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On Monday, November 5, 2012 I purchased gas on St Thomas, at the gas station at the intersection where you turn to go past the Emerald Beach Hotel and enter the Airport. I placed my credit card in the sliding draw, for the attendant in the closed room behind the glass window, prior to being allowed to pump gas. I put in $35.00 of gas and returned to the window and signed one slip for the $35.00 amount. On Thursday, 11/8/2012 I returned to the station and spoke to the station manager because I noticed an additional $19.00 charge showing on my on-line VISA transactions. The manager asked the attendant sitting there if he remembered me from Monday, for which he answered no. The manager said she would recover the documents in question from the "head office". On Thursday, 11/15/2012, after I was called to inform me that she had obtained the documents, I went back to the station to verify them. Sure enough there were two signed receipts. However, the receipt for the $19.00 amount contained what appears to be a tracing of my signature taken from the $35.00 receipt. This duplicated effort even followed the same downward direction at the end where when I signed the $35.00 receipt on 11/5/2012 my pen ran off the edge of the writing surface that I was signing on and the last two letters of my last name trailed off the receipt. The manager's statement was that because there are two separate receipts, each with my signature, there will not be any refund.
Probably was an honest mistake. But, it could have been the attendant thinking I was a tourist topping off a rental car on my way to get on an airplane home. Interestingly, when I tried to locate a phone number for this station there was none I could find listed, so the only way some one, who is not on St Thomas, could challenge the charge would be to send a letter in the mail and wait for a response. I'm also thinking that if I was now at my home in Big America I maybe wouldn't really think it was worth the effort trying to recover $19.00.
Just throwing this out there to see if anyone else has run across this same scam. Send me a PM if you have.
On the other hand I'm thinking of coming out of retirement if I can get that attendant's job, 'cause after 30 year in the printing trades I'm pretty darn good working on a light table. And, tracing a few duplicate receipts an hour wouldn't take much effort at all. Just need to ask the question: "Sir, is that your car, because I'll need the tag number to go along with this credit card. Oh, it's a rental car, no problem go right ahead!"
Rocky Dock
Water Island
You can definitely dispute the charge with your credit card company. Call and explain what happened and they will do a full investigation. Didn't happen to me down there, but at home recently I paid inside the gas station for fuel rather than swiping at the pump. About 20 minutes later I got a call from Amex saying that my card is attempting to be used in Spain to make charges. Luckily they actually pay attention and shut my card down right away
Forging your signature is fraud and the Mgr. defending the action reeks of possible collusion - definetely dispute the 2cnd charge with your cc company and if you can get any higher up the local chain of management pursue it at that level as well. Maybe DLCA can get involved if your experience is not an isolated incident reported.
exit zero wrote:
Forging your signature is fraud and the Mgr. defending the action reeks of possible collusion - definetely dispute the 2cnd charge with your cc company and if you can get any higher up the local chain of management pursue it at that level as well. Maybe DLCA can get involved if your experience is not an isolated incident reported.
EZ: I have filed the necessary forms with my Credit Union in VA. The whole purpose of this post is to try and determine if mine was an isolated experience from a business that is probably 95% cash driven. If no one else had the same problem, then maybe the kid just needed lunch money to hold him over until payday.
Interestingly enough, later that same day I used my card at Advance Auto ($200.), then Home Depot ($50.), and lastly CostULess ($150.). Was loading the groceries in the car when I got a call from my Credit Union wanting me to validate the CostULess amount. So, they try to watch out for me but couldn't catch such an insignificant $19. charge.
Rocky Dock
Water Island
That is dishearting to hear, what is the best method to pay for things down there, we are traveling in May and was going to use CC for everything(Amex probaly or my Chase, is this not wise to do? opinions would be appreciated from those who have been down there. Thanks
Most places take credit cards, just like the states. Cash works too for small stuff.
i had, a long time ago, made a purchase at a local shop and had my card swiped again for something else... disputed the charge, and the merchant apologized to me and dealt with the employee responsible.
i'd also recommend that you file a complaint with the department of licensing and consumer affairs. they may also have others on file who have had a similar problem if they took the time to file.
your filing may help someone else, if it's the first one.
http://dlca.vi.gov/
St. Thomas Office info:
Prop. & Procurement Bldg.
8201 Sub Base, Suite 1
St. Thomas, VI 00802
Phone: (340) 774-3130
Fax: (340)776-8303
We travel annually to St. Thomas and always use our CC. Like any place in the world, CC fraud is an unfortunate reality. We have never experienced this type of fraud in St. Thomas. We always use the gas station described in the original post. Perhaps this is an employee we've never encountered on our visits. It is disheartening that the manager chose to do nothing.
