Be carefull using a debit card at the gas stations.

[Dr.Phool]

I posted this inside another thread, and thought it needed it's own.

It seems some stations are putting a $75.00 hold on your debit card when you buy gas. Even if you only buy $5.00 worth. Or $0.14. Say, you only have $72.00 in your account? How about a nice hefty overdraft fee from your bank.

http://www.sptimes.com/2005/09/09/Business/Gasoline_buyers_say__.shtml

(snip)

When customers use a debit card to pay at the pump, some gas companies and banks put a financial hold on their bank accounts for as much as $75 even though the purchase may have been for much less. The hold is released when the transaction clears, which usually takes only a day or two, but can take up to three business days. During that time, customers are denied access to their money.

Heather Leinen said she ended up with a $75 hold on her checking account after buying $25 worth of gas at a Hess station on Hillsborough Avenue in Tampa. The big problem: She only had $72 in her account. She said AmSouth Bank charged her a $32 fee for insufficient funds and said "there is nothing they can do to help."

Mary Ann Ryan managed to incur a $225 hold at a Spring Hill Hess station through what she termed a "comedy of errors." After swiping her debit card, she realized she couldn't read the screen on the gas pump and drove to another pump. She swiped the card again, then realized after pumping 41 cents worth of gas that she had chosen the premium nozzle. She swiped the card again and bought $14.76 worth of regular gas.

(snip)

Talk about getting screwed several times on one transaction. And there's no sign warning people of the practice.

[whatever4]

1. Thank you, I had no idea. As is what they want, I'm sure. Thanks! nm

[momisold]

11. This is not new.

It's been going on for a long time. I use debit card for almost all my errands. Some restaurants also put on a little extra to cover tip until tip is processed.

[goclark]

2. thanks for the heads up

[slor]

3. Wow...the thieves never...

rest!

[ohio_liberal]

4. This has been going on for quite some time

Happened to me last year at a local gas station when I paid with a Paypal debit card with a MasterCard logo.

[Sgent]

5. Although

being felt more because the amount of the hold has raised, this type of situation can arrise anytime you use a debit card to gaurentee something -- including hotels/motels, rental cars, and a variety of other situations.

For instance, it is not unusual for a rental agency to issue a 500-1000 hold on a car, or for a hotel to issue a room charge + 50% for your entire stay.

This is one of the major disadvantages of debit cards vs. credit cards.

[Atman]

6. There was a sign on CT pumps...but now its gone

A couple of stations I stopped at regularly warned customers of the hold, with a sticker very prominently placed on the front of the pump. Big bold letters. My point is, no one was trying to be sneaky or hide this message. In fact, it also stated clearly that you could avoid the hold simply by selecting "CREDIT" when using your debit card, or bringing the card inside and paying for your transaction at the register. It seems the hold was only placed on at-the-pump debit transactions, since they don't have any way to verify who is swimping the card.

When we were in Arizona, every gas pump we stopped at required us to enter our home zip code, or PIN, to use a debit card at a gas pump. That's a good thing.

Anyway, sometime in the past six months, those debit card warning stickers began disappearing from the pumps. The policy hasn't changed, but apparently someone passed some law exempting anyone from the warning, or something. I don't know why they're no longer displayed. I am sure it connects back to BushCo and perhaps the Bankruptcy Bill somewhere.

To recap: I know my bank allows me to go over the dail withdrawal limit on my debit card if I merely press "credit." IOW, I may have $1000 in my account, but my debit card has a $500 daily withdrawal limit. But, by making it a "credit" transaction, there is no $500 limit.

[gasperc]

7. I always select credit using my combo card

my card will do either but I always select credit since it forces the store to pay

[ohio_liberal]

9. Yeah me too, now

It took me a while to figure it out. Now I only use Credit, and I get 1% cash back. Walmart is the only company that refuses to let people do it.

[meganmonkey]

8. Exxon/Mobil does this - and their employees are CLUELESS!!!

Soon after I moved to a new town, I started getting my gas at a Mobil station.

I was checking my account balance online soon thereafter, and saw several charges for $52, followed by credits for the same amount.

I recognized the gas station, so I printed out my account info and brought it into the gas station, and asked the person at the coutner what was going on. She had NO CLUE. And of course, the manager who might know something, only worked a few days a week at weird hours...

Then I called my bank to ask about it, and I started to explain the situation, and the woman interrupted me and asked if it was Exxon or Mobil, which of course it was, and said she gets tons of calls about it. I asked her if it was even legal, and she said 'barely'.

I was pissed.

Haven't gone to that gas station since. (For the record, the reason I was even going to the Mobil station in the first place was that we are pretty close to the highway, so the other 2 stations are very busy, and this station was a few blocks off the main road, business there is slow, and I tend to support the underdog).

Sounds like with gas prices so high, they have raised the amount they charge.

Fucked up shit, man :mad:

[Art_from_Ark]

10. Just another gouge of the average citizen

by Korporate Amerika

[Catherine Vincent]

12. This has never happened to me.

I use my debit card all the time to put gas. The only time I get charged is when it goes past the allowed amount. Now if I use an actual credit card, and I don't have enough money on the card, it won't accept it.

