Don't Pay at the Pump!

Hi CPF,
This is too important not to share with my brothers and sisters. Admins n' Moderators, please move this if I have posted in the wrong forum and/or please make it sticky if You see fit.

Most everyone has bought and paid for motor fuels at the pump.
. . . Don't Do It! . . . And here's why.

My wife is disabled and on a fixed income. This past Friday night she used her Debit/CreditCard to purchase $10 of gasoline, yes that was ten dollars. There was $150 in the account that is tied to that card. Today, Sunday, her card was declined at the pharmacy for perscription medications. I said, Hmmm. Upon logging into her bank account, they had taken $125 for $10 worth of Gas.

So she went on Facebook and others have had this happen to them also.
What they are doing is denying you to use your card to pay at the pump unless there is a $125 balance in the account or $125 left on your credit limit. I got this information from the store manager where it happened earlier this morning. The Merchant Services companies that process Credit/DebitCard transactions for anyone that accepts cards, are putting a hold on the money, until the charge is posted to the account. There are many stories posted on Facebook of people actually getting stranded while traveling to get home while they are away on Vacation.:shakehead

I spoke to my Mom who is elderly and on Social Security this morning, and guess what, She had the exact thing happen to her last week at a different gas station that offers pay at the pump. Fortunately she had just gotten her check, and the charge posted the following business day and the money was back in there. The scenerios are endless.

To me this is a crime. Not because they should not be allowed to do it, but because they have failed to disclose this information on the pump before you use your card. People on Facebook have indicated that some states have actually passed laws to prevent this type of customer abuse. I will be speaking with my statehouse tommorow...

I do not know how to initiate a class action lawsuit, but in my opinion, I feel it is the only thing that is going to stop them from stickin it to You and I, without one's knowledge or consent. Anyone else had this happen? I ask for your thoughts and advice. and thank you in advance for your replies and allowing me to vent.
:hairpull:

Got Lumens?

Sorry to hear of your problem- I have experienced similar frustration with car rental agencies and hotels, and their 'release of funds' policies vary WIDELY.

Having been involved in the retail gas biz for years, I must say that this is up to the individual operator and not a systemic issue. :tsk:

Per-card limits and pre-authorization amounts are set up in the point-of-sale hardware by management at each station.

Petitioning the station's manager or owner for a change of practices would be a much more productive approach, IMO.

Utilizing the 'DEBIT' option on the PAP screen should also avoid any unnecessary pre-authorization issues.

Chicago X said:

Sorry to hear of your problem- I have experienced similar frustration with car rental agencies and hotels, and their 'release of funds' policies vary WIDELY.

Having been involved in the retail gas biz for years, I must say that this is up to the individual operator and not a systemic issue. :tsk:

Per-card limits and pre-authorization amounts are set up in the point-of-sale hardware by management at each station.

Petitioning the station's manager or owner for a change of practices would be a much more productive approach, IMO.

Utilizing the 'DEBIT' option on the PAP screen should also avoid any unnecessary pre-authorization issues.

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Thank You for the insights and information. Unfortunately, this was a chain. I beleive all their transactions go over thier secure network back to a hub somewhere, where as you have said, they set the holds, and trickles down to all their stores pumps. I have spoken directly with the store manager this morning, who has never heard of this. I am the first to bring it to his attention.
GL

My wife does the bills anyway, and she got rid of the debit cards. I was pissed until I started reading about debit cards getting hacked. That manager needs to get hung.

Rich

richpalm said:

My wife does the bills anyway, and she got rid of the debit cards. I was pissed until I started reading about debit cards getting hacked. That manager needs to get hung.

Rich

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Thanks for your support Rich. At a bare minimum, atleast put the D*m disclosure Stickers on the pumps!

I first read an article about this activity in Consumer Reports circa 2004. Holds on debit cards by gas stations are nothing new, though as Chicago X had said, it's the company policy, not the industry standard. My local station once did $200.00, now it's $1.00, maybe due to public objection. boycott them, and maybe write a strongly worded letter.

I dont get it. The card company holds onto the 125 or so balance until the charges are finalized to the account? for how long do they hold onto the amount usually?

This should not be allowed

In my case it was the whole weekend, until sometime Monday.

Hi Got Lumens,

The gas chains are required to use a proprietary network for their credit-card uplink. As late as last year, the majority of these were STILL dial-up, as the only other option was a direct satellite feed for over two thousand dollars monthly. This closed network is ostensibly used to prevent identity theft, but is essentially another profit center for the parent company.

