Valley Stream gas station issued 3 summonses for excessive credit card charges

A Valley Stream gas station was ticketed and fined for hiking prices for cash and credit.

News 12 Staff

Jun 7, 2022, 9:30 PM

Updated 959 days ago

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A Valley Stream gas station was ticketed and fined for hiking prices for cash and credit.
The Shell Gas Station was charging $5.69 a gallon for regular unleaded and $6.59 for credit.
The 90-cent differential is a violation that had the Nassau County Department of Consumer Affairs show up at the gas station.
Devon Keirnan, of Queens, says he was getting gas at the station Friday and noticed the prices were a lot higher than he was used to seeing.
"I asked the guy, 'Is this a mistake?, and he had some not nice words to say, but he said, 'My price is my price, take it or leave,'" Kiernan says.
The cash and credit price went up by 70 cents a gallon from Friday to Tuesday, causing Keirnan to report the station to the Nassau County Consumer Affairs division.
The station was issued a summons for violating the Department of Financial Services' swipe charge, which says the maximum upcharge for credit cards is 20 cents per gallon. The station was charging 90 cents more for using a credit card.
"When you're charging a 25% fee for using a credit card...you're taking advantage of a situation and we're not going to tolerate that in Nassau County," says Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman.
The station was issued a total of three summons, two for unconscionable business practices for excessive credit card charges for self-service and full service and an unregistered ATM.
The business was forced to pay $3,250 in fines.