A free gas card promotion has Las Vegas residents' patience running on empty. Thousands of drivers are still waiting on their cards, months after the promotion ended.

Contact 13's Tricia Kean sorts through the mess and shows you what to do to get what you're owed.

"They were giving away $250 in gas certificates," said John Brooks.

Last summer, car dealerships all over town were offering free gas to get you in the door.

With gas prices over $4 a gallon at the time, it was an offer that John Brooks just couldn't pass up.

"I thought that was a pretty good deal so I went down and test drove one of the cars," said John.

The deal was simple. John would pay a $5 fee, keep receipts of his gas purchases and send them in every month to be reimbursed.

John's good deal soon turned into a situation that would frustrate him to no end.

"I jumped through all the hoops. I sent in all the paperwork and called them a few times and they would not talk about it," said John.

After weeks of calling and never receiving his gas card John was told to contact the Better Business Bureau in Florida.

That's when he knew something was wrong.

"I called over there and found out there was a lawsuit going on all over the country because it was a big scam," said John.

The Florida-based company who was running the promotion is called Tidewater Marketing.

They hosted the site freebiegas.com and they're now in a world of trouble. Contact 13 obtained a copy of a lawsuit being filed by the Florida Attorney General against Tidewater Marketing.

It alleges, deceptive marketing practices and contains nearly a thousand complaints nationwide against the company.

Contact 13 tried to contact Tidewater Marketing for a statement but when you visit their web site all you find is a place to file a claim if you were taken advantage of.

Fortunately for John Brooks, somebody was on his side.

"I called Channel 13 and talked to a really nice lady over there. And I believe she just kept calling the dealership here in town until they finally gave me my $250," said John.

The dealership hand-delivered the money to John ending months of frustration.

The Contact 13 bottom line is local dealerships were also victimized by this company. The Florida Attorney General's office has filed an injunction against freebiegas.com essentially shutting them down.

The good news is they won't be scamming anyone else. Unfortunately, it also makes it very hard to get any recourse for consumers.

Click here to file a complaint with Tidewater Marketing.

Keep it tuned to Channel 13.