State Sen. David J. Cappiello's (R-Danbury) legislation, which would require "club" stores that sell gasoline to clearly post the price of gasoline for non-club motorists, has passed the House of Representatives and now heads to Governor M. Jodi Rell for her signature. The vote comes only one week after the Senate, in the same unanimous fashion, approved the measure.
According to Sen. Cappiello, many warehouse and mass merchandise wholesale stores who sell gasoline at discounted prices have been causing motorists a great deal of confusion by posting lower prices, but what many people are unaware of is that in order to receive the discounted price they must have a club membership.
"The posting of gasoline prices at these big club stores is misleading, what many people do not know is that in order to get the price posted you need to be a club store member. This legislation simply clarifies that both prices must be displayed so that consumers who are not club members are not duped into purchasing gas they thought was at a reduced price," said Sen. Cappiello. "With prices as high as they are right now, people are looking to save money on gasoline anyway they possibly can, so when a motorist sees a sign they should know exactly how much they will be paying when they pull up to the pump."
Sen. Cappiello said that he believes the practice of posting the reduced price is the way to get people in the door to buy a membership when many consumers aren't looking to join a mass merchandise club store. "It's the old 'bait and switch' and really takes advantage of people who are looking to save money on fuel costs. This legislation puts an end to that practice."
Sen. Cappiello, who serves as Ranking Member of the legislature's General Law Committee, expects Gov. Rell to sign the bill. He stressed that his legislation in no way prohibits club stores form selling gasoline at discounted prices to its members, but it must clearly post what the price is for the members of the general public. "We cannot have consumers misled by tricky advertising at a time when most people are looking just about everywhere for cheap gas." |
