Drivers will be charged £99 'deposit' to use 'Pay at Pump' at supermarkets

[JimC]

From the Daily Mail - https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9741423/Pay-Pump-fury-new-99-deposit-charge-drivers.html

 

"Furious drivers have blasted an 'unbelievable' £99 'deposit' charge for using pay-at-pump stations. 

Supermarkets and energy companies have quietly imposed the collossal new pre-authorisation fee at selected pumps before it is rolled out nationwide. 

The fee will replace the £1 pre-authorisation charge and affect both diesel and petrol users regardless of how much fuel they want to purchase. 

This is due to 'amendments to the rules' by credit card companies Mastercard and Visa, according to Tesco.  

The grocery giant was slammed by shoppers threatening to boycott Tesco after the fee was piloted at its Stevenage Broadwater Superstore. 

 

But a Tesco spokesman told MailOnline this is the only pump where they have imposed the fee so far, while another source said Sainsbury's have already begun using the fee at 60 pumps across the UK. 

Morrisons refused to comment on the new charge and referred questions about it to the British Retail Consortium.        

A motorist on Twitter hit out at the new charge as 'unbelievable'.   

The user, called 'NiceConvos' on Twitter with a Scotland flag in their name, said: 'Have you heard about the new rule when you buy fuel and pay at the pump by card?

'Unbelievable!! You know how they charge you £1 and then charge the amount that you used and the pound often stays pending for a few days? They will hold £99 soon and then charge you!!'  

 

Drivers across the UK have flooded social media with similar complaints, saying the new charge is unfair. 

One motorist described the new rules as 'horrendous' for people living on a shoe-string. 

'TidyTops' on Twitter said: 'If you don`t have minimum of £99 in your bank account you won`t be able to buy fuel - new rules are horrendous. I for one have a bank account with no overdraft, so what happens to us.' 

All supermarkets and energy suppliers will be imposing the holding fee soon, with an amount up to £99 being ringfenced in customers' accounts for a short time until the unused sum is immediately released. 

Tesco said in a statement: 'Under new rules implemented by Mastercard, Visa and American Express, we must now request authorisation from your card issuer for up to £99.

'Once you've finished filling up, the final transaction amount is sent to your card issuer, and the remainder of any unused funds up to the maximum filling amount will be released back to your available balance.

'We'll only ever charge you for the value of the fuel you've actually purchased.'

For customers whose bank balance is below £99, the card provider 'should respond with the lower amount they will allow, and the fuel pump screen will show the value you can fill up to'.

However it admitted some card issuers may not be able to do this and advised drivers to use another payment card - if they have one.

Asda tried the same scheme in 2018 but scrapped it following a similar outcry from drivers, saying at the time that 'we always want to do the right thing for our customers'.

Reports at the time said the attempt was down to 'a new European-style rule change by Visa and Mastercard'. 

On the current changes, Mastercard told MailOnline: 'The funds never leave anybody's account and they are available for use immediately afterwards.'

 

The spokesperson added that Costco pumps have been using the system for 18 months and that the UK is an 'anomaly' because it is used all over Europe.    

Mastercard added in a statement: 'We are working together with banks and petrol stations to improve the way payments are made at ‘Pay At Pump’ sites. 

'The new process is designed to ensure more people’s cards can be used at the pump.

'When you pay at pump using your card, a temporary hold of up to £100 is applied to your account prior to pumping the fuel. 

'You may see this initially on your banking App, but immediately after the fuel is dispensed the precise sum is withdrawn from your account, and any remainder of the held funds are released for use. 

'Should cardholders experience any issues or have any questions regarding this new process they should contact their bank.'

The levy has technically existed since 2017 when Visa and Mastercard changed the rules, but none of the supermarkets imposed it. 

[jeepjimboy]

Back to long queues at the tills then 

[V]

A surge of payments in cash (not card) transactions at the tills may influence the retailers to return to the £1 authorisation, but I doubt it. Government Covid policies has shown that the vast majority of the public worldwide will do as they are told and suffer the consequences.

[JimC]

Our Tescos petrol station kiosk is closed during the night but they do have pay at pumps available.
A simple solution would be to have pumps like they have in the US where you enter the amount or price of fuel that you want to purchase, your card is debited this amount and you car gets this exact amount of fuel to its tank. The biggest negative to this is that what ever you type in will never be enough for a Jeep.....

[JimC]

Thinking about this, ouch, do not petrol stations already do this when you have to go to the night window and pay in advance?

[Raakhee]

Is it only supermarkets? I have not had this issue at Shell petrol stations but then I use the app to pay at pump.

[Gerald F]

Even at Sainsbury's last week, I couldn't fill the Jeep since there was a £99 cap on the purchase amount. Filling from empty (or the last 5 l., anyway) is a three figure sum at the cheapest pump!

 

[Raakhee]

31 minutes ago, Gerald F said:

Even at Sainsbury's last week, I couldn't fill the Jeep since there was a £99 cap on the purchase amount. Filling from empty (or the last 5 l., anyway) is a three figure sum at the cheapest pump!

 

What? £99 cap and £99 pending charge? Someone didn't think this through. I wonder what happens if you can do 2 consecutive fill ups. Would you be out £198 or will it not allow you?

[Gerald F]

13 minutes ago, Raakhee said:

What? £99 cap and £99 pending charge? Someone didn't think this through. I wonder what happens if you can do 2 consecutive fill ups. Would you be out £198 or will it not allow you?

I don't usually look at my card transactions (until my wife checks the bank account), so I don't know if they make a double charge, but it is annoying not to be able to fill the tank completely before a long journey, or if I'm trying to check the fuel consumption accurately.