Motorist Rebecca O'Connell filed a complaint with the attorney general after recently being charged about $10 extra for having her windshield washed and oil checked at the full-serve lane at the Siskiyou Auto Care Shell station.
O'Connell, who paid in cash, complained [image-nocss] about the charge inside the gas station and said the owner waived the fee.
Jan Margosian, spokeswoman for the Attorney General's Office, said O'Connell's complaint had been received and "we're going to look at it."
"When it comes to gas, the big thing is disclosure," she told the newspaper. "They've got to disclose when there's a charge for work that normally is part of the service."
Scott Smith, manager of the gas station, said the fee has been charged for many years to cover checking oil, belts, all fluids and cleaning windshields and "people choose that if they want full serve." Smith added that customers are not told of the charge but the sign, which says only "full serve," amounts to notification.
"Yes, we've had complaints, but we refund the difference and apologize if they don't see the sign," said Smith.
Asked why there is no sign disclosing the amount of the service, Smith replied, "How many signs can you put up?"
Smith said full serve is used mainly by older people who don't want to get out of their car. "They want the peace of mind," he said.
The fee varies from 50 cents to $1 a gallon and averages $8 to $12 a vehicle, he said.
Based on the complaint, Margosian said the practice is "more than likely in violation of the (state) Unlawful Trade Practices Act."
Other area gasoline dealers expressed disapproval of the practice.
Walt Winblad, manager of Valley View 76 across the street, said, "It's pretty shifty. We provide the same service-oil, water and windshields-at no charge. It gives us more business, especially among the locals."
Tom O'Neill, manager of Campus Shell in Ashland, said the practice is not part of being in the Shell franchise and he knows of no other station charging such a high fee for full serve.
"We give the service, window, oil, whatever the customer asks. I think [the fee] is asinine. If you don't check oil and clean the windshield, you're just standing there with your thumb in your ear, so you might as well do it."
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