The advance of a dispenser meter caused by the repressurization of the dispenser hose.

The condition may occur when a customer at a self-service station drains some of the product from the hose after the dispenser is turned off. When the next customer fuels his car, the hose is partially empty of product and must be re-pressurized. Since the movement of only a few cubic inches of product can cause the dispenser meter to advance and display a sale of 1 cent, the second customer may find that the dispenser displays a sale of a few cents before the product actually flows from the nozzle into his vehicle fuel tank.

Computer creep may also be caused by small leaks in the hose or nozzle, or by the “ballooning” of soft-wall hoses.

Computer creep is sometimes referred to as computer jump or meter creep.