As gas prices increase, so do complaints about the accuracy of gas pumps. Arizona’s Department of Agriculture’s has a Weights and Measures Services Division that fields these complaints.
Kevin Allen is the associate director of the division, and he says complaints have gone up about 30% in the past year.
“There’s usually a direct correlation that as the fuel prices get higher, people are more concerned about where their money is going, and are they getting what they’re paying for at the pump,” Allen said.
Allen says that data shows inaccurate gas pumps benefit the consumer more often than the pump’s owner, and the inaccurate measurements are usually by very small amounts.
“We’re talking about a very small fraction of a gallon. In a gallon, there’s 231 cubic inches, and our tolerance for a standard motor field dispenser is plus or minus six cubic inches,” said Allen.
He says complaints are valid about 25% of the time.
