Think you're being conned at petrol pumps? Here are some tips to prevent that

Petrol pumps conning consumers is a well-known phenomenon across India. Several petrol pumps across India have been reported for cheating their consumers in various ways. While petrol or diesel buyers have been becoming increasingly alert about these cheating tricks, the perpetrators too have been finding new ways of cheating their customers.

This is not very uncommon when you hear that someone has been cheated at a petrol pump while refuelling his or her vehicle with petrol or diesel. There are various ways many petrol pumps cheat their customers by dispensing less fuel while charging more money than the volume.

It is not always possible to check every detail while going for refuelling at petrol pumps. However, being alert could save you from being cheated. After all, it's your hard-earned money and you have every right to spend it judiciously and get value for it.

Here are some key tips to follow while visiting a refuelling station for filling your car's fuel tank.

Ensure zero at metre before refuelling

A very common tip to follow while refuelling your vehicle is make sure the metre of the fuel dispenser is set to zero before start of refuelling. If the metre is not set at zero, make sure you askt the pump attendant to reset it before dispensing fuel to your vehicle. Often the perpetrators pretend to have set the metre to zero but actually they start refuelling from a higher amount. This results in lower fuel refilling, while the payment you make is higher than that.

Try to purchase fuel of odd amount

There are many common short fuelling tricks the perpetrators at fuel pumps resort to while cheating their customers. One common trick is setting lower fuel volume for specific amount. Usually many customers ask for fuel of ₹500 or ₹1,000 in multiples of that. In many pumps, the attendants set certain fuel volume at these amounts, which are lower than the actual volume it should be. To avoid such a fraud, purchase fuel of odd amounts, like ₹575 or ₹1,355. Doing this makes difficult for the perpetrators to cheat heir customers.

Check what fuel the attendant is dispensing

Often fuel pump attendants refill the cars with high octane fuel, commonly known as power petrol without asking the vehicle owner. In ordinary cars, this fuel doesn't make sense. While the high octane petrol will not impact your car negative, this will have no advantage as well. However, this will result you paying more money than regular petrol. So, always check what fuel the attendant is dispensing into your vehicle.

Refuel at a reputed petrol pump

Refuelling at a reputed petrol pump is always a safer idea than refuelling at other pumps. The reputed petrol pump that you know and trust always have well-managed attendants, which is easier to deal with than other pumps' attendants.

Ask for quantity check

Quantity check is a step you can take if you are feeling there are discrepancies in fuel dispensed by the pump. In case of such a suspicion, you can ask the attendant for a quantity check. In this case, the attendant fills a calibrated fuel container with specific amount of fuel. In case the container doesn't fill to the desired amount, you know the pump is cheating with you.

How to avoid being cheated at petrol pumps

Step 1 :

Ensure zero at metre before refuelling

Step 2 :

Try to purchase fuel of odd amount

Step 3 :

Check what fuel the attendant is dispensing

Step 4 :

Refuel at a reputed pump

Step 5 :

Ask for quantity check