Pescador - 9-18-2004 at 07:33 PM
After reading your very informative post on attendants and learning how the Pemex stations are owned I have a question. The Pemex in Santa Rosalia
and the one north of Mulege are reportedly owned by the same person. Both have been known for years for not delivering accurate amounts of gasoline.
I buy a lot of gas for my boat in Santa Rosalia and can almost always put 26 or 27 litres of gas in a 20 litre can. When I asked the head attendant
about that one day, he smiles and says " Buen afortunado" and I respond Para Ti or Para MI? Does the Pemex company try to control that at all or
what happens with constant flagrant violations?
Profeco...
BajaCactus - 9-19-2004 at 08:33 PM
Not Pemex...
There is a federal goverment agency call PROFECO (Procuradur?a Federal del Consumidor), something like Federal Consumer Bureau. This entity is
responsible for supervising and enforcing honest services by businesses in Mexico.
Gas Stations, by law and according to the Pemex franchise, have to pay Profeco to re-calibrate all dispensers every six months. At this check point,
Profeco makes sure the pumps are serving correctly, and after their revision, they install a tamper proof seal inside the pump that avoids any
manipulation, also they put a holographic sticker outside the pump, showing that the dispenser in question is already check.
If a gas station owner detects a dispenser malfunction in between this six month period, he has to close that pump, call Profeco and pay an
extraordinary visit to check an correct that situation.
Now, we have heard about gas station ripping off customers, but frankly we do not know the procedure they use to do this. It must include somekind of
tampering with the fuel dispensers and since ALL OF THEM in Mexico are made and produced in the USA, those factories, we believe, must explain the gas
station owners how to do it.
On the other hand, if you were ripped off, you should file a complaint with the local Profeco office. They will conduct an investigation and they must
correct the situation... it is their job and obligation... that is why they exist....
I hope this helps at least a little...
[Edited on 9-20-2004 by BajaCactus]
A couple of things to consider............
Tucker - 9-19-2004 at 08:55 PM
plastic cans are notorious for "stretching", taking more gas than they normally would. Also, when we were kids we would drain the hose. I was
brought back to reality when my helper drained the hose, something I hadn't done in fifty years. Not always the fault of the Pemex dealer.
[Edited on 9-20-2004 by Tucker]
DD - 9-20-2004 at 12:57 PM
As a side note, several years ago in the USA there was a rigging of the pumps to dispense the correct amount to the regulators (regulators always
dispensed a set amount for checking pump accuracy, something like 2 or 5 gallons) and all other amounts were skewed.
So, the regulators always got the correct amount and certified the pumps as being correct, took an investigative reporter or two to get to the bottom
of this scam.
I'm not saying this is the case here, just presenting a past scam technique.
synch - 9-22-2004 at 08:28 AM
Temperature can affect the volume of gasoline also.
bajalou - 9-22-2004 at 09:56 AM
I beleive it's the change in temperture that effects the volumn of liquids. A liter is a liter is a liter. But what filled a liter container at 39
deg F. will overflow it at 80 deg F. But I donn't believe that the change in temp. from pump meter thru the hose could have the effect that was
mentioned - about 30%.
A similar subject Baja Cactus, do you know the regulations regarding pricing etc. of the propane distributors? I believer propane is also supplied by
Pemex to the distriburors.
Propane...
BajaCactus - 9-22-2004 at 08:00 PM
BajaLou....
Yes, price of propane is also regulated by Pemex. However I do not know much about it because it is a different departament than the one we deal
within Pemex.
I am heading to El Rosario tomorrow (Sept. 23). I will stop at the Pemex distributor in Ensenada and ask about it. I will post the answer next sunday
and/or monday, as soon as I get back from El Rosario.
Pescador - 9-23-2004 at 08:12 AM
That is why Baja Cactus is so valuable because most of us really do not have a clue as to what really goes on. I have been traveling the baja for a
long time and it is very common knowledge about the station in Santa Rosalia. Obviously, he is able to keep enough people paid off that he is able to
get by with this. He also bought the station in San Ignacio. I pretty much write it off as a small annoyance since I am forced to buy boat gas there
while staying in San Lucas Cove, but it really chaps my ___ when I think about how it hurts the local people who already find gasoline as a necessary
luxury anyway. A lot of my friends in Santa Rosalia have even told me which pumps I need to use to get the closest deal.
And I know all about temperatures and plastic stretching but if you really compute that, it would allow for around a cup and 1/2 in a twenty liter
can. Secondly, I fill in La Paz all the time with the same cans and they are always very close to my marks there. Maybe that is because it is
further south and the earth's rotation is closer to the equator.
Propane...
BajaCactus - 9-28-2004 at 06:13 PM
BajaLou... Pemex told me that propane prices are regulated by them, same as Gasoline and Diesel... however the internal distribution process is
different than is Gasoline Stations...
Grover... Thank you, we try to do our best effort.
[Edited on 9-29-2004 by BajaCactus]
Neal Johns - 9-29-2004 at 09:40 AM
The biggest rip off I have come across was a couple of hundred miles below the border in mainland Mexico where, as the attendent walked between me and
the pump, the price jumped up by 100 pesos!
I thought my eyes were going bad until I found the little pushbutton switch.
What did I do? Nothing, I was afraid if I pushed it to demonstrate, they would charge me another 100 pesos!
