Beware of Petrol Pump Scam (400+100) in Pune and Bangalore as well. What to do when you feel you have been scammed.

A few days back I went to a petrol pump in Bangalore.

I was aware of the petrol pump scam which is pretty common in Pune. If you are not vigilant enough they will scan you like professional. They are so proficient and confident, that even when you guess that they are doing something wrong but they will easily convince you that you are mistaking.

Now let's talk about the Scam.

The Scam:

Part 1. When you say the amount like Five hundred, they will start filling your tank without confirming the amount. Before starting he will ask you to verify that he is starting from zero saying "See zero on the meter" something like this.

Part 2. Then they will stop at 100. You will say that you said 500 previously. That time he will engage you in words like "Sorry, I didn't hear you properly for the first time." and will start to pour in Fuel. This time he will not make sure you can not verify that he is starting from zero either engaging you in conversation or blocking your view of the counter screen.

Part 3. This is the last and final step to make a fool of you and scam you. He will stop at 400 and will say "Previously 100 and now 400, 500 is done now." and will ask you to pay 500. 

The Trick:

What he did is he didn't reset the counter after filling the 100 Rs worth of fuel. At the time of filling the rest of the amount he started from 100 to 400, that means he filled only 400 worth of fuel. He made you believe that he filled 500 worth of fuel. Even if you are guessing by seeing the fuel gauge or sensing something wrong, the behave so confidently that you will just believe in their word and leave. Human nature is that we run from confrontation so most of us will just leave with only doubt in their mind.

What I did and what you can also do when in doubt:

In the fuel dispensing machine, there is a way to check the history of dispensed fuel. Ask him to show you the history and make sure what he is saying is true. If he says that he won't be able to do so, ask for the Manager. I am sure he will sort things out.

Just be very vigilant so that there is no need to do the above thing. That is the best way to go.

I was scammed only once and when I was in doubt I searched about these and came up with loads of post of the same. After that when I came to know about this scam I am so vigilant that they tried to do this for quite some time in Pune and this once in Bangalore but they failed.

Please let me know what are your views on this matter. Have any one of you faced the same anywhere?

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