Something strange is afoot at the local Chevron

Chevron station at Cochran & Erringer

Simi Valley, Ca.

So I go to get gas the other day, and I am always paying cash these days because I had my debit card stolen earlier this year.  My tank is empty but I don't have enough to fill it just now (big surprise with the price of gas) and I give the attendant $26.00 this should give me roughly half a tank.  I go back to my car and commence to pump the gas...and it stops approx. 25 cents before my total.  I push the button to talk to the attendant because I know my tank was only about half full and there was no reason for the pump to stop 25cents before my total.  Not only that but this is the second time this has happened to me, so now I am angry.  The attendant is unsympathetic and says come get your change. Now I am really angry.. so I go in and I ask her what is wrong? This is the second time this has happened to me at this station and she says rather rudely.. I don't know we just had the pumps checked I can give you your change!  I say I don't want my change..I wanted that 25cents to go in my tank and there no reason it should not have! Can I talk to a manager? She says no one is there, and I uttered some cuss words because I don't like her attitude and she basically tells me to go fuck myself.  Anyway,  I go on my way to meet my wife and a friend for lunch.  I relay to her what happened and she said the same thing happened to her the other day when she tried to get gas there.  I said I think something is definitely fishy.  So I devised myself a plan and put it into action a couple days later.  I decided I would go to the other Chevron station in Simi Valley, and see if the same thing happened?  and guess what I put in $30.00 cash and the pump stopped right at $30.00 dollars.  this has been my experience every time I pay cash until recently at this one gas station.  So I went inside and inquired if the station was independently owned or was company owned? The girls inside told me that their station and the other one that I went to were company owned.  I told them what happened at the other station and they told me there is a manager that manages both stations that I could talk to but that she wasn't there that day.  I inquired about how the cash procedure works. They said you give us the money, we punch in the amount and then you pump the gas and it should stop at that amount.  So I said what if I gave you $30.00 but you punched in say $29.75. They said it would stop at $29.75 and you would have to come back in to get your change.  and I said and if I didn't come back in to get my change...you guys would get to keep it? They said yes...and I said...I think perhaps the cashiers at the other station are trying to make some extra money or there is something wrong with the pumps.  They gave me the website and I went to it and emailed Chevron and told them of the problem.  I have not heard back.  I also called our local newspaper and queried if they might do an investigation and an article.  They said they might.  I haven't heard back from them either.  You might say it's only a few cents...why bother (that's what they're counting on), and indeed I think many will not bother and will just go about their merry way, but if the cashiers are doing this deliberately it amounts to theft and they should be fired.  The paper suggested I send some friends to get gas there and see if happens to them as well and then let them know.  I am considering doing just that.  I would love it if this did get an article in the paper because I think far too many shenanigans are going on these days and we really have to pay attention that we don't get ripped off!  Of course if the article happens or Chevron contacts me..I will update this post. Update: I have received no word either from the company or the newspaper, but the issue has been silently addressed and resolved. Imagine that! LOL

The High Cost of Cherries...

About a month ago I was shopping at our neighborhood Costco and I was eyeing their wonderful cherries.  They are always plump, dark, sweet, and unlike other places that you buy them you don't have to throw a quarter of them away because they are bad. Yummm.  Anyway I was looking at the packages and minding my own business when a well dressed woman walked up to me and said are they good? Have you tasted them? I said they usually are...but I haven't tasted these in particular yet.... they are in closed packages I said wondering to myself how exactly I was supposed to be tasting them?  To my astonishment she said oh I just look for an open package and grab a few.  That's stealing I proclaimed loudly! Thanks for defining your character... I will remember your face and that you are a thief! She rolled her eyes and walked away.  Since she didn't take a cherry in front of me... I also walked away, and thought to myself how awful that people think they can just steal like that.  I wanted to ship her off to that country where they cut off your hand when you get caught stealing.  Anyway... moving on ... bigger fish to fry that day.  Fast forward to today... I was again shopping at Costco... it's been about a month.  Today I went looking for the Cherries and I wasn't disappointed.  They were in the walk-in refrigerated area, and they did look divine.  So as I am examining the packages and choosing the perfect one.. another well dressed woman of perhaps Filipino descent, not being racist... the first lady was white, walks up beside me and reaches into a slightly open package.. and plucks out a cherry and as she is putting it up to her mouth... I shriek....that's stealing!!!!!!  She turns to me and says... it was open... and I again shrieked... I don't care... it is still stealing!!!!! She then gave me a look of death and I kid you not... threw the cherry. (poor succulent cherry wasted :( ....) and stormed away.  I immediately went to find an employee and reported what had happened and gestured her way she was just across the isle now.  He said he would look into it and get someone to keep an eye out.  But I didn't stop there... I went to the front and got a manager and recounted the sorted encounter... and then exclaimed "fucking bitch... this is why the rest of us have to pay higher prices" The manger replied that is exactly right... as she was giggling under her breath.  She apologized to me... and I said it's not your fault ... but I just wanted you to know your inventory is disappearing and this isn't the first time I have encountered it personally. She thanked me and said they would definitely be looking into it.  Apparently, many people do not consider this stealing.  I read an article that says the average family of 4 will pay approx $440.00 a year extra for items they purchase due to pilfering.  The store has to make up for that loss somehow... so we foot that bill.  http://www.jrrobertssecurity.com/security-news/security-crime-news0024.htm  I don't know about the rest of you, but that simply isn't okay with me!  So now I am thinking about volunteering a few hours a day to guard the precious cherries for Costco... in hopes that they might pay me in product.  I would be happy to cause a huge scene and bitch-slap a few unsuspecting thieves. That just might make my day actually!

