UPI (Toronto) - Pennies at a time, improperly calibrated gas pumps are costing Canadian drivers millions of dollars each year, a Canadian Broadcasting Corp. study showed.
Federal documents from the Measurement Canada agency seen by the broadcaster show gas stations overcharged drivers by nearly $20 million in 2008 while drivers were undercharged by $12 million because of improper pump calibrations.
Measurement Canada randomly tested more than 13,000 gas pumps in the past two years, during which time 294 of them were ordered taken out of service, the report said.
The agency estimates drivers are overcharged once every 25 visits to a buy gas.
George Iny, director of the Automobile Protection Association, told the CBC most cases of inaccuracies are by pennies or less, which becomes substantial given that tens of millions of gallons are pumped every year.
"If you can pick up pennies here and there, it adds up to real money and that's really our concern," he said.
The APA public interest group is part of a class action lawsuit that's awaiting certification against five gas retailers for overcharging with faulty pumps, the report said.
