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Cielomar
Junior Nomad
Posts: 71
Registered: 12-5-2010
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Pemex Gas Pumps Rigged in Todos Santos
I had always heard rumors that the owners of certain Pemex stations altered their their pumps to overcharge the consumer. I never though much about
it until yesterday in Todos Santos when I filled a 2 and 5 gallon gas can and not my cars tank. I happened to notice that the 5 gallon can said total
capacity was 18.9L. When I filled it up the Pemex pump said 22.4L and that wasn't even to the top. Confronting the owner he made a series of lame
excuses and I called him on it. Reminded him that it was illegal and it amounted to robbing his fellow paisanos. I calculate this is a full 12-15%
rip off costing you an extra 80 pesos every time you fill up.
I asked my Mexican friends about lodging a complaint with Profeca and they felt they were in on the deal and at the most would make the owner change
it for a day or two and then back to ripping off the public.
Any suggestions and is this just one of those levels off corruption that everyone tolerates in Mexico and no one wants to expose?
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monoloco
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6667
Registered: 7-13-2009
Location: Pescadero BCS
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Good luck. People around here have been complaining about them for at least 20 years. The Pemex in Pescadero is owned by the same crook. I always buy
my fuel at the ejido station N of Todos Santos, last time I checked they gave a better measure. The best I found was the Pemex on the bypass road to
Pichilingue, I recently went there with a friend who filled 10 19l jugs for his sailboat and the pump was exact.
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Bajatripper
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3151
Registered: 3-20-2010
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Your first mistake was filling up a gas can that holds a known quantity. Some things are better left unknown since nothing can be done about it.
In such situations, I always feel sorry for the pump attendant, who gets the irritated complaint from customers but doesn't see the profits.
Filing a complaint with Profeca could possibly get your money back, but I doubt that it would make much difference in the long run.
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vandenberg
Elite Nomad
Posts: 5118
Registered: 6-21-2005
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Mood: mellow
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You could change that heading to "Most Pemex gas pumps rigged".
If you find an honest one, tip the attendant royally.
And for good measure, the supposedly honest ones get to put an honor badge on their sign.
Here in Loreto the most crooked station was the first to obtain that honor sign.
[Edited on 7-3-2011 by vandenberg]
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DENNIS
Platinum Nomad
Posts: 29510
Registered: 9-2-2006
Location: Punta Banda
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Whatever happened to this?
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BajaCactus
Senior Nomad
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posts: 555
Registered: 5-22-2004
Location: Km. 55, carretera transpenisular, El Rosario, B.C.
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Mood: Helpful
posted on 8-22-2006 at 11:21 PM
Pemex Gas Stations... The "Cualli" award!!!
Hi everyone...
I want you to be some of the first people to know about this new Pemex standard... but first, let me put you up to date with some info.
Very few know that Pemex IS NOT the gas stations everyone sees all around Mexico... Pemex, is one of the biggest companies in the world, but not the
gas stations themselves.
Pemex is run kind of independently from the government... it is a self regulatory company with its own administrative structure... now, profit.... 60%
of what Pemex sales goes directly to Hacienda (our IRS)... the other 40% is use to pay for the costs of producing the fuel, admistration, distribution
and the small percentage finally given to the gas station owner.
EVERY gas station in Mexico, is privately owned... Pemex only regulates how the gas station has to be constructed for security purposes and of course,
after the gas station is open to the public, Pemex supplies all the fuel and makes regular visits to supervise the security, quality and image of the
installations. The owner puts all the money to build, setup and run the gas station (what the owner buys is a Pemex franchise).
Now, as all of you know, in the last couple of years, some gas stations have been working irregularly... since almost everyone believes Pemex is the
gas stations, this has badly damaged the national image of Pemex .
Because of this, in an effort to protect the final consumer and restore the image of Pemex, several months ago Pemex began requesting new equipments
and regulations on gas stations.
Among many others, these new specifications are mainly change of equipments, improvements on the flow regulators of the fuel dispenser units, control
units on the tanks and in some cases even change of the tanks themselves... and some other very techinal stuff which is very difficult to explain.
There are also several new administrative changes between the gas station and Pemex... basically, the gas station owner agrees to be supervised either
locally or remotely, at any time, by Pemex or Hacienda.
After gas stations installs all of these, they are inspected by Pemex and they certify everything is running as it should.
As of this moment, not many gas stations have complied with these changes... well, for those who comply, Pemex is giving an award... these gas
stations will be now known as Pemex "Cualli" Gas Stations... (Cualli: a word from the Nahuatl, which means goodness, the best, the most quality).
Every gas station awarded the "Cualli" level, will display its qualification on the main sign, outside the gas station.
