Consumers complain about deceptive gas advertising along I-80

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BY NANCY HICKS / Lincoln Journal Star

They’re doing it again.

Some gas stations in communities along Interstate 80 are apparently advertising gasoline at one price, then selling it for a higher price at most pumps, a practice that Attorney General Jon Bruning says is illegal under the state’s deceptive practices law.

In late July, Tom Dolan and his family pulled off I-80 and into a gas station in Cozad, which had a marquee advertising “super unleaded” for $3.75 a gallon.

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"There is no end to our enthusiasm for stopping these bait-and-switch tactics," Attorney General Jon Bruning said.

"There is no end to our enthusiasm for stopping these bait-and-switch tactics," Attorney General Jon Bruning said.

But the gasoline the Dolans purchased was “unleaded plus” and cost $4.16 a gallon.

When Dolan asked a clerk in the Cenex station about the discrepancy, she said the cheaper fuel was sold at one of the eight pumps, Dolan said in a complaint to the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office.

The Lincoln man isn’t the only person complaining. And the Cenex station at Cozad apparently isn’t the only station cited in complaints about deceptive advertising, according to Bruning.

His office has received 45 complaints this year about a dozen stations, according to Leah Bucco-White, spokesperson for Bruning.

Last year, Bruning stopped a similar practice at several I-80 gas stations. He personally visited two gas stations, accused the owners of violating the state’s deceptive practices act and eventually made agreements with the owners that required the pumps with the cheap fuel to be clearly marked and required the owners to donate money to local charities.

But the bait-and-switch tactics may be back, he said.

“I have heard there is backsliding,” Bruning said in a telephone interview Friday.

“If the complaints are true, we will act accordingly. There is no end to our enthusiasm for stopping these bait-and-switch tactics,” he said.

“I’m not going to stand for it.  And if these stations think they are going to get away with it, they  are wrong.”

Bruning said his staff is investigating complaints, but those investigations take time.

Gas stations ought to be following the practice outlined in last year’s agreement with the station owners in North Platte, he said.

The agreement required both price and availability to be displayed in equal size, letter type and wattage on the signs.

And the pumps dispensing the cheapest fuel are to be conspicuously marked.

In a telephone interview, Dolan said he didn’t think the penalties for the two businesses last year — $15,000 and $20,000 contributions to local charities — were tough enough.

The stations are probably earning hundreds of thousands of dollars in illegal profits but paying a little in a charitable contribution, which can be a tax deduction, he said.

Bruning agrees.

“The next time around it will be substantially different,” he said.

If the complaints are true, “we will take it as far as we can.

“The first time around was a warning. The next time, I will do everything I can to drive them out of business.”

The Legislature strengthened the deceptive practices act last year, in part because of these gas stations, Bruning said.

He said he believes Nebraska had a strong law, but the new language adds “a belt and suspenders.”

Bruning also is looking at another illegal practice. His office and the state’s weights and measures bureau have investigated 14 gas stations that may have substituted a lower-priced ethanol blend for regular. Bruning said he expects to report on this issue in the near future.

The Better Business Bureau also has fielded complaints from people who felt they were deceived by some gas station advertising along I-80, according to Sharon Brodhagen, branch manager in Lincoln.

The bureau has sent letters to some stations after consumers reported paying a higher price for fuel than what was listed on the marquees, Brodhagen said.

In those cases, the station managers have told the bureau that the marquee sign was a mistake.

The bureau also has received complaints, similar to Dolan’s, where the advertised cheaper fuel was available at just one or two pumps. But these people didn’t have enough specifics, including the name of the station and town, she said.

The bureau sends letters to businesses whose advertising doesn’t meet the bureau’s standards, even those that are not bureau members, she said.

The owner of the Cozad Cenex station, Bruce Jensen of Wagner Jensen LLC, did not return several phone calls this week.

Reach Nancy Hicks at 473-7250 or nhicks@journalstar.com.