[soup]

13. So there's no recourse?

>>Heather Leinen said she ended up with a $75 hold on her checking account after buying $25 worth of gas at a Hess station on Hillsborough Avenue in Tampa. The big problem: She only had $72 in her account. She said AmSouth Bank charged her a $32 fee for insufficient funds and said "there is nothing they can do to help."<<

I'd be Howling.

more from the article:
>> All but one of the complaints the Times received involved Hess purchases. Hess blamed the banks, noting they decide to place the hold.

"I'm not getting use of the money," said Rick Lawlor, retail marketing vice president for Hess. "The only thing I'm getting is many phone calls and headaches. I have convenience stores at most of my stores in Florida. Why would I want customers' debit cards shut off?"<<

Ah, but, Rick:

>>However, as gas prices have risen, some companies have been asking banks for larger and larger authorizations. Hess now asks for $75, which takes all the risk out of the transaction for the gas company.<<

Jeeze.

[RebelOne]

14. I don't think that applies to all banks.

When I make a purchase with my Bank of America debit card, it shows up immediately. I always check my account on their Web site and even if I had made a purchase an hour before, it is debited from my account.

[ET Awful]

17. Correct, IF you pay as a debit and use your PIN number, if you

pay like a credit card, it puts a hold on the funds (depending on your bank and on the gas station).

[soup]

21. We haven't had any problem, either,

and our account is with BoA, too.

But, note the article stated that all but one complaint was about Hess stations (which we don't frequent).

[ET Awful]

15. Hint: This ONLY applies if you pay at the pump.

and if you use your debit card like a credit card instead of using it like a debit card and entering your PIN, etc. To avoid this issue, although it takes a little longer, go inside and request a specific dollar amount of gas (based on what you think it will take to fill the tank) and PREPAY for it. This will result in them only charging the exact amount you request.

The hold is something they started a few years ago to make sure that customers had sufficient funds to pay for a fill-up, and they picked arbitrary amounts to pre-authorize.

It's a pain in the butt, but I can understand why they'd do it. As to the charge you mentioned for Ms. Ryan, it's an automated process, so although it sucks, I would blame her bank, not the gas station. Most banks, when told exactly what happened, will refund the fee.

[Left Is Write]

16. I never use my check card to pay for gas or guarantee hotel rooms.

I only use a credit card for that.

Also, when I use my check card for any transaction, I *always* have it run as credit. Not only does that avoid some potential problems, but I also get the the cash reward option that way (I get a percentage of purchases back from my bank by running my check card as credit rather than debit).

[KansDem]

18. Self deleted

Double post

[MissB]

19. My credit union puts a $1 hold on the account

when I use my debit card at the gas station. I'm guessing it varies by bank.

My father gave me a visa gift card last Christmas- and it came with a warning that if it was used at a gas station, they would reserve $50, no matter what the purchase price of the gas was. The warning said it would take 2 to 3 business days for the correct amount to go through. They were right. :shrug:

[KansDem]

20. I knew they did this with credit cards, but didn't know about debit cards.

A few years ago, my family and I took a little vacation to Colorado. We budgeted for expenses and used our credit card for some expenditures like motel and gas. Well, coming home we stopped just inside the state line with Colorado (extreme western Kansas) to fill up. I figured I had enough on my card for a couple more fillups--enough to get home (ALLLLLL the way 'cross Kansas to Kansas City). Well, much to my surprise my card was rejected! Here we were, stranded. Fortunately, my wife had a money order in her purse that she was going to use to pay a bill, and we were able to cash it for cash at a local grocery store (not every place will do this), and we were able to drive the rest of the way home.

When I arrived home I called my card company who informed me that a $50-$100 hold was put on my card for each transaction at the gas pump, regardless of how much gas we bought--buy $25 in gas, get a $50-$100 hold put on the card. Do that a few times and see what happens to your "available credit!"

[cry baby]

22. Thanks, Dr.

for the heads up.

[Norquist Nemesis]

23. Warning!!! Don't use your debit card at ANY gas station!!!!

Seriously!!! I will use me debit/credit card as a credit card whenever possible. Just a little over a year ago, I used my debit card at a gas station. Some crook managed to get the swipe AND my pin number. Within three days, we were COMPLETELY WIPED OUT! Every last dime and then some was taken out at ATM machines in amounts of $250, $300, $500, a couple of fill-ups...until there was anything left but overdrafts.

We live pretty much paycheck to paycheck, but LUCKILY our bank worked with us. The bastards got the swipe a couple of days before payday and stole everything over a Friday, Saturday, Sunday (after a quick check to see if they could get away with it on Wednesday by taking a very small unnoticeable amount). Then, BAM!!!

We had no money to buy groceries, gas, etc. for about a week until the bank came through with a 'loan' while they investigated. We had to get new cards which took another three weeks and change any automatic payments we have set up with monthly expenses. It was a nightmare that lasted six months. Thank goodness it was only a small amount or it would have been longer, but to us it was all we had.

The best they can figure out, there was a contraption on the pump with a camera (for PIN numbers). The crook can come back later as if to be filling up and detach the machine and camera. Then they go and put the swipe information onto blank cards that they sell to other crooks. :grr: