"Hidden fees" at the pumps cause sticker shock

ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. — Summer is coming to an end but travelers are still keeping their eyes on the pumps. Right now you could easily find gas for $3.29 a gallon. Some stations are charging a lot more and charging more than the price you see on their signs.

We showed one woman the price advertised, then showed her the price for what she actually put in her tank.

"I didn't know. I didn't notice," she said.

There are several gas stations off of I-95 in St. Johns County that charge customers 6 to 10 cents more for paying with a credit card. Some have signs that are large enough for consumers to notice, but two gas stations off exit 289 do not.

"It's BS. They shouldn't be allowed to do that," said customer Kevin Gamble.

The manager at the BP gas station said the credit card fees are just too steep so they pass it on to the consumer.

"Why should the owner have to pay for you to use your credit card?" said Boon Griffin.

The Marathon gas station across the street has the sign posted on one board but not on the other. After we notified the manager about it she said that they will be putting a sign up as soon as possible.

Both stations' managers agree that their signs could be bigger, and both admit that their prices are unreasonable enough to shop somewhere else.

"You think you're paying one price and you're not," said Amy Mulfiord, manager of Marathon.

"If I needed gas I'd probably get $5 or $10 and then mosey on up the road until I found a better price," said Griffin.

We contacted the corporations but haven't heard back yet. Action News also looked up the Florida state statute, that deals with price changes, and found that these gas stations aren’t breaking any laws.

Consumers who said they felt deceived said they’d like to see some kind of ordinance that would restrict smaller signs. Currently, there is no county ordinance that restricts the sixe of a sign.

WJAX