[RajaTaurus]

Originally Posted by druva

Raja.. Good that you were prepared.

I noticed that you live close to me. You can try the petrol bunk at Velachery Main Road near Gurunanak college.

I have been living in Pallikaranai for the past 5 months and have filled in almost all stations in around Velacheri and NEVER had a problem. Consistantly my car gave the same mileage.

Moved to Anna Nagar 2 weeks ago and my first filling within Chennai City, and I got this...!!!!

[RajaTaurus]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

Raja, maybe I am a little slow, but I did not understand the part about the filling for 300 bucks. I mean, you asked him to put for 2000bucks, right ? So, he would key in the amount and then fill for that amount, right ? Where is 300 bucks coming here in the picture ?

Also, as dadu said very correctly, pay after getting the fuel.

And BTW, why dont you just tell him to put it in auto-cutoff so that after fuel for 2000Rs goes in, it stops automatically ? Their hands need to be off that nozzle - to avoid them cheating.

Yes. the "Rupees 300" was never in the picture. The guys keep you engaged in conversation and suddenly he tells you "OK. Saar, Three Hundred rupees Saar." and Tries to reset the machine to Zero asap. Unless you catch him right there, he would reset (The actual reset takes place here) instantly and your Rs.300 will not show up in the meter again.

I always used to Fill in Rupees, just to avoid the change crisis.
As I said, I didnt face this trick until I was in the suburbs. The City guys thought they were smart...

And Yes, paying after filling is the best idea and I will follow that too..

And my best indicator is my fuel gauge. It doesn't cheat and I will go after the guys if that doesnt satisfy me...
I always set the Trip-A meter to Zero everytime I fill and refill at almost dry, (Below the last mark of the fuelgauge).

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by visu03

rajen i think u r speaking about Sivam auto. I am filling up in that bunk for 4 years now and i only was cheated once for 5 liters.

I wanted to add System-D in my indica, he told me that he will fill 5 liters and then add the System-D as it will mix better. He filled 5 liters and then added System-D. Later he filled 30 liters which is what i asked him to fill.

But when i am paying he said that he filled 35 liters, 5 liters initially and 30 after adding System-D. I felt something is not right, but since i was not aware of these practices i paid for 35 liters and drove home.

I don't think you were cheated. He filled 5 Liters first and then again 30 Liters, so you had to pay for 35 Liters. Simple

[amohit]

Originally Posted by RajaTaurus

This in Chennai.
That means he never filled a drop of fuel in the car, while the meter read Rs.300. Also I noticed the Liters meter was Blank.!!!

How is this possible??
Can the fuel pump start ticking the rupee counter without dispensing any fuel??
How do these guys control this...how do we counter them here?
Its not always possible to fill in when almost empty...any other way to tackle this?

Regards,

[dadu]

Its possible but all this is done from the handle control at the filler nozzle and this is the right way to detect, no number in the ltr counter but the Rupee counter shows you some amount (which it has jumped).

Once jumped the meter gets stuck and thats why he needs to reset it, ask him to continue filling and he will not be able to.

If you have asked for an X amount/ ltr/ tank full and the attendent shows you 200-300 Rs and wants to reset, meter has jumped.

Originally Posted by amohit

How is this possible??
Can the fuel pump start ticking the rupee counter without dispensing any fuel??
How do these guys control this...how do we counter them here?
Its not always possible to fill in when almost empty...any other way to tackle this?

Regards,

[rajen83]

Originally Posted by watashi75

I regularly fill up at HPS-Begumpet petrol bunk. I usually fill Extra Premium full tank and have not observed the Rs 200 trick so far. I get around 11 -12 km on my Swift ZXi with a/c in Hyderabad traffic. Will try some other petrol pump this time and compare.

Originally Posted by visu03

rajen i think u r speaking about Sivam auto. I am filling up in that bunk for 4 years now and i only was cheated once for 5 liters.

Yeah it is the Sivam auto. May be it is this one smart alek there that is trying to cheat or do I look more gullible than you folks. I also faced this problem while filling up my bike at late night say 11:30PM or so. At that time all the workers are free and one cheats while the other distracts you. So beware.

The ratio is something like this You ask for Rs.1000 they stop at 200. You ask for 500 they stop at 50. This as per my observation close to 10 times.

RajaTaurus,
I am not sure if the fuel gauge gets updated immediately. At least in my zen it takes a little while for the needle to move.

[RajaTaurus]

Originally Posted by amohit

How is this possible??
Can the fuel pump start ticking the rupee counter without dispensing any fuel??
How do these guys control this...how do we counter them here?
Its not always possible to fill in when almost empty...any other way to tackle this?

Regards,

It is strange, sure these guys have some electronic wiz helping them. (like those days the auto and taxi drivers used to do with their meters).
Anyways, to tackle this will be to watch both the readings are running uniformly from start till end.
Regardless of how you want to fill (in rupees or in Liters), they do the same trick and if you are unaware, you normally don't mind that (to reset in the middle of filling).

Neve tell him FULL TANK... You can never find out how much was full tank.

So, whenever you fill, go to the fuel gun and physcially see (hear) if he has started filling petrol the moment the meter starts ticking. (Which I did not do in my case...)

