Paying at the pumps

FiestaRed

I've always paid for my fuel at the counter, now my local Tesco garage is slowing reducing the number of pumps where this service is offered.

Can anyone please advise how I use my credit card at the pumps? I read somewhere that garages make a £99 charge on your card and this is a bit confusing. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Dean000000

Yeah, you preauthorise £99, but then when you fill up to say £60 it instantly charges the £60...

It’s just a method of preauthorising the payment...

And usually quicker

FiestaRed

Thanks for the help Dean. Am I correct in thinking that the only charge that should appear on my card is the fuel I pay for and not the £99?

iolanthe07

This is a good way to stop people filling up their car and then driving off without paying - a big problem for garages in some areas.

FiestaRed

Thanks Iolanthe. Excuse the ignorance, is it as simple as putting the card in the slot at the pump and keying in a pin somewhere?

chrisw

Yes. Put card in slot and key in pin no.

The pump will say take up to £99 of fuel. Put however much fuel in you wish and when you hang the nozzle back up the sale completes. You will only be billed for what you've actually put in.

You can press the button for a receipt if you want one.

Carrot007

FiestaRed wrote: »

I read somewhere that garages make a £99 charge on your card and this is a bit confusing. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

They authorise you for up to £99. When doing this they reserve £1. Which will show in pending, though it should drop off and you never see it it can raake up to a week.


Some garages (Asda I heard, probably others too) started using a higher fee for the reserve in case you only had £1 on your card and they would not get paid when requesting the full amount. They meant you needed £99 + the cost of fuel on your card to make a purchase although the £99 would never be taken and as before could sit areound for a week resducing your balance.


This is only an issue if you are constantly at your limit. Staaying £100 under it is a no brainer anyway and if you are not you have bigger problems. Should still do it if you ask me, the police are underfunded enough to have to chase non payers exploiting a loophole.

FiestaRed

Thanks for the help Chris, really appreciated.

societys_child

Depends on the bank, but a charge of £1 appears on my account (to verify it's an active account) before accepting the card and dispensing up to £99 worth of fuel.
A few days later the £1 charge drops off and the correct charge is applied.


Just thought I'd mention it, seen posters wondering why they'd bought for example £40 fuel and only been charged £1, asking if they should contact the bank, or just say nothing . . wishful thinking maybe :rotfl:


Edit: cross posted with carrot . .

knightstyle

Plus you can scan your clubcard at the pump to get points.

Aylesbury_Duck

But note that when they're running the 5p or 10p off a litre promotions, you cannot use the vouchers to pay at the pump.