Sainsburys pay at pump.

g6jns_2

I filled my car up at a Sainsburys filling station that has just installed new pumps. I inserted my Barclaycard Amex and entered the PIN. The display said I was authorised to have £99 of fuel. I purchased £56 worth. When. I checked my Barclaycard account online later I found that both £99 and £56 had been set against my credit limit. Barclaycard confirmed that the two amounts had been authorised. Since I have a large credit limit it is not a problem to me. However, someone close to their limit could find the selves penalised. I have raised a complaint with Sainsburys and await their answer. I wonder if this problem is peculiar to Sainsburys Hankridge Farm site or more general?

reclusive46

This isn't a problem for Visa and MasterCard transactions as they support authorisation reversal (cancelling the hold instantly) and it is done on the original £99 as soon as the transaction is complete but Amex don't support this yet in the UK (They are getting the merchant banks to support it on their terminals).

pd52

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5154862

g6jns_2

reclusive46 wrote: »

This isn't a problem for Visa and MasterCard transactions as they support authorisation reversal (cancelling the hold instantly) and it is done on the original £99 as soon as the transaction is complete but Amex don't support this yet in the UK (They are getting the merchant banks to support it on their terminals).

Thank you. It seems Sainsburys need to set the initial authorisation to £1.

g6jns_2

pd52 wrote: »

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5154862

Thank you. I had not seen this thread.

redux

g6jns wrote: »

Thank you. It seems Sainsburys need to set the initial authorisation to £1.

Why? That would not give them an indication that the customer's card has enough credit to pay after the fuel has been delivered.

reclusive46

redux wrote: »

Why? That would not give them an indication that the customer's card has enough credit to pay after the fuel has been delivered.

While true, Asda, Tesco and BP stations I've been to with Pay at pump authorise only £1.

Atleast none of them are as bad as they are in the US. I once had an Exxon Mobil station authorise $300!!!!

g6jns_2

redux wrote: »

Why? That would not give them an indication that the customer's card has enough credit to pay after the fuel has been delivered.

Nor does filling up and then going to the kiosk to pay.