Unexpected pending transaction

roseview

I always pay my card in full each month. I have a high balance currently due to paying for a holiday. I just booked a restaurant for three months time, during the cruise, which will actually come out of my onboard credit but they have ringfenced the payment on my registered card which I was not aware that they would do. This generated a message to say that I was over my limit, even though it is a pending transaction. I have instantly transferred funds to the credit card but was wondering if that will be a black mark on my credit file, even though the actual balance has not exceeded the limit, other than as a pending transaction.

FeaturelessVoid

No, it's not a black mark. Only your actual balance is reported to CRAs.

roseview

I've cancelled the booking and credited funds to my credit card. I'm hoping that they won't take the money now since it takes time for funds to reach credit card accounts. Never been over a credit limit in my life and don't want to start now!

Sandtree

Why not just contact the restaurant and find out what their process is? For popular restaurants its becoming more common to have a no show fee and authorisation it taken at booking to ensure its a valid card with enough capacity (at the moment) to pay... most don't go on to collect until the no show happens.

There is one local restaurant that only has a fixed menu and they charge you for that at booking but there is no doubt from its booking process that you are paying in full up front. 

roseview

Sandtree said:

Why not just contact the restaurant and find out what their process is? For popular restaurants its becoming more common to have a no show fee and authorisation it taken at booking to ensure its a valid card with enough capacity (at the moment) to pay... most don't go on to collect until the no show happens.

There is one local restaurant that only has a fixed menu and they charge you for that at booking but there is no doubt from its booking process that you are paying in full up front. 

It's a restaurant on a cruise ship. Normally, they ringfence purchases each day onboard on the card registered to your account and then charge at the end. However, as it was only a reservation, I would not expect to pay for it in full before I go.