$5 CHANGE, 4,000 PENNIES, AND A TOWN UNITED
It started with a simple fill-up at Fuel One next to Papa John’s. What followed was nothing short of a community uprising, a tale of betrayal, determination, and revenge best served… in Ziploc bags.
An East Brunswick resident, known here only as S.W., dared to pay for his gas in cold, hard cash. He handed the attendant $60 for $40.59 in gas. Easy math, right? Not at Fuel One, where reality is negotiable and change vanishes faster than a BOE meeting agenda. After a bizarre exchange of bills and disbelief, S.W. was shorted $5. When he demanded the proper change, the attendant stared him down and delivered a line that will live in infamy: “Check your wallet.”
NO RECEIPT, NO JUSTICE, JUST VENGEANCE
Instead of just walking away angry like most of us do after a mild injustice, S.W. announced his revenge plan: return to the scene of the crime with exactly $40 worth of pennies. Four. Thousand. Pennies. “Count it up! It’s all there, you SOB,” he declared with the kind of energy that fuels local legends.
One commenter (C.M.) gave the plan their full endorsement: “I love the penny idea!!! Do it!!!” But others were skeptical. D.D.T. warned, “He won’t take pennies or any change!” And therein lies the plot twist. Would the attendant even accept such a coppery payload? Or would this spiral into a full-on showdown involving law enforcement, Ziploc bags, and a whole lot of jingling?
A PATTERN OF SHADY PUMP PRACTICES?
Turns out S.W. wasn’t alone. S.P. revealed she’d been shorted twice at the same station — by two different workers. N.M. chimed in: “Kept my change and told me he was keeping it for a tip.” Another (J.A.O.C.) refused to leave without her extra dollar — and apparently, the attendant coughed it up like it was his last breath of dignity.
This isn’t just an isolated oopsie. It’s a pattern. Commenters flooded the post with similar stories, comparing scars like veterans of the Gas Station War. From credit card upcharges to unsolicited tip requests, one thing was clear: East Brunswick has had enough.
FROM GAS STATION TO STAGECOACH ROBBERY
“I’m 60 years old,” said I.Y.P., “and I never thought I’d say this, but I’m really starting to dislike people!” Another local hero A.C. took it a step further: “I refused to pay the extra. Told him to syphon it out. Cop sided with me. I drove off with the gas.”
We salute you, ma’am.
One helpful soul (D.W.) dropped the bureaucratic equivalent of a mic with links to the FTC, NJ Consumer Affairs, and the BBB, encouraging the masses to report the station. “They won’t be pulling this stunt long,” he warned, “and they’re getting what happens to be their first Google review right now.”
THE FINAL FILL-UP
So now we wait. Will S.W. return with his bag of pennies? Will the attendant accept them, or call the cops over legal tender? Will someone finally bring a receipt printer to that station? Or will East Brunswick rise up, armed with coins and consumer complaints?
Only time will tell. But until then, remember this:
Tip your waiter. Tip your barber. But if your gas station attendant has sticky fingers? Bring pennies. Lots of ‘em.
—
Eyes on EB: Watching so you don’t get shortchanged — literally.
