The gas stations are just taking the P155!!

The gas stations are just taking the P155!!

Quit with the stupid games and show us your prices!

The day before Katrina hit, all the gas stations locally took down their prices from those huge big signs they have in the forecourt. Now, a month later, most of them (well, of the few that have reopened) are still not showing the price they plan to sell their fuel at.

I could be cynical and say they were trying to hide big price rises so they could stick one over the evacuees as they left town before the storm.

Or I could be charitable, and assume that they just were being cautious and were making sure their precious numbers did not blow away when the high winds arrived.

Either is possible.



But why, a full month after the storm, are they still not showing their gas prices?

It's an interesting game ... do I want to join the line (queue for us Brits) and take a risk on waiting 10 or 20 minutes just to discover some outrageous price? Or shall I drive on to the next place to see if they are going to admit to their price.

Fortunately the lines are shorter now than they were ... actually they are almost completely gone. But at one stage people were forced to wait in line for several hours - in 95-100 degree temperatures - and would have paid any price.

I thought there were laws that required retailers to clearly show their prices. Maybe they think they are serving the letter of the law by showing the price in the little window of the pump, but they are certainly not serving he spirit of the law.

In Gulfport there are maybe three or four gas stations showing a price, ranging form $2.45 to $2.79. As far as I can tell this is a lot cheaper than in most other places in the USA, but of course most places are not showing any price at all.

Maybe they are charging high prices, and maybe they are not. I have no idea what they are charging, and you can be assured I won't know until they display their prices again.

Why?

Because there is no way I will be going into the forecourt before they quit playing games and start to show their prices. I just wish a few more people would do the same ...

It's not as if they have had the courtesy to improve our skyline by removing the hideous big signs proclaiming that they are there to sell us fuel!

If you are a local and you read this, I would be grateful to hear from you if you know anything of the legality of not showing prices like this. Just click the Comments link below and follow the instructions.