,
so based on the customer they want to cheat, they look at the paper to
recall, and the customers would think the machine was fast, so they
wouldn’t always suspect anything
- TRICK 2: Fake hang the nozzle
Almost every petrol consumer is knowledgeable that when the nozzle is
hanged on the pump, the readings revert to zero. Thus the fuel
attendants have also found a way to manipulate it to make some money for
their pockets.
What they do is that they gently hang the nozzle, such that it won’t
click to rub off the old sales and revert to zero, so,they fake hang the
nozzle,while the dispenser is still running, so if a new customer
comes, they simply continue from where they stopped from the previous
customer.
This trick is used a lot during fuel scarcity, or when customers are in a hurry to buy fuel.
This trick is also easier for the fuel attendant if the last sale was in a small quantity.
- TRICK 3: The Okada/Keke Napep advantage
Most times, the Okada and Keke Napep's tend to buy petrol in small quantities, for example like 2 or 3 Litres of fuel.
After dispensing fuel for the Okada/Keke Napep, if the next buyer
intends to buy fuel in his car or a big jerry can, the fuel attendant
will use the Okada/Keke Napep advantage, because of the small quantity
sold previously and continue to dispense fuel into your car tank without
clearing the previous sale.
For example, if the previous sale to an Okada, Keke Napep or even a
commercial bus is about ₦350, the fuel attendant will gently place the
nozzle, and naturally, when the next customer (The Car owner) sees that
the attendant removed the nozzle from the dispensing machine, he
believes that it started from zero. However, it is not always the case,
thus the car owner is automatically cheated by ₦350.
- TRICK 4: The Fill up your tank system
A report culled from dailyfinance.com says filling up the tank may be
another way to lose money and fuel, because when the pump clicks off
automatically, no additional fuel enters the tank. “Instead, fuel is
likely being diverted through the pump’s vapour recovery system and back
into the station’s tank, which means you are paying for petrol that you
are not getting.
“More importantly, the car needs space in its tank for fuel vapours to
expand. Overfilling can force gas into the car’s carbon filter, leading
to poor performance, reduced mileage or costly repairs. So, the next
time you want to buy fuel, don’t top off your tank, it’s good for your
car and even better for your wallet,” the report said.
- TRICK 5: The faulty meter
Some petrol pumps have rigged meters that start ticking even before
petrol starts to flow from the hose. Have you ever gone to a filling
station to buy fuel and it takes lesser time to fill your tank, compared
to other places? This is as a result of the meters that have been
tampered with, the attendant will make you believe the particular fuel
dispenser is faster or slower than normal, depending on how the meters
were manipulated.
Nigeria’s petroleum regulator, Department of Petroleum Resources,
DPR,saddled with the responsibility of regulating, monitoring and
enforcing the laws in the sector, used the Seraphin Can to expose
filling stations involved in the nefarious act in Lagos recently.
The ten-liter Seraphin Can is used by the DPR to ascertain the exact
dispensing meter measurement of filling stations. When filled to the
level of ten liters, dispensing meters that have been adjusted will show
above ten liters on the display board. When this occurs, the filling
station is shut by DPR officials.
DPR said over 500 filling stations had been shut for under-dispensing and other related offences.
- TRICK 6: Using Unnecessarily Longer Dispenser Pipe
Pumps save on a lot of petrol when they use long pipes.
A perfectly good meter will show that a certain amount of petrol has
been pumped out, but that amount hasn't reached your tank -- some of it
is still in the pipe, and it goes back into the pump. Through the day,
the number of litres that stations save can be enormous, making the
attendant accumulate surplus cash from undispensed fuel.
- TRICK 7: Get friendly, distract and cheat
How many times have you visited the filling station and you notice that
the fuel attendant is trying to chat you up. If he is not talking about
the government, religion or politics, he is most likely to dive into
football, especially if he noticed you are a fan of a particular club.
'Oga mi up Arsenal o, me i be Barcelona fan, we go beat Arsenal all the time'
The trick is to make you get very comfortable, argue with him and take your eyes off the fuel meter.
Sometimes the attendant can even get his colleague to distract you, so he can focus on fuel pump to cheat you.
He can ask you questions like..
