11 mo. ago • 90%

A large local gas chain offers $10 off when you sign up for their app. Is there any legal trouble when spinning up new accounts to claim it over and over again?

Basically as the title says. A local gas station chain has released a new app. They give you a one time $10 off your purchase of any purchase over $10 promo coupon.

The only unique identifiers for your account are an email and your number from a different loyalty points service. I noticed they don't verify the loyalty points number so you can put any random number in as long as it's the right length.

The $10 off only requires a $10 purchase. So if I spun up 3 accounts and went to 3 of their gas stations, pumping $11 worth of gas I would get $33 worth of gas for $3. Furthermore, it looks like this promotion works for anything in store, groceries or even gift cards. The only restrictions printed on the promo itself are tobacco, alcohol and lottery.

Their terms of service doesn't specially state anything about having multiple accounts.

Is there anything actually illegal here or is this a loophole they didn't consider?

Edit

After comparing two coupons back to back I just realized it's the same barcode each time. I don't even need to generate new ones.

36 comments

I don't know if it's legal or not, but i very highly doubt they would do anything to try to get you in trouble with the law or try to recover money from you. I think the worst that could maybe even possibly happen is they might send you a few threatening sounding letters that are just trying to scare you into voluntarily deciding to give them money.

24
"You're never as smart as you think you are" will save you from a lot of headache in life. If you think you're the first to have an idea, you're not.

21
- What about that guy who got one over on the u.s. Treasury and walked with millions in gold coins? Or D.B. Cooper?
  
  9
  
  All gamblers quit right before they're about to hit it big.
  
  8
  
  Or that Canadian couple who figured out a way to rig their lottery to give them an advantage and made millions
  
  7
- And the people who designed this promotion are also not as smart as they think they are.
  
  If all they need is an email, there is nothing illegal about using multiple email addresses.
  
  Now, the OP could have missed something in the T&Cs but based on what they have said, they are not doing anything illegal.
  
  5
  
  The purpose of judges is to account for lawyers who aren’t very smart.
  
  1
If you have the time to do that, it would probably work at first until the staff recognizes you and either doesn't let you repeat that move or even outright bans you from purchasing there.

No further trouble expected, but don't expect this to work for long for you.

18
- There's about 20 of these gas stations within 15 minutes of where I live. Couple that with rotating staff I suspect it could be used about 60 times before the same clerk would see me twice. If spaced out over a week I'm not sure a clerk would even notice given this is a real promotion that people use.
  
  12
  
  If the amount of money you save that way is larger than what you'd earn in the time it takes you to create new accounts and the time you spend for refueling at 3-4 gas stations than it would if you'd only hit one, then go for it.
  
  And don't forget the fuel it takes you to get to the next station.
  
  For me it wouldn't be worth it, but if you have more time than money, go for it.
  
  14
  
  COVID masks
  
  4
  
  So 600 bucks. The cost is you don’t get to use those gas stations any longer.
  
  3
IANAL, but that’s a loophole

16
- Seems more like a poophole to me
  
  1
You’re almost certainly already committing fraud by fudging the loyalty numbers. It’s not a big deal if you were to do it once, but doing it ~60 times is going to signal to a potential judge that this was very intentional. I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but this is illegal. You can keep doing it, but I’d stop well before your area’s felony limit for theft.

10
Their terms of service doesn’t specially state anything about having multiple accounts.

I'd be surprised if it didn't at least state something to the effect of "Offer is only available once per customer" or similar. That's their loophole to tell you to GGF, if and when they notice you taking advantage.

10
Use it to help out a neighbor and a needy person or two, once you have enough gas for your needs. The marketing company managing the promotion will probably upload a quick fix to the app or the software on the pumps very soon. Work fast, Samaritan! :)

9
Lawyers are expenaive. The cheapest option for them, once they notice, is a quick patch to ask for more information or rejecting multiple accounts. Unless this loophole is part of their marketing campaign. After you tell your friends, you are all slightly more likely to refuel by them, both because you used their service or in hope of another loophple

5
i would be surprised if they didn't internally track a device id, so one account in one 'install' per phone.

4
- That's the MAC address isn't it? It's possible to use a random MAC address but apparently that only works with random MAC enabled WiFi networks.
  
  3
  
  On a PC it can be a number of things from MAC to various hardware IDs, but on a phone it's a UUID assigned by the phone maker (different function calls for Android and iPhone).
  
  3
Important point missing, and the reason to always avoid using "Apps".

The email is not the only identifier, but your Device ID / app ID.

This will stay the same probably, and the app will always send the same device ID to these servers, so no way this is possible.

You could try something like an android emulator though, like Waydroid, and reinstall it always.

4
You're getting $63 for $33, not $33 for $3.

And that's $63 you're not spending with their competitors.

They're probably okay with it.

3
- Its late... what why 63?
  
  Goes to 3 servos. Pays 11, gets 30 back
  
  11
- Pump $11. Get $11 gas. Get $10 back. Spent $1.
  
  Repeat three times.
  
  Have $33 gas. Spent $3.
  
  Math.
  
  10
  
  It doesn't apply to the same order. Coupons are off your next order. Coupon comes after transaction completion. Nemo is right.
  
  Spend 10 to get 10 (you spend 10)
  
  Spend 10 pay 0 (you spent zero)
  
  Spend 10 get 10 (you spent 10)
  
  Spend 10 pay 0 (you spent zero)
  
  Spend 10 get 10 (you spent 10)
  
  Spend 10 pay 0 (you spent zero)
  
  = You spent $30 for $60 worth of gas.
  
  So it's basically a half off coupon however many times you manage to use it. 3 times if you bought $10 (not sure why 11) you would have gotten $60 gas and spent $30.
  
  3
- I don't think you understand the coupon. You get the $10 off to use immediately. As long as your order is over $10 it'll work. I've spun up 3 accounts and pumped just $33 worth of gas and only spent $3 out of pocket. Like literally I just gave each clerk $1 in cash.
  
  6
  
  That wasn't clear from how you described it, honestly. But I feel you now.
  
  2
People like you always fuck things up for everyone else. Stop doing this.

-8
- Who shit in your cornflakes?
  
  3
  
  Assholes that try and get free rides on at the expense of others.
  
  1
  
  OP and everyone else who sees “free donuts” and takes the whole box
  
  -1

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