Abbey "borrowed" £1167 from me!!

agsnu

It has nothing to do with your bank, really - it is the merchant (or their acquirer) not correctly voiding their authorisations.

Part of the reason I don't use a debit card at point of sale or on the internet.

shellylovesshopping

agsnu wrote: »

It has nothing to do with your bank, really - it is the merchant (or their acquirer) not correctly voiding their authorisations.

Part of the reason I don't use a debit card at point of sale or on the internet.

I can confirm that items are "witheld" and will therefore not show as an available balance.

As soon as you use your card the funds are withheld from your available balance but not actually debited from your account until the transaction goes through the card services. Occassionally a merchant will put through wrong amount - this may be withheld - but the correct amount taken from your account when the actual transaction is finalised via card services.

If you make a purchase on the internet, often the merchant will take a £1 or even smaller amount first to confirm the account details - these will show as authorisations but are never taken from the account. As a member of the public you would not see these details on your actual statements and are used to confirm the card identity and to ensure any stolen cards (that have been reported as stolen) do not have transactions carried out on them.

Hope this helps confirm why small amounts are often withheld and why balances may differ.