Pricing error sets premium gas at 3.9 cents a gallon in Hubert

The Scotchman convenience store at N.C. 172 and N.C. 24 was selling Exxon premium unleaded gas for 3.9 cents a gallon for at least an hour and a half Monday before workers discovered the error and temporarily closed off the pumps.

Store workers refused to comment on how long the price had been dropped or when the pumps would reopen.

But before they discovered the error and as word spread, cars started lining up at the pumps with drivers pulling out their cell phones to notify others as quickly as they did their credit cards to top off the tank.

David Frey and Rob Benton heard about it on the radio. At first they weren't paying attention until they heard a woman say she got 22 gallons for 84 cents - that's when the two men perked up and started trying to find the station.

Their detective work paid off - partially. Workers closed off the pumps while Frey was trying to fill his car. He only pumped about three gallons - shelling out 12 cents - but he still had a hard time accepting the deal was over before he could take full advantage of it

Hubert resident Matthew Davis was also upset, but for a different reason.

"I was upset that I filled up earlier (Monday), and I come here and it's 4 cents a gallon," he said.

That $87 he shelled out earlier in the day to fill up his Chevy Silverado probably wouldn't have cost him much more than a dollar.

"When the gas prices go up, everything's affected," he said.

Other drivers who filled their tanks declined to comment on the record because of worries their actions were illegal.

They needn't have worried.

"It is not illegal to get gas at a lower price if the price is set wrong at the pump," said Capt. Tim Akers of the Jacksonville Police Department. "But there are moral questions about it. People should act the way they want to be treated."

Staff writer Lindell Kay contributed to this report. Contact Timmi Toler at ttoler@freedomenc.com or 910-219-8458.