DO NOT USE A DEBIT CARD TO BUY GAS!!! (WARNING) COULD COST YOU $75!!!

[matcom]

ok. here is the scoop (per Mrs Matcom who is a collections officer at a bank):

Gas Stations are allowed to place a "hold" on your DEBIT CARD ranging from $1 - $75!

They are allowed to do this to verify you have the funds in your account. They will NOT tell you about this "hold" beforehand. Lets say you put $25 worth of gas in your vehicle. They have THE RIGHT to charge you the $25 for the actual gas AND they CAN HOLD up to an EXTRA $50 (again, UP TO $75) UNTIL the charge gets posted to your account! (THIS COULD TAKE UP TO 5 BUSINESS DAYS!)

This could cause BOUNCED CHECKS which will cost you EXTRA FEES with your bank, and possible declined purchases (if you run a low balance EVEN THOUGH the $$ may still be in your account)

TELL OTHERS. She works with this shit everyday!

[Zomby Woof]

1. Question

Will they do this if you enter it as a credit card on the gas pump instead?

[matcom]

3. yup.

BUT if you use an ACTUAL CREDIT CARD, you don't really run the risk of bounced checks.

this is 100% LEGAL for them to do. THE advice is USE A CREDIT CARD OR PAY CASH

[Rabrrrrrr]

2. That's why I use your card.

That, and it makes the gas free for me.

[matcom]

5. fucker

and all this time i thought DS1 was using it :grr:

[Rabrrrrrr]

7. He has one, too

Where do you think I got the numbers from?

[DS1]

20. He can afford it, old Slick 50

[MissB]

4. Is it the bank's policy or the gas station's policy.

My credit union dings $1 against a gas station purchase. I've never had a $75 hold. Ever. And I use all sorts of different gas stations.

[matcom]

6. STATION policy

your bank has nothing to do with it

[MissB]

8. Maybe it is a regional thing, then.

I shop at Shell, Fred Meyers, Union 76, Chevron and Safeway for gas. None of those have ever put more than $1 of a hold against my account. :shrug:

[matcom]

9. don't know but she has a customer who bounced a BUNCH of checks

they called VISA to verify this was legal. it is. the customer is out the extra $$

[MissB]

13. That would truly suck.

[Debi]

10. Give me your account # and I'll try it out here in Iowa

You can tell me how much gets charged to your card! ;)

[MissB]

12. Sounds great!

How about I just post it here? ;)

[Enraged_Ape]

11. I've had them hold back as much as 10% until the sale clears...

but nowhere near $75. That would be a heck of a lot of gas (well, maybe not these days).

I would think if any gas station held back $75, they would run the risk of somebody going all Jonathan Winters* on them. (*Reference to the classic "gas station" scene in Stanley Kramer's "It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World".

[hickman1937]

14. Good to know. Here in Michigan gas prices are becoming a hugh

issue.

[KG]

15. i once had a hotel put a hold on my entire fucking credit card.

got a room, went out for dinner, and my the resturant couldn't charge my my meal. luckily, i had the cash, but that shit pissed me off.

[stlsaxman]

16. go to the ATM, remove the money it takes to fill the tank...

and pay cash!

T' hell with them...

[hyphenate]

17. The Gibbs around here

say that the pumps can only go to $50, so that's their max. And when I've looked at my debit card, it shows $1 most of the time. I don't go to too many other stations because the gas is actually more expensive, anyhow.

[Tafiti]

18. Hmmm.

I look at my bank account almost everyday online, and that's never happened to me...yet.

I'll keep a watchful eye though. Thanks for the advice. :thumbsup:

[DS1]

19. Yeah, saw a report on this on 60 minutes

a family got screwed because the hold was for THREE DAYS!!!!