Actually, it sure is! You'd be surprised how courteous people are when they know you're packin heat!
I fill up at the same station all the time. I drive 100 miles a day so thats quite frequently. The owner knows me and despite the "All Sales MUST be Prepaid" clears the pump and lets me fill up and pay inside. I could pay outside with the credit card but I usually come in to buy something and then pay for it all on one transaction, saving him the extra $0.12 cent transaction fee.
Been doing business there for years.
So once when I filled my gas, went inside to get a Mountain Dew and pack of gum, and reached for my wallet and it wasn't there. The owner just laughs and tells me to pay for it the next time I'm in. Not only does he let me leave with my car, but with the Mountain Dew and gum. I come back the next day and pay for everything.
Needless to say I'm not changing gas stations any time soon. There's something to be said for going to smaller gas stations that may charge a little more and building a rapport with the owner.
Been doing business there for years.
So once when I filled my gas, went inside to get a Mountain Dew and pack of gum, and reached for my wallet and it wasn't there. The owner just laughs and tells me to pay for it the next time I'm in. Not only does he let me leave with my car, but with the Mountain Dew and gum. I come back the next day and pay for everything.
Needless to say I'm not changing gas stations any time soon. There's something to be said for going to smaller gas stations that may charge a little more and building a rapport with the owner.
Sphexi
Diamond Member
- Feb 22, 2005
- 7,280
- 0
- 0
If you've bounced checks repeatedly, and keep writing them, you're comitting fraud. Writing checks that you don't have funds for is illegal, and will land your ass in court.
If that is the case, then I'd be a little more understanding. If his father has bounced checks in the past, he has no business trying to write them at that business (or any other), but if it was just bounced checks from other customers then I can understand the business' reluctance to accept them, but his father still should've arranged some other way to pay.
Do I need any more reason to be an ass than this perfect example? The guy got gas, couldn't pay, they were nice enough to allow him to go get the money, and he pulls a dick move like that. I'm sure he thought he was a funny guy too, up until the cops made him sort it all. I've had people try that same kind of stuff, never ends up well for them. If people would just use more common sense, and more consideration when dealing with stores, then the stores wouldn't have to resort to being hard-asses all the time.
WINNER!
Sorry but if potential sh1tbag dad bounces a check, then tries to pay with another one, its his own problem. The fact is that checks let you buy things you have no money for and get away with it on a temporary basis. The first thing a lot of people do when they go flat broke is reach for the checkbook and figure they can get the money into the bank before the checks clear. The percentage of checks that bounce at gas stations is extremely high, so they have a right to be weary over these things. Friend of mine helped manage a gas station and they would lose hundreds of dollars a week on bounced checked. He said you could pratically tell the people that were going to screw you. They would pay cash, cash, cash, cash, then one day they write a check... The next time you see the person, you got their bad check tacked up on a board next to the cash registers...
Originally posted by: Jzero
Why would he do this?!The guy was nice enough to let him go get the money, and that's how he gets repaid?
He is an idiot. I think it was funny...but my friends father is a shady guy. He is in jail right now for assult.
quakefiend420
Lifer
- Aug 26, 2004
- 14,685
- 1
- 76
No kidding, like I said before, they just let me take my truck home and get my wallet at the gas station I frequent. But the owner is never there, I just chat with the manager when I come in
. The story about the Gas station attendant letting the guy go, and then the guy going to get the change and dumping it on the counter makes baby jesus cry. Seriously, If i was the attendant I'd be wishing I just let them go and filed the police report. Let those kids deal with that.
Originally posted by: quakefiend420
ok your dad is a dick...no more sympathy for him
EDIT: nm just realized you aren't the OP LOL
Hahaha
Some of you are assuming too much.
Station accepts checks.
You don't pay before you pump.
One bad check in the past. No history of repeated offenses.
He usually pays with a debit card, but had given it to my mom the day before and hadn't gotten it back.
Station accepts checks.
You don't pay before you pump.
One bad check in the past. No history of repeated offenses.
He usually pays with a debit card, but had given it to my mom the day before and hadn't gotten it back.
HAHAHA, that's not as good as what my friend used to do. When he worked at the gas station and people couldn't pay, he would make them give him their shoe as collatoral while they went and got the money. He said way too many people just leave ID's for that to be effective. People will more likely come back for a shoe. :laugh: I think it was the left shoe to be exact.
quakefiend420
Lifer
- Aug 26, 2004
- 14,685
- 1
- 76
DrPizza
Administrator Elite Member Goat Whisperer
Perhaps I missed the part where he didn't make good on the check? I've also worked retail for 20 years. We have 2 or 3 checks come back each week. A simple call to the person who wrote the check, with a follow-up letter is usually sufficient for them to come back in and cover the check AND our bounced check fee which is exactly equal to what the bank charges us (we're allowed to have a fee much higher.) In 20 years, we've probably had no more than 5 or 6 that we couldn't collect on. While you may think that's an enormous amount of money to a business :roll: it's an extremely low cost overall for the ability to give customers more conveniences in how they want to pay, particularly compared to the cost of accepting credit cards, which I assure you is significantly more.
Accidents happen to even the best people;
*Cancel a membership/subscription/etc. Write a check. Find out the club or whatever goofed and automatically debited your account for a couple hundred dollars. Check bounces.
*automatic deposit, money goes in early Friday morning. Take the day off from work; don't get the deposit slip until Monday morning. Yet, buy something over the weekend and pay by check. Check bounces Monday morning as you discover payroll at your company blundered.
