Gas theif

[Voice on the Phone]

So it's 2pm, crowded gas station and i am parked facing a guy who is backed into the gas pump. I just started the gas for my car and eying him (yeah ok he was kind of cute) and as I am watching he takes the pump out of his truck and puts it on the ground. Strange yeah and I think he is just going to get a gas can and fill it. Nope.
He jumps in his truck and drives off. Lucky for the gas station I got his plate # right as he was driving off. But really. Why not just put the pump back on the hook when he was done?
Not so cute after that. I hope the employee's charge him if they can. I was so mad for quite a while after that.

[UncleImpy]

Speaking as someone who worked a Chevron station while going to TCU...when you hang the pump up, there's an audible and visual signal on the operator's console that pumping has stopped and that it needs to be paid for/cleared off. The idiot/thief is hoping that by not causing that signal, they wont be noticed/gain attention until they are fleeing and its too hard to read the plate.

[LillFilly]

Hee! I hoped you helped them get him! Bastard.

[bainsidhe]

If someone is going to be that stupid, you'd think he'd have the sense to at least cover the plate. Instead he is probably on camera breaking the law. Idiot.

[OfficeSlug]

Lucky for the gas station I got his plate # right as he was driving off.

That's actually AWESOME. Bet he didn't see that one coming!!!

[Victory Sabre]

As a gas station owner, who has dealt with the problem of drive-offs, I can (probably) say that the police will do nothing about it. The thief will claim that they tried to pay, but the machine wouldn't take their card because the machine was broken. Gas station drive-offs are the only shoplifters who get away with it, because the police don't care, and don't treat it like a crime (even though it is).

You can tell that I've had to deal with this BS way too many times.

[Sightings Reporter]

As a gas station owner, who has dealt with the problem of drive-offs, I can (probably) say that the police will do nothing about it. The thief will claim that they tried to pay, but the machine wouldn't take their card because the machine was broken. Gas station drive-offs are the only shoplifters who get away with it, because the police don't care, and don't treat it like a crime (even though it is).

You can tell that I've had to deal with this BS way too many times.

While in MI, I saw signs all over every gas pump we used that said if someone drives off, they will lose their license if caught. Is that in your area and the police just don't care?

[Victory Sabre]

While in MI, I saw signs all over every gas pump we used that said if someone drives off, they will lose their license if caught. Is that in your area and the police just don't care?

Where I live the police really don't care. They ALWAYS try to blame the store for the driveoff, and it's not our fault that these idiots are crooks. And when they catch the crook, they always believe them that there's something wrong with our pumps, even though it never is. They were being criminals, shoplifting, got caught, and blame the store for shoplifting.

It makes me so mad.

[Auto]

As a gas station owner, who has dealt with the problem of drive-offs, I can (probably) say that the police will do nothing about it. The thief will claim that they tried to pay, but the machine wouldn't take their card because the machine was broken. Gas station drive-offs are the only shoplifters who get away with it, because the police don't care, and don't treat it like a crime (even though it is).

You can tell that I've had to deal with this BS way too many times.

"The machine wouldn't take my card so I drove off." As a defense for stealing -- Jesus F. Christ.

You'd think an excuse like that would cause the cops to laugh the guy right into the pokey. So you didn't think to go inside and let the cashier run your card?

That's like being in a store where you can't find the cashier who is busy doing something else. That doesn't mean you can just walk out without paying.

Cops must think it's too much paperwork to bother.

In Virginia, I see those signs warning drive-offs they'll lose their license for a year.

[Red_Dazes]

I know in Washington ((at least where I have been)) most places require a form of payment first. Either pay cash inside, or pay with credit out, before the pumps will even work.

[Racket_Man]

While in MI, I saw signs all over every gas pump we used that said if someone drives off, they will lose their license if caught. Is that in your area and the police just don't care?

In an article in USA Today (around July 1 2005 is the best search parms/title I could find-- can not get the complete article) about 4 years ago most Police Depts stated (including the village I worked in) they really did not want to get involved with gas station drive-offs for several reasons

1. it is almost always the clerks fault for not paying attention
2. we (meaning the police) do not want to be these places "Collection agencies"
3. basically who cares it is not worth our time

to counter that
1. I guess that you are required by your job to uni-task and uni-task only unlike mine where I have to be cashing people out, generating lottery ticktets, pulling scratch lottery tickets, checking every 5 seconds who is pumping gas, who is DONE pumping gas, dealing with clerkus interuptus SCs, keeping an eye on the DOORS and greeting customers as they enter, keeping my drawer below the manditory maximum and making drops while there are no people in front of my register, gettting multiple requests/demands for newpapers, empty coffee pots, creamer, beer outages, ATM fuckups, vending machine fuckups and car wash problems when I am all by lonesome myself on a busy Sat night

2. driving off without paying for something like ohhhh say GAS is still stealing. and 80% of the time I COULD GET A PLATE number from the video. I guess it is OK for me to go into say the local Yonkers and attempt to leave with like $500 woth of their product (not condoning this just using this as an example)

3. I care because that drive off is the same as shoplifting and that costs my former company money. money that COULD be used to maybe have given me a fracking raise

and I know for a fact the courts here are reluctant to pull someones DL for drive-offs (even though the LAW clearly states that this can happen). there were several persons I caught red-handed on video and they ever refused to pay after the cops got involved. the matter went to court and NOTHING happened

I know that the onwer really did not like to have drive offs resolved because somehow he could write some or all that off on his corp taxes