NEWARK, N.J. -- Motiva Enterprises LLC, which operates Shell gas stations throughout New Jersey, has voluntarily settled a lawsuit filed by the state in September 2005 that alleged violations of the New Jersey Motor Fuels Act, including multiple price increases within a 24-hour period, state Attorney General Zulima Farber and Consumer Affairs Director Kimberly Ricketts said.
In settling the lawsuit, Motiva agreed to pay New Jersey $371,000 and adhere to state law regarding the pricing of gasoline. Both sides agreed to settle the matter without an admission [image-nocss] of any violation having occurred.
Under terms of the settlement, Motiva agreed to not change its retail motor fuel prices more than once within a 24-hour period; to maintain required records at each service station; and to permit an audit, examination or investigation of the records maintained at its stations.
With this agreement, New Jersey has reached settlements with all three oil companies sued in September 2005Motiva, Amerada Hess and Sunoco. Hess settled in November 2005 for $372,391 and Sunoco settled in February 2006 for $325,000. A fourth company, BP Products North America, settled with the state in January 2006 for $315,000 without a lawsuit being filed. New Jersey has received $1.38 million under these four settlements.
In addition to the company-owned and -operated stations, the state sued 18 independent gas stations for alleged violations of the State Motor Fuels Act and Consumer Fraud Act. Settlements totaling $61,000 have been reached with 13 of these stations to date.
This current settlement was announced as the Office of Weights & Measures steps up monitoring of stations across the state to ensure that station owners and attendants are adhering to consumer protection laws. Investigators are checking to ensure that, among other things, gasoline prices are not changed more than once in a 24-hour period, per-gallon prices displayed on roadside signs match the price on the pump and octane levels are accurate. Over the past weekend, 15 citations were issued after visits to 200 stations.
Meanwhile, NorthJersey.com reported that police are saying three attendants at a River Edge station were overcharging customers during a nine-month period.
Police Chief Ronald Starace said at least six people were targeted by attendants of the Delta station since last August. He said customers noticed that they received less gasoline than what they paid for. In one instance, man was charged $30 for gas, and got nothing. The six people, who paid with cash or credit cards, contacted police.
I have to speculate that there are many more victims out there that we are unaware of, Starace told the news source. Maybe they didn't look at the pump. Maybe they didn't check their receipts. Or maybe they negotiated with the attendant and didn't bother to call police.
Investigators filed complaints against three gas attendants. They were charged with deceptive business practices.
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