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Gamble on your gas!10 July 2008In an effort to relieve motorists of the ever-increasing fuel cost burden, an entrepreneurial company in the United States has entered the marketplace with what it believes to be the ultimate cost-saving solution. The company, named MyGallons, has claimed to offer ‘tomorrow’s gas at today’s prices’ since the launch of its pilot program in April 2008. The premise is a tempting one; it enables the customer to purchase gasoline ahead of time at the fixed rate of today’s prices – meaning that they need not worry about any further inflation in the coming weeks and months. With prices skyrocketing unfathomably in the past twelve months, the problem doesn’t look set to disappear overnight, and so with this in mind, MyGallons’ offer could certainly seem to be an appealing one. However, on closer inspection, the scheme may not be as advantageous as it seems on the outset, and could ultimately prove to be nothing more than a wild gamble.
In order to begin proceedings, you are required to sign up for a MyGallons membership, which currently costs $29.95. Therefore, before you can begin enjoying any potential savings, you must first write off this administration debt. Once that has cleared, you can then log in to its website, where you can take control of your account. The majority of users would presumably begin pre-purchasing fuel at the MyGallons ‘fixed rate’ – which may or may not be in accordance with any other rates currently on the marketplace, either locally or nationally – which also sees the inclusion of a local tax subsequently being charged.
Once your card (which is said to be akin to standard credit cards) is activated, you can then visit ‘any of the participating filling stations’. Reading between the lines, it sounds as though only a select few retailers are partaking, which is obviously not good news if your nearest forecourt happens to be 200 miles down the road – especially if you’ve just pumped $1,000 into your account! The MyGallons website conveniently fails to indicate exactly who is taking part, and/or where they can be located.
What’s more, if the motorist happens to go over the balance that they had loaded into their account, they are hit with a $15 overdraft fee, with current charges (rather than the agreed fixed rate) being applied for the additional gallons used also. On the basis that it takes up to 72 hours for transactions to be recognised in your account history online, it would be easy to see how many people could fall victim to this costly footnote.
To date, this ‘valuable new service’ has only been in operation for a grand total of one day. The company had initially signed an agreement with GoGas Universal, an organisation that was being backed by the US Bank. However, just one day after the public launch, US Bank declared that they were not willing to stand behind the contract that their reseller, GoGas, had entered into. A new payment processor has yet to be determined, leaving those who added funds right away stranded and helpless. You do have to wonder why US Bank retreated so swiftly - do they know something that we don’t?
The cruellest blow of all, however, may still be yet to come. Industry experts currently believe that gasoline prices will fall over the next twelve months (in the US, at least), and so the demand to buy at a fixed rate may not be as high as initially calculated. It would be interesting, if nothing else, to see how such a concept would be received here in the UK. With petroleum costs here being on an even grander scale than they are in the US, then there certainly would be a market for those wishing to purchase at a fixed price. But with that said, would you gamble on your gas? Contact Details and Archive...Most Viewed Articles... |
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