Some pumps give less than you pay for

AUSTIN (KXAN) - The Texas Department of Agriculture calls it "pump jumping." 

It’s when you put the gas pump in your tank, and before you even squeeze the handle, the pump automatically begins wracking up the charges.

It's against the law. But one local man who called the KXAN Tipline said its happening to him over and over. In fact, he’s been getting pump-jumped at the same gas station since late August.

Tipline: 512-703-5255

“We pay enough for gas as it is, and the owner of the gas station tapping that money off of each person.. it adds-up quickly,” said David N. Jones.

In Texas, according to the Texas Department of Agriculture, 93 percent of the gas pumps are accurate. But what about the other 7 percent?  Jones said his regular gas station has a problem with pump jumping, and he recorded it on his smartphone.

Watch the video:

“Automatically, 4 cents right off the bat,” Jones says on the video, adding “the other day it was 6 cents.”

Bryan Black of the Texas Department of Agriculture, the agency that monitors all gas pumps in the state. Black says consumers need to pay attention when they pump gas, and watch the totals to make sure they are not being charged even before they pump a single drop of gasoline. He says the Texas Department of Agriculture does not tolerate pump-jumping and if they receive a complaint, they will immediately send an inspector to the pump site and flag it as “out of service” while they investigate. “We make sure that we put the pump out of order so no other drivers are going to get ripped off.”

But gas pumps are machines, and machines can malfunction. But to David Jones, it seems odd that his malfunctions always come-out in favor of the gas station.

“How many people per day and how many months has this gone on and how many pumps were this actually happening, you know its, I would say it's way up to over 100 plus a day," Jones said.

The Texas Department of Agriculture has a mobile website consumers can use to stop pump-jumping. Results are immediate.

Through the GPS it will tell consumers all the gas stations in their vicinity. And if you get overcharged, you can instantly report it and they'll will send an inspector out to investigate.