*on a personal note: we have automatic bill-pay. Everything is set up to go out on certain days. Wife was shorted $500 in her paycheck 2 weeks ago. Had we written a single check over $18 the day before, it would have bounced. Fortunately, we caught it. Note: when we would have written a check, there WERE funds there that would have covered it... but the auto-pay would have deducted before the check came back. Of course, bouncing for us now means over-draft protection kicks in, but not everyone has overdraft protection.
So, in these cases, should the people be treated like criminals? And when does bouncing a check mean "a history of non-payment"?? The vast majority of people (at least around here) are honest and resolve these matters.
GagHalfrunt
Lifer
- Apr 19, 2001
- 25,284
- 1,998
- 126
The important lesson here isn't about checks, legality or the rights of stores to accept/reject certain forms of payment. It's even simpler: DON'T BE A DEADBEAT. This whole problem isn't over a forgotten wallet, lack of cash or check policy, it's because your idiot father stiffed these people in the past. What the hell would he expect them to do, let him walk out the door while owing them even more money? It sounds like they actually gave him a break, given his past track record they had every right to have the police involved without giving him a chance to correct it.
I've forgotten my wallet or been caught without cash lots of times. My gas station has no trouble with letting me drive home to get the payment. The same thing for my local supermarket and pizza place. Hell, even the golf course I play most frequently has let me play now and then pay later. Know why? Because I have a relationship with these people, I've done business with them lots of times and they trust I'm not going to rip them off. If your deadbeat father doesn't have that sort of relationship with businesses he uses frequently he's only got himself to blame. And have him look into a personal credit line as overdraft protection. It makes it imposible to bounce a check.
I've forgotten my wallet or been caught without cash lots of times. My gas station has no trouble with letting me drive home to get the payment. The same thing for my local supermarket and pizza place. Hell, even the golf course I play most frequently has let me play now and then pay later. Know why? Because I have a relationship with these people, I've done business with them lots of times and they trust I'm not going to rip them off. If your deadbeat father doesn't have that sort of relationship with businesses he uses frequently he's only got himself to blame. And have him look into a personal credit line as overdraft protection. It makes it imposible to bounce a check.
everywhere in my town except ONE gas station.
and every other gas station ive ever been to in eastern north carolina, though i wont claim to have filled up at all of them.
When you take the ENTIRE situation into effect, I'd totally agree with the clerk here... in fact, I'd agree even if there was no history of bad checks and the place just flat out didn't take them, if the person forgot a wallet/credit card or if they were short on cash.
Just because it's a gas station they should carry the risk of getting the shaft? Hell no!
No, if you can't afford the gas you are pumping into your car, you don't have the privledge of using that car. Yes, people forget to bring their money sometimes, but it's not fair to the gas station to have to bank on a person coming back.
You don't start a tab at a bar without first handing them a credit card, why would think it's okay to do it differently at a gas station?
Just because it's a gas station they should carry the risk of getting the shaft? Hell no!
No, if you can't afford the gas you are pumping into your car, you don't have the privledge of using that car. Yes, people forget to bring their money sometimes, but it's not fair to the gas station to have to bank on a person coming back.
You don't start a tab at a bar without first handing them a credit card, why would think it's okay to do it differently at a gas station?
He wrote a bad check there, they aren't ever going to take his checks again. He's an idiot for thinking they would.
IHateMyJob2004
Lifer
- Sep 29, 2004
- 18,656
- 68
- 91
Originally posted by: MarklarMarklar
This morning my dad went to the gas station and filled up $15 worth of gas. He went inside to pay with a check (my mom had his debit card), and the clerk told him he wouldn't accept the check, because a check had bounced in the past. He has no cash to pay for it, and the clerk won't let him leave with his car. So he has to walk home to get some cash and walk back.
That's pretty much all the details I have, I don't know why he let them keep his car as collateral, or even how they planned on stopping him from taking it. What I would like to know is can they even do that? Doesn't sound legal to me, which is why I'm asking the lawn chair lawyers of OT their opinions.
If it had been me, I would have offered my identification, address, license plate#, and then driven home and come right back with the money. If I don't come back they can call the cops on me. If they still insisted on keeping my car, I would have called the cops on them. If what they're doing is illegal the cop can sort it out, and if not, well he should be able to mediate a solution for both parties.
Please don't flame over bouncing checks and people that make you wait in line while they write them, I already know how bad that is. Just curious as to whether what they did was legal or not, and how you might have handled the situation.
If there was no sign at the pump, I would tell the clerk I was going to go get some cash and be back in 15. If the cops are there when you get back, the cops will either side with you or you'll have a nice lawsuit on your hands in whcih case, you cane make thousands.
IHateMyJob2004
Lifer
- Sep 29, 2004
- 18,656
- 68
- 91
TRENDING THREADS
-
Discussion Zen 5 Speculation (EPYC Turin and Strix Point/Granite Ridge - Ryzen 9000)- Started by DisEnchantment
- Replies: 25K
-
Discussion Intel Meteor, Arrow, Lunar & Panther Lakes + WCL Discussion Threads
- Started by Tigerick
- Replies: 22K
-
News NVIDIA and Intel to Develop AI Infrastructure and Personal Computing Products- Started by poke01
- Replies: 384
-
Discussion Intel current and future Lakes & Rapids thread- Started by TheF34RChannel
- Replies: 23K
Facebook
Twitter