Large SW wholesaler fights state charges of widespread pump fraud at stations

摘要

Ten-state marketer Petroleum Wholesale Inc. continues to fight allegations that it deliberately miscalibrated dispensers at 86 of its stations in Texas in order to cheat consumers.rnThe state sued Petroleum Wholesale in 2008, accusing the large Houston area company of deceptive trade practices. The charges followed a three-day inspection blitz of PWI's 80-plus "SunMart" stores in the metro area, dubbed "Operation Spotlight," in July 2008. The state maintains that it found 985 of the company's 1,701 pumps were miscalibrated, with 46 stores shorting drivers at more than 60% of their pumps. At 15 stations, every pump was miscalibrated (OE 08/04/08).