interesting article about what happens when you pay at the pump with a debit card.
http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/...ng/P118381.asp

I usually pay cash or use my credit card. I can see how this would cause a big hassle for those who have very limited funds in their accounts.

 

It's the same idea as when you reserve a hotel room. The server stakes out a block large enough to cover if you stay an extra day or two, which can be a real pain in the you know what when you're on vacation.

I've never had this happen to me before, but I've got overdraft protection on my account. I did get a surprise surcharge from some gas station in the Texas panhandle for using my debit card though. I never saw it mentioned on the pump, but when I checked my account online after I got home, the SOB's had taken an extra dollar for the privilidge of buying gas from them.

 

At our hotel, we have a notice about it at the front desk. It might not be the same at every hotel, but our system only takes the amount authorized, and as long as you keep the charges on your debit card, that is all we will take. However, if you change the form of payment when you leave, it could take up to ten days for the money to be released.

 

I don't Know why merchants and consumers should be charged a user fee when using debt or credit cards. It's all done electronily. When a manager has to close out their tills and then do the nightly deposits it is more time consuming to count cash, register each check on the deposit slip then it is to do the batch deposit on credit or debt cards. Which then is transfered electronicaly thru their card terminal and it all becomes an EFT. One would think this method would be cheaper than handling checks and cash.
I can see this block being used on hotel reservations but not that user fee or the fees charged to merchants to process cards.

 

Retailers pay for the privelage of interact service as well and this is their way of passing the cost on to the customer . Most small users now have a low limit for card sales as well as the sales under a certain amount are not worth their cost .

Our Gold Key Account has no card service charges and will not pay more out than I punch OK for when using the card at the time of sale .

If the additional charges the retailer wish to add are not posted in a visible spot at the cash they can not add these charges after the sale has taken place in the case of fuel or the likes that is already in your tank .

 

The service stations usually only charge $1 for a few days and then it goes to the amount. I haven't ever paid more than $33 for a tank of fuel so I don't know about higher amounts.

 

I don't ever use the pay at the pump service anymore. I was ripped off for $15 at a station I was never in because they had my card "imprint" and I could not "prove" that I had not been there. I had used that electronic service at a few stations before but this was at a brand I never patronize. Guilty until proven innocent seemed to be the operative terms. Now unless they can show me my signature on a receipt they are out of luck. The CC company also knows this.

 

That's the just the thing though. At pay at the pump, there is no signature so they can say you just needed your $15 worth.

 

The credit card company has been told that I do not use that service and will not accept any receipt from a service station without my signature. If they try it again I won't pay and will cancel the card. There was no way they had my imprint that day but I couldn't "prove" it, but they are on "notice" now. I check my CC statements very carefully and have caught a number of errors over the years. People have transposed digits and charged things to my account numerous times. There have been charges from companies I wasn't doing business with anymore because someone needed something to charge it to and they had my number "on file". There have been a few supposedly electronic transactions that could not have happened. This one just happened to be in my local area and I could not prove that I was hundreds of miles away etc. I don't trust those machines at all. I would suggest to anyone to check their CC and debit card statements very carefully. Those little $10-20 "misplaced" charges can add up to big bucks for someone. Fraudulent charges to a CC can usually be handled easily with no problems unless you are maxed out on the card. Debit cards are a different story and if they are drawing out of an account that you pay bills from you could end up with an overdraft situation or maybe the truck/house payment not being made on time. Things like that usually happen at the worst possible time due to Murphy's law, -like when you are on vacation or out of town etc.

 

Did they have you on camera?? If not, I'd argue that could be proof

 

I learned that valuable information the hard way about four years ago when my checking account was low. I'll be darned if the bank and the gas company(QT) would not admit to charging and holding that $75. I was beet red mad. I contacted both the financial instution backing the check card and the gas company and they both tried to play dumb and pointed the finger at each other. What a joke and waste of time to try to get any info from them on that. It isn't right. We should start some nationwide legislation or amendment to that charge. I can live with them putting like up to $10 for a hold, but it's out of hand. And yes, my hold was for days. It was not and is not right. Isn't the bigger problem the people that drive off without even paying??!!??!!! QT are you listening??????

 

Problems like this are an unfortunate side effect that we sometimes pay for living in a highly convenient society. I for one would much rather pay directly at the pump and take my chances that a mistake or a mis-charge will happen to me (again) rather than go inside, count out $$$ bills and wait 20 minutes in line for the sole clerk to handle 20 customers. Which by the way most of THEM are inside handing over their credit or debit cards anyway, as if its not possible for a mistake to be made doing it that way.

 

Cigar - You had a problem with QT? I've always found them to be great, and one time they did have a mix up on one of my credit cards, but I just went to the manager when I found out, and they credited me back all my money they owed me plus the money they cost me in overdraft charges.. they gave me about $70 worth of stuff because a bunch of stuff hit me because of overdraft.

 

MrKnight: I like simply paying cash ad reaching over past all those at the counter to drop the bills and say pump 4 or whatever as I do not collect their air miles or $.58 off at wally world or whatever to clutter up my life .

 

Heya RomerB2, ya, instead of the store manager I contacted corporate as per their website. It was a waste of time then. Maybe things have changed since then? Who knows.