No one ever thought that $4.05/gallon would look like a decent price for gas. Here on Cape Cod this summer it did, so I stopped. It was a gas station in West Falmouth, a town I once lived in but visit only rarely these days. The $4.05 was at a "full-service" pump which once meant that someone would pump your gas and even wash your windshield. Forget the windshield these days but most of us have adjusted.

On a blackboard at the corner of the station a sign read, "Coffee, any size, 49 cents."

"I'll just leave the car here a minute while I run inside and get an ice coffee," I told the attendant.
"I'll show you," he replied and followed me inside. The Quikmart was newly renovated and the attendant - who I suspect might have been the owner - pointed to the coffee area. "Coffee," he said and then pointing again, "Milk, cream, sugar." It was actual milk and cream resting in a bin of ice, not those terrible little plastic containers that add reams to the landfill and are filled with something that doesn't taste like milk.

My brother called me today to tell me about an unfortunate incident at a gas station. Short on money at the moment, he told the attendant that he wanted $20 worth of gas and the clerk promptly filled the tank and told him he owed $60. My brother protested and the clerk was reasonably apologetic but told him there was nothing he could do. Being a heck of a nice guy, my brother paid the money and went on his way -- short on cash for other expenses.

Of course there's an argument to be made that this isn't really a ripoff. He would have needed to fill the car up eventually and with gas prices rising daily, the clerk may have actually done him a favor. But consumers have a right to decide how much gas they want to buy, and if you want $20 worth of gas, you shouldn't have to buy $60.

My brother's a mensch so it's no big deal but what are some other options he might had? As I see it, he could have done one of two things in this situation:

• Tell the clerk you don't have the money and that your credit cards are all maxed out and your checking account is already overdrawn and that you're sorry but all you can do is give him $25 in cash. Tell him that if he wants the gas back, he's welcome to suck it out with a straw.
• Ask to speak with the manager and, if one isn't available and you are really aggravated and have a lot of time on your hands, tell the clerk that you're going to have to call the police to find out what to do. You can bet that his manager won't be too happy to find out the cops were called to resolve a dispute over his error. He may be motivated to find a way to make it right.
  

Still, I think that letting it go and paying the $60 is the best way to handle it, karmically at least. Has anyone else had this experience? How did you handle it?

Gas station owners say that record high gas prices mean that a higher number of customers are driving off without paying for their gas. They say it's not uncommon to see the number of drive-offs rise when the price of gas rises, and the steady jumps in fuel prices have made this a grim reality for many gas station owners.

It's predicted that gas will easily be at $4 per gallon in many areas of the country soon, so concerns about drive-offs are growing. It's especially troublesome because gas station owners make very little money off gas to begin with. They can't afford to lose gas to dishonest customers.

I just don't understand the mentality of those who steal anything. I can't imagine feeling justified in stealing gas from a gas station. That business is owned by someone who is trying to make a living just like everyone else. The price of gas is mostly out of their control, and the gas station owners don't deserve to get punished just because they happen to be in an industry that is currently squeezing consumers due to market conditions.

If this trend of driving off without paying for gas continues, the solution will be simple, although inconvenient for customers. Gas stations will simply require everyone to pay before they're allowed to pump their gas. How sad that they may have to resort to this, but it seems to be the most logical way to curb the losses from fuel thieves.

Tracy L. Coenen, CPA, MBA, CFE performs fraud examinations and financial investigations for her company Sequence Inc. Forensic Accounting, and is the author of Essentials of Corporate Fraud.