ARCO
reviews and complaints

On September 15 I purchased 10.732 gallons of regular gasoline at $3.09 per gallon giving a total cost of $32.40 at the pump. Because you have to prepay before filling up my master card travel cash card had to be scanned before I could fill up and as I had no idea of how much fuel the rental car would take I did not specify an amount. I was told that this would be okay and the card would only be charged for the amount of petrol purchased. I filled up and reported back to the cashier who looked up the pump and said that $32.40 would be charged to my card and gave me a receipt for such. At the earliest opportunity that I could get a secure internet connection I checked the transactions on my Travel cash card and to my surprise found an amount of $70 US charged to my card.

The petrol station was the Arco petrol station on the corner of Tropicano Avenue and the Las Vegas International Airport Road. The gasoline was purchased from pump 15 at 6.33 pm on September 15, 2015.

I cannot return to the petrol station as I am now in San Francisco. What can I do to correct this?

Ray Muller.
email: [protected]@yahoo.com.au

Whether you are buying gas or buying merchandise in the store the cashiers are very rude. You could kill them with kindness and it would not work. They are always too busy flirting with the young guys that are in the store and you interrupted that. How horrible you are to want to purchase something while they are flirting. And the rudeness comes out.

Visited the Arco for fuel. Stood at the counter for just
Over a minute while the attendant was writing something
Down on a clipboard. He looks up and rudely asks what I
Want. Showed him my American dollars and said I wanted
$60 on pump 4. He rudely tells me to move to the other register
Because apparently I wasn't in the right place. I layed my cash on
The counter and walk away. I get to the door and he calls me back.
He hands my money back, tells me he doesn't need me money and
To go back to Canada in front of a line of customers.

I phoned BP customer service, obtained an email for a letter of complaint
To e sent. Received a confirmation email, told I would receive contact
In about a week. No call. I phoned and was assured a call by the end of
The week. No call. Phones again and said Monday I'd get a call. Guess
What. Monday and no call. Make another call and the phone rep tries to call
The district manager herself, and reaches him. Told I would get a call the next
Day. Two days later I get a call from the district manager who apologizes for the
Trouble, advised there's nothing he can do as this is a franchise location and
Their hands are tied. And hopes that I will continue to be an Arco customer.

Really? After that they still expect me to shop there?

Nice try. I sent a letter to the Bellingham chamber of commerce to let them
Know how that business is being run in their town.

On February 12th at approximately 4:30 pm I stopped to get gas at 145 KERN ST. SALINAS, CALIFORNIA [protected]. I had left my ATM card at home but I did have change. I had exactly $2.68 in change. My daughter had problems with the same employee in the past due to giving change for gas. The employee wouldn't take change unless it was in a paper change holder so she didn't need to count it. Myself and my daughter are white and the employee is Hispanic. My daughter @ that time went to her car to put her $0.76 pennies in a coin roll but then asked a Hispanic male to bring her $3.76 in change to the lady for gas. I guess she didn't notice but she took it. Now I had $2.00 in quarters ect and 68 pennies. She told me she won't accept them unless I put $0.68 pennies in a $1.00 penny roll. She told me to go and was telling the guy behind me to step up. I could see if I had 10.00 in pennies or more but it was $0.68 cents. I want something done due to racism & poor customer service. She just refused to count my change and my daughters but took a Hispanics change. I was embarrassed and disgusted with my treatment as a customer.

This happened to me twice already. I bought gas for $30 from them, but they charged me for $60. How can they do like this? Scammers!

Arco charges it's customers $ .45 every time we want to use our debit card at their gas stations. When asked, Arco says the charge is for processing and the convenience of not dealing with, or going into, the store, and wait in line for your receipt. The problem is that there is never paper in the cash machines so you must go inside and wait in line to get your receipt. Where is the convenience in this?

As to the processing charges, they have instituted a debit card of their own that erases the $.45 charge. What happened to the "cost of processing" with this new card? The major problem with that is if your legal address is a PO Box, you are declined without cause!

When contacted about both of these issues all you get is corporate blah blah!

When you think about it, if you aer getting 10 gallons of gar, the $.45 charge is an added $.045 cents to each gallon of gas. You might want to look around for another company who's gasoline costs 4 or 5 cents more so that you don't have to put up with the Arco rip-offs and wasting time in their lines.

