£99 deposit on fuel.

50Twuncle

Could someone please explain to me the thinking behind Asda (and others) plan to charge a "deposit" of £99 on "pay at the pump" petrol ?
I mean - surely - when you pay by this method - you put your payment card in first - and if you don't have the funds in your account - you will not be able to take any fuel anyway ?
So - if they intend to charge £99 - this is EXTORTION ?
They claim that any money taken will be refunded quickly - but what if, for example - you only spend £10 on fuel and only have £30 in your account ?

Oakdene

50Twuncle wrote: »

Could someone please explain to me the thinking behind Asda (and others) plan to charge a "deposit" of £99 on "pay at the pump" petrol ?
I mean - surely - when you pay by this method - you put your payment card in first - and if you don't have the funds in your account - you will not be able to take any fuel anyway ?
So - if they intend to charge £99 - this is EXTORTION ?
They claim that any money taken will be refunded quickly - but what if, for example - you only spend £10 on fuel and only have £30 in your account ?

But by your reckoning, if you have say £20 in your account you should be able to draw £20 worth of fuel. However given that you draw your fuel after putting your card in you could in theory put £80 of fuel in....

Edit, if you only have £30 in your account it won't go through it will tell you to pay at the kiosk...

wymondham

Just walk inside and pay - easier? Plus you can annoy other drivers by doing a mini shop at the same time!

[Deleted User]

Extortion is the crime of obtaining something from someone, especially money, by using force or threats.

https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/extortion

This must be a @50Twuncle thread then...

facade

They don't charge £99, they put a "hold" on £99.
Because everything nowadays is "modern", "better" and "computerised" this can take quite a while to sort out, so if you check your account balance straight after you will see two figures
The first is how much is stashed in that little shoebox with your name on (hands up who gets that reference)
The second smaller figure is how much is available to spend, which is £99 less. (As £99 has been reserved to cover a possible fuel bill of £99)

Eventually, in the fullness of time, the actual amount that you spent is charged to your account, and the hold is released.

The reason for the hold is that you could easily throw your card to someone who could quickly draw out your remaining funds/spend them on sweets in the kiosk and then there might not be any funds to pay for the fuel by the time the charge reaches your bank.

gettingtheresometime

50Twuncle wrote: »

Could someone please explain to me the thinking behind Asda (and others) plan to charge a "deposit" of £99 on "pay at the pump" petrol ?
I mean - surely - when you pay by this method - you put your payment card in first - and if you don't have the funds in your account - you will not be able to take any fuel anyway ?
So - if they intend to charge £99 - this is EXTORTION ?
They claim that any money taken will be refunded quickly - but what if, for example - you only spend £10 on fuel and only have £30 in your account ?

Or what if you only have £30 in your account - does that mean that the transaction doesn't get 'preapproved'.

facade

gettingtheresometime wrote: »

Or what if you only have £30 in your account - does that mean that the transaction doesn't get 'preapproved'.

Exactly. You will be told to pay at the kiosk.

As I said, everything is "better" now it is "computerised" so there is no way for the pump to reserve all of that £30 and only allow you to have upto £30 worth.

I believe that some chains don't do this, as people manage fill up just before the end of the month when they don't have enough funds, in the hope that they will have sufficient funds when the charge is presented. (Which is probably illegal in some way tbh)

pogofish

This is not news - we have had loads of threads here over the last couple of years from people who have been hit by this.

agrinnall

wymondham wrote: »

Just walk inside and pay - easier? Plus you can annoy other drivers by doing a mini shop at the same time!

As I understand it this is being done at unmanned pay at pump filling stations, so there is no pay inside option available.

paulharding150

It is not by any stretch of the imagination a 'deposit'

50Twuncle

paulharding150 wrote: »

It is not by any stretch of the imagination a 'deposit'

OK a downpayment then ?
a deposit is :
"A sum payable as a first installment on the purchase of something or as a pledge for a contract, the balance being payable later."
or
"A returnable sum payable on the hire or rental of something, to cover possible loss or damage."
I am guessing that the second one covers it ....