After Esso attendant is scammed, enraged netizens suggest preventive measures

Much like the incident in April of this year, wherein a man driving a BMW refused to pay for a $125 gas bill at Caltex, leaving an elderly attendant with the difference, another driver refused to pay $90 for gas at Esso, claiming he only asked for $30 worth.

One woman posted about the incident, and netizens, enraged at the thought of a gas attendant getting scammed, have been suggesting solutions that would prevent this kind of scam from recurring.

On October 15, the driver of a black Mitsubishi car stopped to get gas at an Esso station in Telok Blangah.  The driver claims that he only asked for $30 worth of gas, even though the cashiers at the station say they heard him ask for a full tank.

With a discount, the driver only ended up paying $27 for $90 worth of gas, which alarmed one woman getting gas at the same station, prompting her to write about it.

Netizen Tengku Azreena Herdawati, concerned that the attendant would have to pay for the difference of $60, took to Facebook to post about the incident, which she witnessed firsthand.

In the post, she also reminded everyone about the “$10 bmw guy” from earlier this year who had gotten a full tank but only paid $10, wherein the elderly attendant in that incident had agreed to bear the difference of $125.

Ms. Herdawati shared the post in the hopes that the attendant, who she said might have some learning challenges, would not be charged the extra fee, posting the license plate of the man who drove the Mitsubishi as well. She said that the man repeatedly claimed that the attendant misheard him, a claim refuted by the cashiers.

In her own experience getting gas with the same attendant, she observed that he had carefully repeated the amount she had asked for back to her, which made her even more sure that he had done the same with the driver of the Mitsubishi.

What’s more, apparently the man also refused to speak to the manager, which Ms. Herdawati found to be even more suspicious.

Fortunately, a spokesman from Esso has said that cases of such nature would be evaluated fairly and that the attendant in question.

Ms. Herdawati’s post has been shared more than 1,400 times, with netizens outraged at the Mitsubishi driver’s behavior.

Many netizens came up with several suggestions for preventing unwitting gas stations from being scammed, such as paying first before getting gas in vehicles.

Some suggested that drivers should key in or pump their own gas.

Another suggested an order form should be filled up before pumping gas.

Another suggested an automated machine for foolproof credit card transactions.

Yet others said a microphone or cameras on attendants would be a good idea.

Others chimed in that the driver would be repaid somehow for cheating the attendant and the gas station.