‘Rig’ A Bell? 13% Consumers Say Petrol Pump Staff Didn’t Bring Meter Reading to 0 Before Filling Tank

At least 13% of consumers have experienced one or more situations at a petrol pump in the past 12 months where employees did not bring the meter reading to zero before filling the tank, according to a survey by LocalCircles. Furthermore, 62% of consumers said they had one or more instances in the past 12 months in which the mileage on a full tank was significantly lower than normal, leading them to suspect that the petrol pump meter was rigged.

The survey received more than 24,000 responses from consumers across 291 districts in India. The total number of respondents to the survey was 62% of men compared to 38% of women. Of these, 55% were from Level 1, 32% from Level 2, and 13% of the respondents were from Levels 3 and 4 and rural areas.

One question

The first question in the survey posed to consumers – how many times in the past 12 months has the staff at the petrol pump not raised the meter reading to zero before filling the tank? This question in the survey received 12,091 responses.

In response, the majority, 77% of consumers, said “never,” and 9% had no opinion. In a breakdown of the survey, 1% of consumers said “more than 10 times,” 3% said “6-10 times,” 1% said “3-5 times,” and 9% said “1-2 times.”

second question

The next question in the survey was – based on your experience in the past 12 months, how often has it happened that the mileage of a full tank of fuel in your car is much less than normal, leading you to suspect whether the fuel pump meter is rigged? This question received 11,924 responses from across the country.

In response, 31% of consumers said “never”, and 17% could not answer. In a breakdown of the survey, 6% of consumers said “more than 10 times”, 5% said “6-10 times”, 23% said “3-5 times”, and 10% said “1-2 times”.

scan

The survey was conducted via the LocalCircles platform and all participants are verified citizens who must be registered with LocalCircles to participate.

LocalCircles takes social media to the next level and makes it about communities, governance and facilities. It enables citizens to connect with communities on most aspects of urban daily life such as neighborhood, constituency, city, government, causes, interests, needs, seek information or help when needed, meet in various initiatives and improve their urban daily life.