Paying before you pump law looking to be put in place

[squiggs96]

Originally Posted by mykalberta

When associations like this start to think their opinion should be put in law, they should keep their mouth shut. They are paid by taxpayers to enforce the current laws, not try to change them because they dont like how much work it is. Will Calgary all of a sudden fire X number of cops because 2900 gas and go cases no longer exist?

If gas stations dont have cameras for this type of thing, then so be it. If they do then prosecuting should be a simple matter of looking up the address of he license plate. It should be up to gas stations whether or not to have this in place if its a serious issue.

It's not only for the theft of gasoline, it's for the safety of the employees. The law was put into place in BC because an employee died.

http://www.canada.com/topics/news/na...432a00&k=54464

De Patie, 24, ran after somebody who was trying to steal $12.30 worth of fuel. He became entangled in the fleeing car and was dragged seven-and-a-half kilometres to his death.

It's easy for me to say I wouldn't care if people drove off without paying if I was the employee. There is zero chance I would have ever tried to chase down a car in a same or similar situation, but that employee felt the need to try and stop him. I am going to guess that other employees have also tried to stop gasoline thefts in the past and this law means they don't have to. Yes there are still ways to steal gas, but this eliminates the easiest one and makes the lowly paid gas station attendant safer and more secure.

Should these employees, in your words, keep their mouths shutWhy shouldn't they be afforded better work conditions? ? I disagree with your opinion, but does that mean either of us have to keep quiet because you say so? That's ignorant. What happens if the car and/or licence plate were stolen? Maybe the cops who don't have to search for the gasoline thieves will be able to turn their attention to fighting other types of crime.

[MelBridgeman]

Was living in BC when they started this law, you get used to it and especially if you pay at the pump and only pay for gas it isn't a big deal.

In BC the law went into place because a gas station employee was killed running after a gas and run car....

Next up? THE SOLUTION TO OUR PROBLEMS
carbon tax

[zuluking]

Originally Posted by squiggs96

It's not only for the theft of gasoline, it's for the safety of the employees. The law was put into place in BC because an employee died.

http://www.canada.com/topics/news/na...432a00&k=54464



It's easy for me to say I wouldn't care if people drove off without paying if I was the employee. There is zero chance I would have ever tried to chase down a car in a same or similar situation, but that employee felt the need to try and stop him. I am going to guess that other employees have also tried to stop gasoline thefts in the past and this law means they don't have to. Yes there are still ways to steal gas, but this eliminates the easiest one and makes the lowly paid gas station attendant safer and more secure.

Should these employees, in your words, keep their mouths shutWhy shouldn't they be afforded better work conditions? ? I disagree with your opinion, but does that mean either of us have to keep quiet because you say so? That's ignorant. What happens if the car and/or licence plate were stolen? Maybe the cops who don't have to search for the gasoline thieves will be able to turn their attention to fighting other types of crime.

Is stopping gas theft part of a gas jockey's job description? Wouldn't it be easier to tell the night shift not to try and stop a gas theft? Kinda like telling bank tellers not to try stopping a bank heist?

[squiggs96]

Originally Posted by zuluking

Is stopping gas theft part of a gas jockey's job description? Wouldn't it be easier to tell the night shift not to try and stop a gas theft? Kinda like telling bank tellers not to try stopping a bank heist?

As I stated in my post, I wouldn't chase the robber. It's probably really easy for most of us to let them go and just report it. Maybe the employee had been robbed before and was tired of it. Maybe he was taunted. Maybe he took pride in his job and did not want anyone stealing from him. I have no insight into what happened, but now that the law is in place, this sort of thing won't happen again.

[Traditional_Ale]

Originally Posted by Nammer403

Im all for it, just gotta get used to payin first, I usually pump at night and most of the pumps i go to are pay before you pump anyways

Wait...are you talking about gasoline?

[zuluking]

Originally Posted by squiggs96

As I stated in my post, I wouldn't chase the robber. It's probably really easy for most of us to let them go and just report it. Maybe the employee had been robbed before and was tired of it. Maybe he was taunted. Maybe he took pride in his job and did not want anyone stealing from him. I have no insight into what happened, but now that the law is in place, this sort of thing won't happen again.

If the law is in place primarily because an individual did something that was beyond their role, accountability, pay rate and common sense, then I'd consider it massive overkill. And now it's spreading to other jurisdictions.

[burnin_vernon]

Originally Posted by zuluking

Is stopping gas theft part of a gas jockey's job description? Wouldn't it be easier to tell the night shift not to try and stop a gas theft? Kinda like telling bank tellers not to try stopping a bank heist?

There was some discussion and controversy that suggested some gas stations were charging their employees for gas stolen on their shift. I can't remember if this came into question for the Maple Ridge incident specifically.

[zuluking]

Originally Posted by burnin_vernon

There was some discussion and controversy that suggested some gas stations were charging their employees for gas stolen on their shift. I can't remember if this came into question for the Maple Ridge incident specifically.

...which would be a whole different problem!

[Champion]

That's great to me. My cousin used to own a few Petro Canada gas station in Edmonton and what a pain in the a** it was when somebody would drive off.

The only downside is some people might not come into the store to purchase things (Where the money is made) if they aren't using cash. I'm sure people who already know what they want would still go in, but you won't get a lot of random sales unless a person has to go in to get a receipt that didn't print.