And yes... BajaCactus Gas Station has just been given the "Cualli" award... makes me proud that we are amongst the first to be qualified in Mexico.
So, from now on, when you come to Baja, look for the "Cualli" logo on the gas station you are fueling up... if it has it, you have the best chance
they are working normally.
Enjoy Baja my friends...!!!
BajaCactus
"Where the Baja is so much more than a dream..."
http://forums.bajanomad.com/viewthread.php?tid=18870
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longlegsinlapaz
Super Nomad
Posts: 1685
Registered: 11-18-2005
Location: La Paz
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I've used PROFECO successfully several times over the past 12 years & each time I filed a complaint, the final disposition was in my favor. That
said, I don't know how/if they handle generic complaints....I believe you'd have to personally register a complaint & it's be you against the
station owner. They typically schedule a maximum of 3 meetings, if the business owner doesn't show up, they're fined & it's processed directly
through Hacienda, so there is no way for a business owner to avoid a no-show fine other than showing up for the hearings.
IMO & personal experience, PROFECO does follow stringent legal processes & it does make a difference in how a service provider does business
going forward. The more complaints filed against a specific company or individual, the more they're watched....the squeaky wheel theory & all
that! IMO, you're doing a greater public disservice by NOT reporting them. But you need to go armed with factual documentation, dates, times, pics
if available, etc. For a complaint against a gas station, I'd haul a bunch of neighbors into PROFECO & register a mass complaint(s), for the most
effective response.
IMO, there is NO "acceptable" level of corruption.
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Lee
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3597
Registered: 10-2-2006
Location: High in the Colorado Rockies
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Yes the Pemex in Todos charges more, as does the one in Pescadero. The station N. of Todos is reputed to be honest. Paying more is an issue to
some, not to others. If I am running on empty, I"ll get a few pesos in Pescadero and drive to N. Todos, if I'm going to be in town. There's
always a choice as to where to get gas.
Attempting to change the corruptness here for a few pesos sounds good in principle but foolish in fact. How much is your time worth?
Buy gas N. of Todos and feel better.
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monoloco
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6667
Registered: 7-13-2009
Location: Pescadero BCS
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What's so foolish about driving five minutes out of your way to patronize an honest business? If everyone did it there would soon be no dishonest
businesses. It's a matter of principle, not about feeling good.
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Cielomar
Junior Nomad
Posts: 71
Registered: 12-5-2010
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Thanks everyone for the input. Even though I have been in and out of Mexico for the past 35 years, lived in other Latin countries and have more or
less accepted a level of petty corruption, this is different. This is a guy who is not poor or trying to feed a family of 10 on a police salary. The
owner of these stations is simply being a leach on the backs of everyone, rich, poor, Mexican, gringo, you name it. This is not petty corruption if
you figure he's getting an extra 80 pesos every time someone fills up. I probably won't change things but it will at least make me feel better and if
other nomads identified honest Pemex dealers (such as BajaCactus in El Rosario) there would a network that we could use and avoid being part of the
ongoing corruption problem in Mexico.
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DENNIS
Platinum Nomad
Posts: 29510
Registered: 9-2-2006
Location: Punta Banda
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Hey....put out a call for BOYCOTT here on the board like Iflyfish/Rick did for Ciudad Constitución. I'm not sure what the real effect was, but it gave
everybody a sense of power, if only for a moment.
Personally, I think it had a sizeable effect. 
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Lee
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3597
Registered: 10-2-2006
Location: High in the Colorado Rockies
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For someone living in Todos, the N. Todos Pemex is not out of the way. On the other hand, if I am low on gas, and headed to Cabo from Pescadero, I
cannot drive back to Todos to fill up.
There are lots of battles to fight in Baja. Over charging for gas is corruption and that's a price I pay, unwillingly sometimes, being in Baja.
Boycott is what I do around these 2 gas stations -- sometimes I bite the bullet and consider myself fortunate to even have gas in Pescadero. I"ll
talk to the owner next time I'm at Pemex in Pescadero so I feel I've done my small part at eliminating these morally and ethicaly wrong practices.
There. I feel better.
Oh. And for those stopping for gas at those Pemex's not identified as honest, you're probably being screwed.
US Marines: providing enemies of America an opportunity to die for their country since 1775.
What I say before any important decision.
F*ck it.
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BajaGringo
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3922
Registered: 8-24-2006
Location: La Chorera
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Mood: Let's have a BBQ!
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I am not positive that all of that "difference" goes into the pocket of the station owner. There is a lot of gossip I hear from some connected sources
that the skimming goes right up the food chain at Pemex and the station owner pays for gasoline he never gets either. In some cases it is payback for
favoritism to get a station in a particular locale and others simply the way business is done in that region...
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JESSE
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3370
Registered: 11-5-2002
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PROFECO works, use it.