The manager may not have the pay grade to change the settings, but the owner does. On the Gilbarco CRIND system (less familiar with Wayne equipment) one needs the 'black key' to make such changes.


In addition, I received this (very timely) e-mail from Chase today:

Before you fill up your tank, you are asked to swipe your debit card to authorize your purchase. When you do this, a "placeholder" of $1 is charged to your account, which is then changed to the actual purchase amount after the merchant submits the transaction.

For example: If your gasoline purchase is $22.50, then that amount will be paid to the merchant and posted to your account. However, you may see a $1 charge in the pending transaction section of your Account Activity page for 1 to 3 days until the merchant submits the actual amount of your purchase. You should always immediately deduct the actual purchase amount from your balance, even though it could take a few days for the money to be taken out of your account.

This seems to be a new policy, aimed squarely at the petroleum companies.

The time between them taking your funds and returning them is called the "float." Imagine the interest earned on all of the monies held, even for a short time - the float earnings are a little-discussed revenue that help add to the record bottom-lines posted by petrol companies as of late...and now the CC company wants their piece. :thumbsup:

Is this just an American thing ? I don't believe it happens over here or anywhere else in Europe. Anyone else around the world had this ?

Jay R said:

Anyone else around the world had this ?

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Certainly not that I'm aware of in Australia.

Chicago X said:

Hi Got Lumens,The time between them taking your funds and returning them is called the "float." Imagine the interest earned on all of the monies held, even for a short time - the float earnings are a little-discussed revenue that help add to the record bottom-lines posted by petrol companies as of late...and now the CC company wants their piece. :thumbsup:

Click to expand...

Any credit on a card here is back dated to the day of the transaction not the day it's processed, there would be no benefit to the merchant here.
Norm

I still don't see why I should be angry about this? I pay at the pump with my Discover card weekly and have never had any sort of issue at all. It might be a problem if you routinely run your card to within a few dollars of your limit, but other than that, why do I care if they hold a couple bucks until the charge is finalized? Am I missing something?

Because $125 is NOT a "couple bucks" to everyone. Sorry we can't all be as fortunate as you...

Dsoto87 said:

Because $125 is NOT a "couple bucks" to everyone. Sorry we can't all be as fortunate as you...

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Ha! Sorry to burst your bubble but I'm not rich. I'm a year out of college and I don't make tons of money. My point was that they don't KEEP the money, it is just a temporary hold. On a credit card transaction you likely never even know it happens. You just see the real number charged on the statement. So why is it a big deal? I'm not being cocky; apparently it is a big deal to some people. Why is that so?

nbp said:

So why is it a big deal? I'm not being cocky; apparently it is a big deal to some people. Why is that so?

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Because if that is your ONLY $125 then for the next 3 days you can't buy food.

That annoys some folks.

So the problem comes in if a person is already near their credit limit on their card and the "hold" creates a freeze of sorts on their account preventing them from using it. I see what you mean.

I guess I didn't realize there were so many people walking around with maxed out credit cards. I agree, a $125 hold seems ridiculous, but I didn't realize there would be that many people seriously inconvenienced by it since in a day or two it will disappear and the true charge will be posted. I never get near enough to my credit limits to have a problem or notice if this is being done to me. I've never heard of it before. :shrug:

Comment withdrawn.

Gas stations pre-authorize a certain amount to your credit card before you fill up, and when you are done, they then charge the actual amount you filled up and cancel the pre-auth charge. This is to make sure that people have enough credit on their cards, and as you noticed, the pre-auth charge can take a while to clear up. If your credit limit is low and you cannot afford the pre-auth charge, you'll want to pay inside and not at the pump. That's just how it works, there's nothing to sue about.

nbp said:

So the problem comes in if a person is already near their credit limit on their card and the "hold" creates a freeze of sorts on their account preventing them from using it. I see what you mean.

I guess I didn't realize there were so many people walking around with maxed out credit cards. I agree, a $125 hold seems ridiculous, but I didn't realize there would be that many people seriously inconvenienced by it since in a day or two it will disappear and the true charge will be posted. I never get near enough to my credit limits to have a problem or notice if this is being done to me. I've never heard of it before. :shrug:

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I have a secure credit card so I can establish and build my credit...$300 credit line.

See the problem?