealing from debit cards, ripoff Chandler, Arizona
I purchased gasoline on Sunday, July 18th at the AM/PM near my home. I used my debit card. My total gasoline purchase was $24.00 They also charge you a trans. fee of .35 cents. It is posted that they charge you this. When I went on line to look at my bank statement, and check my debits, there was also another charge for $75.00 The payor information was left blank. AM/PM ARCO uses a third party to take money from your accts. I went in
person to find out the corporate number,and the sales assoc. Bill, was really rude to me. He told me,that when we put our cards in the machine, it automatically opens up your card,and deducts $70.00 to insure that your card is good. In my case, it debited out 75.00 for a 24.00 purchase. This is consumer fraud. I have filed a complaint with Az. Attorney General's office.
I have emailed the company 2 tmes in the last 24 hr. and I have called them several times,and they keep hanging up on me.
Do you have any suggestions? This is just assaien and I do not know how to get it out there. Thank you for your help.
Kathy
Chandler, Arizona
U.S.A.
3 Updates & Rebuttals
Erika
Chandler,Arizona,
U.S.A.
Never have I encounted a rude employee in this store
#4Consumer Comment
Fri, July 30, 2004
Do you have all the facts? I happened to be checking this website out and ironically came across this report of a station next to my house. I would like to say that this am/pm is right by my house so I frequent this store on a daily basis. Never have I encounted a rude employee in this store, Never. I always get my gas from this store and have never had a problem and it just does not sound like the truth that a company of this stature would "rip-off" or "steal" from it's consumers this is a reputable store in a very reputable neighborhood and you would think there would be many more complaints as this if this was actually going on. I think the title of this report is slander! I would be interested if this website obtains all of the facts prior to printing a report such as this. I would also be interested of the outcome of this. Was money really in fact "stolen" from this consumer? Does anyone from this website investigate the actual truth? at all?
Wesley Nishinaka
La Palma,California,
U.S.A.
Kathy in Chandler AZ w/ARCO ampm debit problem
#4UPDATE Employee
Fri, July 30, 2004
Kathy in Chandler AZ should contact the bp Customer Cares line at (800) 322-ARCO. A Field Representative will be dispatched to contact Kathy and help her with or explain her concerns. The 800 number is a "call center" East of the Rockies and the people that man the lines are very professional and business like (Customer Cares would never "hang up" on any customer.) Kathy did not state in her email that she was actually "charged" $70 for her $24 transaction. I suspect that she did not wait for the transaction to clear at her bank. I think this is what happened. The $70 was never withdrawn from her account (it was just "held" just as a bank "holds" checks. The $70 opened the transaction (because it is a "debit" transaction and not a "credit," funds need to be verified. After the fuel was dispensed ($24) a "credit" is electronically generated for the difference ($46.) Depending on how the bank handles credits, sometimes it take longer to process the credit and as a result the "held" funds are not available. It's a bank issue and not an issue with the retailer. I could be 100% wrong but in my experience I have not known of anyone who has been knowingly cheated by bp or ARCO.
Sincerely,
Company Account Executive
bp West Coast Products, LLC
Bill
Chandler,Arizona,
U.S.A.
Check your statement again
#4REBUTTAL Individual responds
Thu, July 29, 2004
As I recall, you sent your daughter in on your behalf, with absoltely no proof of what she was saying. On her word alone I was to open the register and give her $75 dollars cash. Considering the fact you knew nothing about knothing, I felt I was more than helpful. I pointed you in the right directions of contacting your bank and/or the corporate office.
All gas stations as well as hotels pre-authorize a credit card or debit for more than you are probably going to spend. This is because if you only had a dollar in your account, you could possibly get twenty dollars worth of gas and we would only be able to collect a dollar. This is only an authorization. We do not actually collect this money.
After you purchase is complete, we charge the correct ammount. However, the authoirzation is still there. It usually takes a few hours for your bank to drop the authorization, but it could take longer. It depends on them, not us. If, in the unlikely event, you were charged by us twice we could easily correct the problem with a copy of your bank statement. If this proves to be too much of a hassle for you could take it up with your bank over the phone.
Ohh and by the way, there was no way of you contacting us via email (no email address), nor have we received any phone calls from you either. This is just another example of the consumer distorting the facts or just plain lying to further advance their cause.