On March 25th, 2011 I walked into the Arco AM/PM to pay for gas and get a fountain drink. I went to the register, asked for "$40.00 on PUMP 19 and the 44oz fountian drink." The cashier repeated the pump number "19" to me and I said yes. When I went outside to pump my gas in my work van, no gas pumped, and the pump didnt say there was anything pre paid. I went back inside and asked if she was sure she put it on pump 19 because it hadnt pumped any gas. She said "Yes I'm sure I put 19 because I even repeated it back to you..let me check" after checking and re printing the reciept, it showed $40.00 pre paid on pump 19 so she went in the back to speak with what i think is a supervisor. She then ran outside, looked at the pump, then came back inside at which point another young lady began to help me. Asking me all the same questions as the previous girl I explained once again what had happened. She then tells me "All i see here is $20. so What I can do is give you $20 of gas and take your name and number and after my shift at 2pm count the register and call you" So i then said how she was getting $20 because the reciept said $40 was paid, and her co worker was there to say the same thing. She said that she couldnt do anything more, so I asked to talk to a supervisor. She went over to her supervisor/manager, and started telling him what happened, then comes back and tells me that all she could do it $20. So i then call over the supervisor and he makes a remark in spanish to someone he was speaking with. When he came up to me I told him "Just so you know I speak spanish and understand it fluently and will speak to you in spanish" I told him what had occured and he then told his cashier to just give me the $40 cause it wan't my fault and that they would "check the cameras later to make sure i didnt say a different pump number" I said thank you that is all i was asking for. Then the cashier tells me, she was "only trying to help and was no need for me to get rude" At which point i told her she wasnt being helpful and just looking for her best interest. she then YELLS at me and says "There [protected]@CK $40 on pump 19, get out of here, you are soo drama!" I said thank you very much all I wanted was THE GAS I PUMPED FOR!

Ordered Arco whole bean coffee in a large quantity (whole bean on website only avail in large quantity) as a gift for 80+ yr old in-laws as a Thank you for their support while my Mom was dying. They had Arco ground but really wanted whole bean and I though it would be a nice surprise. What was delivered was all ground & instead of any offer to do anything to make it right (ship the correct order or substitute a dif order of whole bean) they want me to have these people repackage it and ship it all back. They admit it was an error on their website but i don't see this as a resolution. Watch out they do not deliver as advertised!

The young gas station attendant first told me the gas hose wouldn't reach around to the other side of my car (which in itself was ridiculous, as I have it filled this way all the time, which I tried to point out to him — ) but he told me to pull forward and turn my vehicle around. When I did so, he was already filling another customer's tank where I was to pull in. When I confronted him, he shrugged his shoulder and told me "Well, he pulled up." There was quite a line — which I'd already spent plenty of time waiting in — so I left.

And I'll never return.

I also had a similar experience at Arco Gas in Los Angeles. I've never patronized that company before and I'll definitely won't go back there. On Sunday afternoon (11/28/10)I pulled up to the pump and used my debit card at the outside terminal. I selected the pump and returned to pump my gas and no gas came out. I went inside to inform the attendant and was told that my card was not accepted and to pay on the inside. I paid $20.00 + .45 service charge, pumped the gas, and checked the outside terminal to make sure transaction was canceled. I checked my bank account two days later and there was an additional charge of $82.90 date stamped the same day as the $20.00 charge two hours after. I spoke with the owner who was EXTREMELY rude and provided him with my bank statements. He had the audacity to tell me that I must have returned back to the gas station to fill up my tank...BTW I drive a Toyota Highlander or I gave someone my card! I contacted my bank who is now investigating this matter, along with the BBB and Consumer Affairs.

*WARNING* This is a terrible place to get auto mechanic work completed. The wait time for myself, as well as all the other customers I saw there complaining that their services took exceeding longer than was originally told (I was told 2-4 hours, it became 4 days). The ordering of parts was apparently very difficult for them, even for an American made car. The owner, JAY, was extremely rude, and would not follow through on his original promises. JAY does not take the time to discuss the work with customers, apologize for any inconveniences and demeans customers in front of the other people waiting for service. The one bright spot was JON the service manager. He is attentive, intelligent and extremely well spoken, and although he made some errors regarding wait times, he sincerely regretted the mistakes and was immediately willing to reduce the price, arrange other transportation and treat you like a human being. However, that said, due to extremely long waits, poor ownership customer service (JAY) and very small, limited space thereby reducing efficiency of service, I would strongly recommend anyone from getting work done here.

