advices needed

advices needed

Recently i went to Newark airport, there was a Hess gas station going northboung before arriving at the gas station. I got gas there and they made a gigantic mistake....

The nozzle didnt stop pumping after my tank was full. so the gas came out everywhere, the floor, on the car, on the tire, my shoes.... so I am wondering what damage could have it done to the car, like pumped too much gas into the tank, damage to the paint job, or make the tire deterioate faster....

Also there was no way to know how much gas exactly spilled.... I had about 1/2 tank and drove 182 miles since last fill up... i am estimating i had at least 6-7 gallons left... and that would be like 5 gallons spilling out.

so i am wondering what kinds things i can do to have them compensate for it financially, or if there was damage resulting from the spill. Can i get them to pay to fix it... for example if the paint start to fall apart..

should I notify my insurance company?would they increase the premium if they had to deal with it?

so I need any advice i can get... thanks guys

This is in jersey....where there is a law that says you cant pump your own gas so whatever happened was the attedants fault. If there was actual damage done am sure that you can get something out of it....but if you washed the gas off there shoulnt have been anything permanent... I know that gas station and i hate going there.....there are really shady when it comes to raising gas prices at any given point in time...

I don't think you can do anything. Because to be honest, it seems like your fault. Most gas stations have a sign up on the pump that says not to leave the pump. If 5 gallons spilled out, there is no way you were standing there. If you tried to make them pay for it, I would say that not only would you have to pay the court cost, only to lose, but youd ultimately have to pay for that 5 gallons of gas that spilled out. Regradless of if the pump shut off or not, you are suppossed to be standing there.

dont think any damage was done to your paint.
for the gas to damage your paint, you would have to be spilling gas each time you fill up and not wipe it off. if you spill, just wash it off with water and it should be fine.

true, but, "so the gas came out everywhere, the floor, on the car, on the tire, my shoes" how did it get on his shoes if he wasnt pumping? But I didn't think about it, he is right, since it is in Jersey, even if you pumped it, the attendant will pay for it.

I'm confused.

How did they make a mistake?
By you holding the handle while 5 gallons pumped out onto the floor?
or did you jam the handle so that you could walk away while 5 gallons pumped onto the floor?

I have had a pump malfunction and not stop when the tank is full. Since I was standing there though I realized right away and almost nothing spilled.

You have no case when you caused the problem with your negligence...

Jeff

I said the same thing at first, but someone else mentioned at, and they are right. In New Jersey, you don't pump your own gas, they are full-service stations. I mean, you can ask them not to do it, I do it myself when I am there. If he did ask to do it himself, which it looks like he did since he said it spilled on his shoes, he might get in trouble, but more than likely the attendant will for breaking law and allowing him to pump his own gas. If the attendant pumped the gas and did it, then he has nothing to worry about.

whoever's fault it is - dont matter. it's over. it wont cause any damage to the car's paint.
it's also not worth going after the gas station. if you think about it, say it was 5 gallons or even 10 gallons of gas that spilled. so lets say 1 gal. at US$3 x 10 = US$30. so are you willing to just let the $30 go or spend hundreds of dollars or maybe even thousands to hire a lawyer and try to get back the 5 or gallons of gas and prove that the gas station is wrong or should be held liable?
don't make sense.

Honestly I could care less about the laws in New Jersey, this is just a case of someone trying to make money out of their own stupidity. Just like the woman that sued McDonalds for spilling her own hot coffee on herself.

If you can't even pump your own gas then you shouldnt have a license.

lke the guys posted before, in NJ, they pump the gas for you and they had posters there saying it's unlawful to pump your own gas...

either way... I wanted to know if it could damage the paint since we used gasoline to get house paint off our hand after doing some work

as long as there wont be damage to the car, i am more happy to leave the gas station alone. Worst thing i'd do is never pump there again.

I dont think i said anything about trying to score some big bucks from them, just if they'd pay for damage should there be any.

well, thanks for the advice, it doesnt seem like people believe there will be damage.

also, the reason the gas was on my shoes was because there was so much gas spilled out and it created a small puddle around the car, when i stepped out of the car to talk to the manager, that's when it got on my shoes.

You shouldnt jump to conclusions on who was pumping and what my intentions are.