A Walmart customer is going viral after they noticed that one of the retail chain’s gas station pumps was overcharging them.
User @grneyebeauty recorded their video as they pumped gas at Walmart. It’s suggested that the content creator had just finished putting gas into their car for roughly $29.
But after they took the nozzle out of their gas tank, they noticed that the fueling station was malfunctioning and continued to charge them as if they were still pumping.
Indeed, over a few seconds, @grneyebeauty’s gas cost increased by nine extra cents. @grneyebeauty recorded a short clip of the defective fuel station. It showed the price of gas moving from $29.03 to $29.04.
“Do better Walmart! You get enough of our money you don’t need to literally steal it,” @grneyebeauty wrote in the accompanying text overlay of their video. They added in the video caption that they confronted a store worker, who said that this was a common issue at this particular pump.
“I caught it after charging me 9 cents but how many people didn’t?” the content creator questioned. “Do better!!!”
As of Tuesday, @grneyebeauty’s video had amassed more than 8,200 views.
Why did the gas pump continue to charge the Walmart customer?
This problem isn’t unique to Walmart. According to the r/Wellthatsucks subreddit, one Costco customer recorded a short video of the same thing happening to them.
“My Costco pump kept charging me after it stopped filling,” the Redditor wrote.
But neither Walmart or Costco are at fault for these malfunctions. According to a pump technician who weighed in on the thread, the gas dispenser is the issue and likely in need of service. The technician explained that the valve which opens when a transaction is authorized went “bad.”
“This lets a very small amount of fuel to seep through the value and slowly turn the meter,” they said.
How to keep Walmart’s gas pump from overcharging you
But there’s apparently a way to stop the pump from charging you: hang up the nozzle.
“It would end the transaction immediately,” the Redditor said. “Inform a manager so a service call can be entered.”
Indeed, this issue has affected several customers. In 2019, a Los Angeles-based man captured video of a gas pump charging him after he finished filling his tank.
At the time, the owner of the gas station said that he asked a technician to inspect the pumps. Unfortunately, though, in this situation, the man did not receive a refund for the additional money he was charged.
Viewers advise affected customers to take action
In the comments section of @grneyebeauty’s video, several commenters affirmed the Redditors’ thinking that the gas dispenser needed fixing.
“I used to work on and install these, it’s most likely a bad check valve on the premium meter letting it continue to go up,” one man wrote. “Not Walmart’s fault, things break.”
“Call the number on the pump to report it to the state and report it to whoever is there running it,” another suggested. “They have to shut it down/mark it out of service.”
“Weights and Measures,” a third viewer wrote. “There should be a sticker on the pump to report the issue.”
@grneyebeauty @Walmart dis you? When I went to tell the cashier her response was “oh you must have been at pump 8. yea, we’ve had a lot of complaints about it doing that”. I caught it after charging me an extra 9 cents but how many people didn’t? Do better!!! #walmart #gas #theif #corporategreed #dobetter #scam #capitalism #capitalismsucks #viralvideo @Walmart ♬ original sound – D
Others, however, were more than happy to blame Walmart for the machine error despite the fact that the chain isn’t really at fault.
“Walmart doesn’t care about you, me or anybody else,” one user lamented.
“The same thing happened to me at Wawa but it was way worse,” another shared.
“Oh wtf,” a third viewer wrote.
The Daily Dot has reached out to @grneyebeauty via TikTok comment and to Walmart through its online contact form.
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