Pulled up to gas pump early in morning around 5:30 AM. Used my debit card at outside terminal to select pump. However, gas pump will not pump gas. Therefore, I hang up pump handle thinking this will cancell transaction. I also try to get a receipt to verify that transaction was closed. However, machine will not give me a receipt. I then move to a different pump which appears to be working fine, where I then pump about $22 dollars worth of fuel. This time I am able to get a receipt which I keep. About a week later, I see my on my online statement, a charge of $22, but there is also a charge for $100. I then later call the service station manager who reviews the video and transactions records with me on the phone. He says he sees my car pull up and try to get gas, then moves to a different pump. He says, that he sees large vehical pull up to pump that I had trouble with later and pump gas. He tells me that my transaction was not closed out, and refused to refund my money. I complaned to him that his pump was not working properly, and that is seems fishy also that someone could pump exactly $100 worth of gas, given also, there is an added 45 cents fee. He doesn't wish to help me, so I file a complaint with my bank which is still pending. I would have thought that even if I started a transaction that it would time out after hanging up the pump handle which I did purposely also? Is there anybody with a similar experience?

We stopped for gasoline yesterday at the ARCO station in Kingston, WA. Shortly after getting the gasoline, our engine started running rough. Used HEET, but still the engine sputtered and ran rough. Had to leave the car at a friend's house when the check engine light came on. Called ARCO today, but they refuse to accept responsibility, insisting that it couldn't possibly be their gasoline since they test it every week. We are boycotting the company after this and ensuring that everyone we know hears about their bad gasoline.

In August of 2009, ARCO Optipay claims that my bank was unable to process a deduction for my purchase, and they are claiming that I owe them $23.00. I went to my bank to check about this as I have overdraft on my bank account and at the time when they said that my bank did not pay them, there was plenty of money in my account. The first time they told me this story, they claimed it happened on August 13, but a charge for the same amount they claimed did not go through was put through on August 17 for the exact same amount.

I have not been able to use my card since that time, and I have made more than 20 calls to them to try to get this straightened out. I was told first that I just needed to send them a copy of my bank statement for that time, which I did, and even attached the name of the bank lady I know who helped me. Even she said there is no such claim that was rejected ever in the whole month, and that because I have had adequate money in my account all the time and also because I have overdraft protection.

Today I finally got through to someone after all these tries, and I was on the phone for more than 30 minutes arguing with them about this. I never did get them to stop saying that I owe them money even though my bank says there is no such charge. I am beside myself. Could this be a fraud being carried out by this company? The company I have been calling is back east, and they are already sending me a statement saying that I owe them $23.00, but I am not boing to pay it because my bank says that nothing has been rejected on their end.

The only thing I could possibly think of was that there was a person working at the counter in the store back around that time, and when I filled my car one time (which I always did by going inside, paying for $20 of gas and getting coffee and a couple of lotto tickets), when I didn't use the whole $20 and asked for change, the man seemed unable to figure it out and he put me aside while he waited on 7 other people. When he finally did wait on me again, I never did know what he did for I was on my way to work, and he was making me late, so I just thought he put it back into my account but he might have caused the purchase to be cancelled instead of paying it. But still, something is amiss here. It would still have shown up in my account because it would have to be put through before it could be rejected.

I am now really convinced that this is a fraud. I have given these people my SS #, etc. because they are telling me they need that information to identify me. I think I will file this with consumer complaints too as I am getting very suspicious that something is really wrong here. I am going to contact every organization I can to get this looked into. I can't believe that HSBC, which is supposedly the company that managed the Optipay card, is doing this, but since I saw another complaint about them, perhaps they ARE doing something illegal.

I went in to the gas station that I always do buisness with and used my debt card. After I arrived home I just happened to check my balance and found that all my money was gone. After talking to my bank I was told that the Arco station had removed all my money. My bank is taking care of the matter and will put my money back within 72 hours but I still decided to let the manager know about the situation. He was the rudest person I have ever incountered in a customer service position. He absoulutly denied that they could not have taken the money from my card, told me I was wrong and that I needed to contact my bank to find out where the money went. I tryed multiple times to explain that I had already spoken to my bank and he refused to hear me let alone take a look at the mornings reciepts to see if I was indeed correct. Now I could understand if I was speaking to the girl that did my transaction and she had something to hide, but it was the Manager, the person you are supposed to go to when you have a problem. This gas station is the most convient but I will never go there again..