At a time when the American family is struggling to pay for
gas, the Texas Department of Agriculture is finding some disturbing acts by
local stations. In a news story on the local ABC 13, it was troubling how many
local stations were taking advantage of individuals.
In an “Operation Spotlight" investigation, numerous Sunmart gas stations
have cheated Texas consumers by giving them less fuel than they purchased, and
findings strongly indicate this could have been a deliberate act by the
company.
"At
a time when families are struggling to purchase fuel, I am sure all Texans
would agree with me that despicable violations such as these are repulsive and
must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law," Commissioner Todd Staples
said in a press release.
Sunmart
is owned by Petroleum Wholesale, L.P. The company operates Sunmart fuel
stations in Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, Utah and Arizona. Hopefully, those
states will investigate the Sunmart stations as well.
The
Texas investigation resulted in the following findings:
• 990 of Sunmart's 1,704 fuel pumps cheated consumers
(58 percent)
• 47 Sunmart stations cheated
customers on more than half of their pumps
• 15 of those 47 stations had every single pump
cheating drivers.
• TDA shut down all of the
non-compliant pumps.
What
I think is most disturbing about these findings is that many of these stations
have Mobil and Texaco Signs, so customers would not even be aware that they are
Sunmart stations. Add to that the recent stories that gas stations make more
money on the products they sell inside the store than on gas anyway and I am
losing faith in society. Why would a company feel it necessary to cheat their
own customers who pay their bills in the first place? I find this depressing.
Here
is a complete list of Sunmart stations that were cheating customers by charging
them for gas they never received while pumping.
SUNMART 60% OR GREATER
NON-COMPLIANCE - OPERATION SPOTLIGHT |
Non-compliance | Facility Name | Physical Address | County |
100% | LA MARQUE SUNMART #124 | 1000 FM 1764 RD # ATI-45 | LA MARQUE | TX | 77568 | GALVESTON |
100% | MOBIL SUNMART #447 | 1130 FREEPORT ST | HOUSTON | TX | 77015 | HARRIS |
100% | PETROLEUM WHSE INC #438 | 306 STATE HWY 71 W | BASTROP | TX | 78602 | BASTROP |
100% | SUN MART #125 | 28111 SW FWY | ROSENBERG | TX | 77471 | FORT BEND |
100% | SUN MART #361 | 9199 NORTH LOOP E | HOUSTON | TX | 77029 | HARRIS |
100% | SUN MART #422 | 5709 LYONS AVE | HOUSTON | TX | 77020 | HARRIS |
100% | SUN MART #424 | 9140 EASTEX FWY | HOUSTON | TX | 77093 | HARRIS |
100% | SUNMART #106 | 926 W I 30 FM 35 | ROYSE CITY | TX | 75189 | ROCKWALL |
100% | SUNMART #113 | 10269 HWY 84 W | PRAIRIE HILL | TX | 76678 | LIMESTONE |
100% | SUNMART #115 | 2431 COMMERCE W | BUFFALO | TX | 75831 | LEON |
100% | SUNMART #120 | 14425 IH 10 E | CONVERSE | TX | 78154 | BEXAR |
100% | SUNMART #129 | 9404 NORTH FWY | HOUSTON | TX | 77037 | HARRIS |
100% | SUNMART #168 | I H 35 E/S 600 FT S | GEORGETOWN | TX | 78628 | WILLIAMSON |
100% | SUNMART #169 | I 35 AND FM 1304 | ABBOTT | TX | 76621 | HILL |
100% | SUNMART #282 | 2302 CEDAR DR | LA MARQUE | TX | 77568 | GALVESTON |
97% | SUNMART #110 | 14834 N FRWY | HOUSTON | TX | 77090 | HARRIS |
95% | SUN MART #308 | 4727 HWY 59 | LIVINGSTON | TX | 77351 | POLK |
95% | SUNMART #131 | 24985 KATY FRWY | KATY | TX | 77494 | FORT BEND |
94% | SUNMART #132 | 1110 N SAM HOUSTON PKWY W | HOUSTON | TX | 77038 | HARRIS |
94% | SUNMART #135 | 401 N BROADWAY | JOSHUA | TX | 76058 | JOHNSON |
94% | SUNMART #141 | 14711 S MAIN ST | HOUSTON | TX | 77035 | HARRIS |
94% | SUNMART #363 | 333 LUTCDHER DR | ORANGE | TX | 77630 | ORANGE |
93% | SUNMART #403 | 4031 FM 2920 | SPRING | TX | 77388 | HARRIS |
92% | MOBIL SUNMART #231 | 5716 NORTH FWY | HOUSTON | TX | 77076 | HARRIS |
92% | SUN MART #374 | 12315 FM 1960 E | HUFFMAN | TX | 77336 | HARRIS |
92% | SUNMART #312 | 14222 HEMPSTEAD RD | HOUSTON | TX | 77040 | HARRIS |
92% | SUNMART #325 | 8506 MESA DR | HOUSTON | TX | 77028 | HARRIS |
90% | SUNMART #121 | 5168 NE IH 10 FRONTAGE RD | SEALY | TX | 77474 | AUSTIN |
89% | SUNMART #493 | 6615 BERKMAN DR | AUSTIN | TX | 78723 | TRAVIS |
88% | EASTEX SUNMART #457 | 14049 EASTEX FWY | HOUSTON | TX | 77032 | HARRIS |
88% | SUNMART #196 | 1520 BARKER CYPRESS RD | HOUSTON | TX | 77084 | HARRIS |
83% | SU |