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BAJA.DESERT.RAT
Senior Nomad
Posts: 980
Registered: 11-5-2009
Location: BAJA SUR
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hola,
this is a post on bajaponyexpress a while back.
jesse says it works.
here it is:
About the Gas Stations (PEMEX):
Any "strange" service or less gas for what you pay can be reported to the Mexican Federal Consumer Protection Bureau (PROFECO - Procuradoría Federal
del Consumidor). Once they get a report, specially with the pump stations, and once the "order" is processed, they send a party to inspect any
mis-usage on the PEMEX equipment. If they are doing wrong, the PEMEX franchise under analysis gets a fine and even closed until they are back to
normal/legal operation.
PROFECO also helps with any other consumer problem. In somethings they are now very effective and some commercial/stores in bigger cities panic if you
mention that you will report them to PROFECO as their fines can be tough. In some other cases PROFECO unfortunately can't help much but you might want
to try it.
http://www.profeco.gob.mx/english.htm
BIEN SALUD, DA RAT
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Nappo
Nomad
Posts: 102
Registered: 1-25-2009
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Just wondering if the locals know which stations are "honest" - Wondering if kind of like taco stands - look for ones that the locals use and go
enjoy. We always fill up at the huge station at the end of the Ensenada - Tecate road - Always very busy. Still beats the heck out of US prices.
Reputation and word of mouth is the bottom line for all businesses anywhere!
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monoloco
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6667
Registered: 7-13-2009
Location: Pescadero BCS
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The station in Todos Santos has been reported to PROFECO numerous times over the last 20 years. Didn't do a bit of good.
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longlegsinlapaz
Super Nomad
Posts: 1685
Registered: 11-18-2005
Location: La Paz
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| Quote: | Originally posted by monoloco
The station in Todos Santos has been reported to PROFECO numerous times over the last 20 years. Didn't do a bit of good. |
Then maybe it's past time to hold PROFECO's feet to the fire AND blacklist that particular owners stations. The
larger the group complaining & buying gas elsewhere, the louder the message to both PROFECO & the station owner.
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DavidE
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3814
Registered: 12-1-2003
Location: Baja California México
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Mood: 'At home we demand facts and get them. In Mexico one subsists on rumor and never demands anything.' Charles Flandrau,
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ORDER YOUR FUEL BY LITER AMOUNTS and not by "lleno" or peso quantity. When PROFECO or QUALI checks pumps at the gasolinera, they use test measures and
ask for fuel to be dispensed by 20 liter amounts.
Mexicans have known this for years with the new pumps. The pumps are SEALED so liter amounts cannot be tampered with*. Open-ended sales or peso sales
can be tampered with by connecting a laptop computer to the dispenser computer access port and entering a malignant source code. One station owner
told me the going-rate to do this was 5,000 pesos per pump. I tend to believer this guy because he sure used a lot of groserias when labelling the
)$(& $%(·/(")%$ crooks that do that to their pumps. Ask BAJA CACTUS about this,
if you can get ahold of him.
If Pemex discovers a pump and computer that has been unsealed meaning tampered with the franchisee stands a good chance of losing his franchise. The
act is also a GRAN DELITO meaning the ministerio publico can and will prosecute.
Order fuel by the liter. Figure out how much your tank holds in gallons, and times that by four and again by 95%. Close enough and the dispense will
shut off correctly no matter how many liters have been dispensed and the amount will be correct in both pesos and liters dispensed.
NOT ALL STATIONS ARE CROOKED!
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Cielomar
Junior Nomad
Posts: 71
Registered: 12-5-2010
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More on the ongoing Pemex saga. I plan to go visit Profeco next week on my way to Los Barriles and lodge my complaint. Meanwhile I did stop at the
ejido-owned Pemex north of Todos Santos. Had a small gas can and told the attendant what I was up to. He didn't flinch and the gas came in exactly
correct. So, so long to the the Todos and Pescadero Pemex's.
Antonio mentioned that the "Cualli" program should eliminate cheating. Unfortunately, both the offending stations in Todos and Pescadero are "Cualli"
stations so I don't believe we can count on that program to make an honest person out of a gas crook yet...
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BFS
Senior Nomad
Posts: 520
Registered: 9-28-2006
Location: Todos Santos
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A local resident has done a test of the three Pemex stations in Todos Santos and Pescadero 2 years running now and reported the findings in the Onion.
He did it very accurately with some sort of weight measurement and the Todos town station (mentioned above) came in at approx 15 % below the reading,
the Pescadero station came in at 9% below and the station north of town came in accurate. These readings were consistent both years he ran the test.
Getting your gas at the north TS station is a no brainer as you get all the gas you pay for and you drive by La Garra which has Negra Modelo on tap!
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