Do you use your Visa DEBIT card.....read this.......

[serryjw]

Try and follow a little convoluted.

When you use your debit card at Establishments like restaurants or personal care services (massage!) the V/MC machine automatically adds 20% to the bill that you signed for!...EX: The bill was $100 and you sign for it....BUT it is AUTHORIZED from your account for $120!...When the actual charge comes thru from V/MC it will be for $100! In the meantime you have $20 LESS in your AVAILABLE balance that YOU THOUGHT! If I didn't catch it my Rent check would have bounced to no fault of my own!!Today the $100 charge came thru correctly....BUT if I hadn't transfered money from my savings it would have gone bouncy bouncy.......

BTW..I verified it with my bank.......It is true! Be care! I have food delivered all the time...It never occurred to me this was happening.

[gpandas]

1. gotta read that fine print. n/t

[benburch]

2. The reason they do that...

The tip is added by the customer at the time the check is signed, which is AFTER it is run through for authorization.

Clearly, they do not want to be in a position where your meal amount clears, but the tip does not, so they reserve 20% to cover the likely tip.

Seems fair to me.

[Misunderestimator]

3. That makes a lot of sense, actually.

[Bunny]

4. So, are you saying that when we sign the bill, we should not add

anything for a tip, under the assumption that we've already been charged for it (even though it may not show up on the slip we're signing)?

[msturgis524]

6. No - add the tip

If they didn't preauthorize the tip, the whole charge could be declined. The authorization guarantees the restaurant they'll get that much $. If you had $100 in your account and ordered $100 worth of food, and they ran it through for $100.00. That is what the restaurant is guaranteed to get paid. If you then decided to give a $20.00 tip, and your bank didn't cover it. They get $0. This is because the $120.00 wasn't authorized. FYI they'd still come after you for the $, and they'd probably get it. By including 20% in the authorization they make sure your whole charge doesn't get declined.

Also if you don't add the tip - they won't get a tip. Bottom line is the whatever the slip says is what the restaurant gets.

[benburch]

8. No...

You need to add the tip for it to be charged.

The AUTHORIZATION was to charge 20% more than the check, to cover a tip should you add one, but when the actual charge clears the bank it will only be for the amount of the check should you not tip, or should you tip in cash instead.

[serryjw]

7. It wasn't at a RESTAURANT........

I had a massage and facial...I gave them the tip in cash! I had no idea the machine would add it AFTER my treatmnets........so they were not reserving the money, it was an actual sale.

[msturgis524]

5. True

Having worked in the industry for a while I can tell you that is true. However, your bank should pay the check anyway on a small difference like that. They could bounce it, I don't think most will. A much larger problem though is Car Rental companies. They will often authorize $500.00 or more to you card. (they want to verify you can handle paying the upper end of the rental cost) Even if your reservation is for several months out. Also happens, although less frequently with hotels, and rental stores.

[furrylitldevil]

9. Also

After the business batches out the transaction, the actual amount will be taken from your balance and any outstanding authorizations will drop off after a certain number of days. For example, if you got a $100 tab at a bar, charged the amount on your card, but tipped in cash, the business would batch out the $100 and that amount would be taken directly from your bank acct, while the authorization would remain and say that your available balance was $20 less than it should be until the time period expired and that $20 would be added back to your available balance.