Shell Playing Game With Debit Card Gas Prices, Says Class Action

A Florida consumer lodged a class action Friday claiming she and others paid unexpectedly higher prices when they purchased gas at Shell stations using their debit card.  

Lead plaintiff, Rebekah Kurimski, seeks to represent other Florida consumers that she says were duped into purchasing gas at Shells stations by so-called “cash” pricing. Kurimski says that Shell gas stations bait-and-switch consumers with an advertised “cash” price that is significantly less than “credit” prices.

She says the gas station’s shell game misled her and other consumers into thinking that they would receive the lower cash price if they used their debit cards. Instead, she and other Floridians were hit with the credit price.  

Kurimsky claims that she purchased gas at a Shell station in February. She says she decided to make her purchase at Shell because of the cash price advertised at the station. She claims that, based on Shell’s marketing, she reasonably thought she would get the cash price if she used her debit card. Instead, she says she was surprised when she was charged the credit price.  

Kurimsky alleges that she and other consumers would not have purchased gas at Shell but for the deceptively advertised cash prices.  

“To drive sales and increase their own revenue, Defendant has engaged in a deceptive pricing scheme which misleads consumers into believing they will be charged a lower price for gasoline purchases made with debit cards, when in reality consumers are charged a higher ‘credit’ price for these transactions,” alleges the lawsuit. 

Other class actions have been filed over deceptive cash pricing schemes at gas stations, including a class action against Arco that resulted in a $409 million verdict and, ultimately, a settlement that saw Class Members getting up to $200 each.

The class action contends that consumers reasonably expect debit cards to be treated like cash by retailers like Shell, pointing out several key differences between the forms of payment. 

The biggest difference, says the lawsuit is that for consumers who use credit cards, “the cardholder receives a bill at the end of the month and may pay off the entire balance, or they may make a smaller payment and accrue interest on the remaining balance.”  

“In stark contrast,” notes the class action, “a debit card payment results in an immediate deduction of cash from the cardholder’s checking account.” Indeed, retailers, including Shell, acknowledge that difference by placing an “authorization hold” on debit card transactions.  

The plaintiff seeks to represent other Florida consumers who paid the credit price for gas purchases at a Shell station when they used their debit cards. In addition to damages, the class action wants a court order stopping the allegedly deceptive pricing scheme.  

Have you unexpectedly paid the credit price to use your debit card at Shell gas station? We want to hear from you! Tell us what happened in the comment section below! 

The lead plaintiff is represented by Scott C. Harris and Erin J. Ruben of Whitfield Bryson LLP and Robert C. Gindel Jr. of Robert C. Gindel Jr. PA.  

The Shell Debit Card Gas Price Class Action Lawsuit is Kurimski v. Shell Oil Company, Case No. 9:21-cv-80727 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.  

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