CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. (Legal Newsline) - Unhappy purchasers of gasoline say they are being charged extra at Amoco stations when using their credit cards to pay.
BP Products North America Inc. is facing a class action lawsuit filed Dec. 30 in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York by Michael Betzag. The suit alleges that BP violated the New York General Business Law (GBL) § 518, which prohibits sellers from imposing a surcharge on customers who choose to use a credit card instead of cash or other payment methods.
The plaintiff claims that BP used deceptive pricing tactics at its Amoco gas stations, advertising lower prices for gasoline that were only available to cash-paying customers. This was allegedly done without clearly informing consumers of the higher price they would have to pay if they chose to use a credit card.
The case argues that this practice is essentially a "bait and switch" tactic, luring in customers with low prices displayed on roadside signs, only for them to discover at the pump that these prices are not available if they choose to pay with a credit card.
"Those who are vigilant will learn that the prices they viewed from the road were not available to them, if, like 96 percent of drivers, they do not use cash at the gas station" the suit says.
"This is because the roadside sign prices were seventy cents less than the price at the pump..."
The plaintiff is represented by Spencer Sheehan, James Chung and Michael Reese.