Car Wash is another good money maker (Over 30 cents per dollar profit), but all in all it will really reduce drive off's.

The cops can't do anything when somebody drives off unless you have their plate number.

[4X4]

Originally Posted by Sliver

Anytime they need an American zip code, I just use 90210.

I use 10001. I think I got that from JEOPARDY.

As for this "law", I'm kind of appalled that it's being talked about here in Alberta. I thought we were the right wingers of the country. The ones taht want less government intervention in our lives. If gas stations are getting ripped off, they should install cameras or install their prepay pumps or make their own pre pay policy. This is not the same as levelling the playing field to eliminate smoking inside bars and restaurants, this is just ridiculous.
What's next? Government is going to tell gas stations to all sell their gas for the same price?

[ken0042]

Why not make the law tougher on criminals who pump and drive off? If using a car to intentionally hurt somebody can be assault with a deadly weapon; why not make pump and drive an armed robbery charge?

I've bought gas in the States; and it is a bit of a pain. In Florida you can't just "leave your credit card"- you have to pre-pay, sign, then get a refund. I suppose it's worse as I'm usually in a rental and don't know how much gas the car takes, but still I don't like it.

If there is a problem with crime being on the rise, target the criminals and not the innocent public.

One more thought; what will this do to the smaller stations that may not have a few thousand dollars to spend on new pumps? Not as common in Calgary, but often in smaller towns.

[puckluck]

Originally Posted by mykalberta

When associations like this start to think their opinion should be put in law, they should keep their mouth shut. They are paid by taxpayers to enforce the current laws, not try to change them because they dont like how much work it is. Will Calgary all of a sudden fire X number of cops because 2900 gas and go cases no longer exist?

If gas stations dont have cameras for this type of thing, then so be it. If they do then prosecuting should be a simple matter of looking up the address of he license plate. It should be up to gas stations whether or not to have this in place if its a serious issue.

My brother used to work at a Husky gas station and he tells me most people who stole gas from them used stolen license plates just for gas and runs so even with their great camera there was nothing they could do.

Criminals who use vehicles in a crime usually steal license plates to do their crime and change it back once they are finished. It's not as easy as you sugeest.

[puckluck]

Originally Posted by ken0042

One more thought; what will this do to the smaller stations that may not have a few thousand dollars to spend on new pumps? Not as common in Calgary, but often in smaller towns.

In the article they said they would take this into consideration and do something for them. Easiest thing to do would make the gas stations who can't comply with the law exempt.

[rd_aaron]

Originally Posted by Yasa

Why not? I use a credit card at the pump so I rarely go inside. I don't see why you can't pre-pay inside + whatever else you want to buy.

You can't pre-pay for $xx amount of gas when you don't know how much it's going to cost to fill up. So I either go in and buy a bag of chips and $50 of gas and not have enough gas to fill it, or buy a bag of chips and $60 of gas and have too much gas for my vehicle.

[Street Pharmacist]

Originally Posted by puckluck

My brother used to work at a Husky gas station and he tells me most people who stole gas from them used stolen license plates just for gas and runs so even with their great camera there was nothing they could do.

Criminals who use vehicles in a crime usually steal license plates to do their crime and change it back once they are finished. It's not as easy as you sugeest.

Not only that, but as a retail store owner, I can tell you that prosecuting a theft of $50 is tedious and rarely gets anywhere.

[Yasa]

Originally Posted by rd_aaron

You can't pre-pay for $xx amount of gas when you don't know how much it's going to cost to fill up. So I either go in and buy a bag of chips and $50 of gas and not have enough gas to fill it, or buy a bag of chips and $60 of gas and have too much gas for my vehicle.

Yes you can. I've prepaid lots. As mentioned earlier, you authorize a x-litres of gas, and begin pumping. If you pump less than you authorized, you don't get charged for it.

[MelBridgeman]

Originally Posted by squiggs96

As I stated in my post, I wouldn't chase the robber. It's probably really easy for most of us to let them go and just report it. Maybe the employee had been robbed before and was tired of it. Maybe he was taunted. Maybe he took pride in his job and did not want anyone stealing from him. I have no insight into what happened, but now that the law is in place, this sort of thing won't happen again.

Not the smartest move on part of the gas station employee, but i wonder if he was motivated by a policy that some gas station owners have which is that stuff like this comes out of your paycheque.

I worked at an ESSO once...some one bought a carton of smokes on a stolen credit card....guess who had his paycheque garnished.

[Shasta Beast]

I moved from BC and it was no big deal. I don't even like going inside in this day and age anyways.

[Gundo]

Not the first time I paid before I pumped.....

[The Yen Man]

Originally Posted by rd_aaron

You can't pre-pay for $xx amount of gas when you don't know how much it's going to cost to fill up. So I either go in and buy a bag of chips and $50 of gas and not have enough gas to fill it, or buy a bag of chips and $60 of gas and have too much gas for my vehicle.

Credit cards have something called a preauthorization. Basically it places a hold on $100 (or whatever amount the pumps do) onto the credit card. Once you're finished pumping, the amount is charged, and the hold is cancelled. It's the same at hotels. They do preauths for your security deposit.

OT: I know because I used to work front desk at a hotel, and I remember doing a preauth on this one guy's credit card for $20K (or whatever was the max on his card) because the guy was being a jerk and I was young and hot headed.