A note about banking giant (Capital One)

Today I want to inform all who will listen about the evils of the banking giant Capital One.  It has been my misfortune to have been one of their previous cardholders.  It makes me sick to my stomach every time I see Alec Baldwin on tv promoting the legalized financial rape of American consumers.  Here I will tell you my story, but I know I am not alone.  I look forward to the day when a class action suit is filed against them because  losing money is the only thing that will get their attention.  Clearly, doing the right thing, or the ethical thing is of no consequence to them.  Both my wife and I used to be Capital One cardholders.  We didn't over extend ourselves or use our cards frivolously so we did not encounter problems with them until a company without permission kept trying to charge one of my cards.  This is how it went, and I know so many of you will relate.  I purchased something online, and as is so often the case now, online companies will try to renew a purchase whether or not you have said that is your intent.  So a company I made a one-time purchase through tried to bill my card again.  When I got the statement I contacted my bank and told them I did not authorize this purchase, but because I had authorized a previous purchase and this company had my card number, Capital One told me that I had to contact the company directly to cancel something I hadn't even signed up for. I asked Capital One, if I contact the company and they don't respond and they won't stop trying to charge my card, what can I do? Capital One said: you can file a complaint with us and we will try to ascertain whether or not the charge is valid, but because you gave them your card number that means you authorized it.  I said I am telling you right now, that I am not authorizing any further charges from this company, and Capital One said, we're sorry but we have to let the charges go through.  I said but I am telling you I do not give permission, and they said that is our policy.  So I said, I would like to close my account. Capital One said no problem, but we have to keep it open for 30 days and if any more charges come through then we will have to keep it open for 30 more days from the date that a charge comes through.  I said, that's extortion! That cannot even be legal?  I am telling you I want to close my account effective immediately, and they said sorry, that is our policy.  So if this unscrupulous company that I made (one) purchase through, would not stop charging my card, then Capital One could force me to continue to be a cardholder with them, unless of course I filed bankruptcy.  Somewhere in the fine print it must have said that they can do this, otherwise there is no legal way that they could. I called every other credit card that I held at the time and they all said when you cancel a credit card it is effective immediately, but Capital One is not on the side of their customers, they only care about how much money they can extort from you.  Of course, if you never have the problem of a company trying to fraudulently charge your card, you might never run into this issue with them, but word to the wise, the mere fact that they have such a policy is reason enough not to do business with them.  Any unscrupulous online vendor who gets your card number and knows about Capital One's policies could take you for some money and cause you lots of drama.   I am today very very careful what I purchase online.  Luckily for me, the company that kept charging my card was reachable after some effort and the charges ceased once I finally got to  talk to someone, but if they hadn't I would I suppose still have that damn credit card and probably would have sued Capital One.  So we canceled our cards and told them how much we hated them and their product and that we would NEVER do business with them again.  To this day, despite repeated DEMANDS, that they stop harassing us, they send us 3 to 7 credit card offers per week and there seems to be nothing we can do to stop them.  I feel bad for the trees that have to get cut down for them to harass me with their paper shit that I don't want, and furthermore, I cannot merely discard for fear that they fall into the wrong hands.  So we have a shred pile that even as I type this is full of Capital One credit card offers.  We have to look out for each other.  Big businesses are only in it for the money.  The only way we can effect their horrible business practices  is to stop giving them our money! I am an avid player of Frontierville on facebook.  It is a Zynga online game, and Zynga has become very big very quickly.  They have recently decided to promote Capital One in two of their games that I know of.  I have written them a letter expressing my anger that they would support by accepting advertising dollars, a company that has hurt so many American consumers and that has some of the worst policies in the banking industry.  It is this promotion by Zynga, who otherwise does many good works around the globe, coupled with the relentless tv ads,  that has inspired this rant. Okay climbing down from soapbox momentarily. sighs...