Tesco Debit/Credit Card Floor Limits

wellsie

Hi All, just a quick query really. Me and the OH are on a DMP now, for one reason or another.......Overspending, living outside of our means, job loss etc..

We've got a Visa Debit CashCard Plus account with the Nationwide (465935) I have noticed that it works at Tesco Pay @ Pump. If you are 2 days before payday and without money or fuel, as long as you have £1 in your bank, tesco will pre-auth the £1 and let you fill upto £99. They don't take the transaction from your bank (only the £1 pre auth) for at least 3 days (I never risk doing it more than 2 days from payday!). A useful tip if anyone is really stuck as we have been many a time. If however you do it, and the funds are not in your account when Tesco come to collect it, your bank will pay and charge you a fee, then Tesco blacklist the card and you can never use pay @ pump with said card, so beware.....

Also, went to Tesco today for some shopping. Had £15 in current account, and £1.96 avail on Capital One (£200 limit). I paid using the Cap One card and it went through. I've come home and straight away paid Cap One the £15 online. I find this interesting as Tesco must have some kind of "floor limit" that they allow you to spend without checking your card first.

Before we went onto our DMP, we had a Barclaycard, with £30 left on it. I went onto Tesco Direct and ordered 2 x iPads totalling £799.98. They authorised it and I collected the items in store the next day. What confused me was, I logged into Barclaycard 5 mins after the purchase to see flashing red screens saying we were £769.98 over limit, pay now.

So what happens - do Tesco contact Visa and Visa say "yeah allow payment", then Visa goto Barclaycard/Cap One and they are then forced to pay the amount to Tesco. I just don't understand with the current IT systems in place, that if there is no available credit in your account/credit card, the transaction should surely be refused at point of sale.

Sorry for the long post, just wondered if anyone had any experience of Tesco and their financial systems.

BTW our DMP is going really well with the CCCS, but with the amount outstanding (£84k) think we might be heading down the IVA route, so might be asking for some advice after reading through the first timers sections.

Best Wishes
Wellsie

Toe-Jam

Why would you intentionally buy goods worth £700 knowing fine well you only have £30 to pay for them, you may as well have shop lifted them.