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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Many Salt Lake Valley gas stations have been forced to implement a pay-before-you-pump-gas policy due to the recent spike in fuel costs and gas thefts.
As of October third, several Holiday Oil company-owned stations in the valley have switched to the prepay system. Holiday distributes fuel to many Chevron and Sinclair stations.
Chevron gas station manager Bryan Jeppson says before the policy he was losing up to three-hundred dollars a month.
The National Association of Convenience Stores reported this month that gasoline theft cost the industry 237-million dollars in 2004. The report says the average loss per store was more than 21-hundred dollars in 2004.
Jeppson says since switching to prepay last week, he has had no gas drive-offs. He says only a few customers have complained to Jeppson about being inconvenienced.
(Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