[bblost]

so you are saying that the counter for fuel and money will run asynchronously.

Almost all of us have a mobile. Most mobiles have a calculator.
Multiply quantity with price.
If it has a mismatch with the amount being shown, start fighting.

[visu03]

Originally Posted by mobike008

I don't think you were cheated. He filled 5 Liters first and then again 30 Liters, so you had to pay for 35 Liters. Simple

Sorry I explained it wrong.

He filled 5 liters
Filled System-D
Continue to fill and stop when meter showed 30 liters

But while paying he said that he has reset the meter after filling 5 liters.

[R.G]

Post #12 mentioned exactly what I wanted to write !!!!...

Anyone from chennai filling petrol from the petrol pump , nearer to the Adyar Bus Depot?? Better watch out for the trick mentioned here..

Been filling from that pump for more than 2 years , and have seen umpteen number of times the station guys cheating , people coming back with issues of less fuel shown on gauge etc. Most of the time if you can argue/ shout well enough , they will fill the difference.

Realized one day that I have been tricked . Dunno if they did that previously to me.
Out of two guys who where near the pump , one guy was filling the fuel and the other one told me , there is dust inside of the lid and asked me to clean it coz it will spoil the petrol in the tank . The other guy did something in between which i realized later :(.
After that I said Thanks to him and both were having a mischievous smile on their face which I thought is fishy .

Very next time , I saw these guys playing the same trick to the guy in front of me and I caught them red handed.

Thatz my experience

As pervez said .. Never ever take your eyes off the meter , whatever way they try to distract you.

[joshdrive]

Originally Posted by RajaTaurus

I have been living in Pallikaranai for the past 5 months and have filled in almost all stations in around Velacheri and NEVER had a problem. Consistantly my car gave the same mileage.

Hi, I too live there. Can you recommend couple of stations between Medavalkam and Velachery?

[RajaTaurus]

Originally Posted by joshdrive

Hi, I too live there. Can you recommend couple of stations between Medavalkam and Velachery?

The most reliable one for me so far is the one on the Velacheri by-pass road, HP, just adjascent to Ratna Cafe. Also many friends of mine who are taxi operators recommend this station. They all in chorus advise against IndianOil pumps in this area. They say even the quality of the petrol is bad in these pumps. I don't have any solid proof, but, it is from users...

[Swaroop77]

I follow the following religiously:
1) Fill up in morning time ( get more fuel due to more specific gravity)
2) Open fuel lid, walk out of car, check the fuel meter reset to zero
3) Ask attendant to set the nozzle at the medium level of dispensing (the slower is better but takes some more time), auto cutoff to full tank.
4) Pay by credit card which does not charge transaction charge to fuel up and hence do not have to bother about the exact change issue
5) Allow no one to interrupt or distract me while the fuel dispensing is done

Not sure if the above are fool proof!

[joshdrive]

Originally Posted by R.G

Post #12 mentioned exactly what I wanted to write !!!!...

Anyone from chennai filling petrol from the petrol pump , nearer to the Adyar Bus Depot?? Better watch out for the trick mentioned here..

Been filling from that pump for more than 2 years , and have seen umpteen number of times the station guys cheating , people coming back with issues of less fuel shown on gauge etc. Most of the time if you can argue/ shout well enough , they will fill the difference.

Realized one day that I have been tricked . Dunno if they did that previously to me.
Out of two guys who where near the pump , one guy was filling the fuel and the other one told me , there is dust inside of the lid and asked me to clean it coz it will spoil the petrol in the tank . The other guy did something in between which i realized later :(.
After that I said Thanks to him and both were having a mischievous smile on their face which I thought is fishy .

Very next time , I saw these guys playing the same trick to the guy in front of me and I caught them red handed.

Thatz my experience

As pervez said .. Never ever take your eyes off the meter , whatever way they try to distract you.

I have experianced same kind of things at this IOC station few times.

[wanderernomad]

I remember a particular incident from 2000 when I was posted at Chandigarh. I used to have an 1987 Premier padmani. I once filled in about 25 ltrs of fuel from a Petrol Bunk got a receipt for it and drove off. After about 15 kms the car stalled and I could not start it up. I called a friend of mine who owns a garage and he promptly came over with the usual tools. He checked but could not find anything wrong. Then he took out the fuel inlet hose n asked me to crank the engine and lo..surprise no Fuel!!!
I showed him the receipt and he then drove back to the pump with me and we spoke to the manager. He stubbornly refused that such a thing could have happened. My friend then said that he is going to take the entire fuel system off the car there and then and check if there is any leakage anywhere and if there was none to be found we would call the Police and the Oil Company guys. Meanwhile the owner also came and was very plesantly surprised at this situation. But I must say he behaved like a gentle man and told his guys to measure the fuel int hat tank and corelate with the sales made from that dispensar. His manager was not even agreable to it and started giving silly excuses. At this juncture the owner got slightly miffed and told them to fill full tank in my car and that too by filling up the jerrycans and then emptying them into the car's tank to ensure that the fuel is getting dispensed. He didnot charge us anything and then wrote a slip for another complimentary fuel fill up for 25ltrs when ever I wanted.
I let the matter drop since he was so nice about it but till date I am not able to fix it out as to how did that attendant manage it.