'Sir/madam do you need engine oil' or 'Sir you need to balance your wheels'
- TRICK 8: Pretend not to hear you, fake ignorance, smile, apologize
This is another trick used by fuel attendants, when you request to fill up your car or
jerrycan for a particular amount, for example ₦4000, the attendant will
sell only ₦1000 worth of fuel, when you ask him why he didn't fill up
for ₦4000, the attendant will apologize and smile innocently and say
that he/she heard you say you wanted to buy ₦1000 worth of fuel, and
thus pretend to continue filling the remaining ₦3000, by pretending to
reset the meter and fill up your ₦4000 worth of petrol and so you pay
₦4000
But the attendant just cheated you, and this is how...
He did not reset the meter to ₦0.00 , he continued from the ₦1000 point
till he got to ₦3000, so in reality you only get the petrol worth ₦3000,
but pay ₦4000
- TRICK 9: Intervening the Dispenser Nozzle
It is generally found that the pump attendants keep their fingers tight
on the nozzle and interrupt the flow of fuel manually. In this way, the
required amount of fuel gets short. With these type of tricks, the pump
staff saves probably litres of oil in a single day that accumulates to
his personal surplus profit for the day.
- TRICK 10: Fuel Adulteration
The simplest and the most effective way of cheating used by almost all
the petrol pumps is the adulteration of fuel. Usually, the dealers
chemically adulterate the petrol by adding Naphtha, which is a byproduct
and is as dense as petrol. It does not leave residue and is cheaper
than its counterpart.
- TRICK 11: Two sides of price indicators
In this particular trick, manipulations are done by pump attendants who
normally strike when motorists are preoccupied with other thoughts. Most
times, pump attendants are so daring.
Motorists should be more careful with pumps that have two sides of
price indicators—back and forth screen, displaying amount of money
dispensed.
For several reasons, some of which are technical, each side of the
screen could show a different price. For example, ₦5000 and the other
screen could display about ₦4000.
If you requested to buy fuel worth ₦5000 and the a buyer from other side
of the pump is also buying ₦5000 worth of fuel, if you are not watching
close enough, a crafty attendant can dispense fuel worth ₦4000 and
point to the other side pump, hoodwinking you into believing that
he/she has dispensed the amount you required, meanwhile you have lost
₦1000 as the price indicator was for the other pump.
Now to counter these 11 tricks above, here are some of the counter-tricks or precautions to cut the cheating attendants
- Always, get off from your car, lock the vehicle and stand close to petrol tank and see the meter readings when buying fuel
- Check the meter reading after opening the petrol tank or before fueling starts and again at the very end.
- Keep a continuous watch at the meter reading and at the fueling person, throughout your turn.
- If you develop doubt over a particular petrol pump, then AVOID that
particular petrol pump in the future like the plague. I have also seen
that there are petrol pumps which do not indulge in such activities.
Identify such pumps and try to fill from these pumps only
- In any case, don’t believe the attendants and NEVER EVER TAKE YOUR
EYES FROM THE METER. Get it set to zero and do not take your eyes off
till the last drop comes out of the nozzle
- Ask the attendant firmly to keep his hands off the nozzle and wait for the auto cut-off to kick-in.
- Park the car a bit away from the machine and let the attendant
stretch the pipe to your fuel lid. Ask him to hold the nozzle at certain
height post he is done fueling up the tank in order to allow the
residual to flow in
- Always check for zero before they start filling, even if the petrol pump is overcrowded.
- Reduce conversations with the fuel attaendant, and if you must talk
to him/her, please do it without taking your eyes off the meter for one
second. Also make sure the meter is set at ₦0.00 before the attendants
starts to fill up your tank/keg.
- Do not take your eyes off the meter till the last drop, don't get
distracted by counting the money you want to give him/her, wait till
he/she is done dispensing the fuel.
- End the transaction right there, in case the meter is stopped for any reason.
- Do not hurry and always pay at the end of the transaction.
- Ask for a printed receipt every time, as far as possible.
- Always keep a watch on the attendant and on the meter. If you are
suspicious about a certain fuel station, step out of your car and ask
the attendant to move away from the dispenser while filling. If you
still feel that he is cheating stop him from filling your tank and call
the manager and lodge your complain. If nobody at the station admits
their fraud or deny any assistance, reach out to DPR https://dpr.gov.ng/index/contact-us/
As we visit the filling station today, always remember
The Golden Rule: Never take your eyes off the meter
Have you must also have experienced similar attempts to cheat. Do you have any special experience to share?
WHAT DO YOU THINK GOOD, BAD OR CRAZY ?
