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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Business
Sam Barker

Drivers furious as Tesco hikes ‘pay at pump’ petrol holding fee from £99 to £120

Tesco is increasing the amount of fuel drivers can buy from £99 at a time to £120 at all its forecourt self-service pumps - and some drivers aren't happy.

An increasing number of Tesco self-service pumps work by blocking out £99 to £120 in your bank account.

The idea is that whatever amount you spend on fuel is taken as payment, and the rest is refunded within the hour.

But some drivers report not getting their money back for days - or even weeks.

Have you experienced issues with the Tesco "pay at pump" holding fee? Let us know: mirror.money.saving@mirror.co.uk

Drivers can buy an extra £21 of fuel at Tesco self-service pumps (SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

On Twitter, one motorist said to Tesco: "Can someone contact me about a pay at pump payment which has been pending from bank account for a week! Absolute disgrace."

Another said: "I put £20 on pump for fuel yesterday and you have taken £120 out my account for it and the £100 still hasn't returned?

"I'm a parent with food to buy etc, this is so wrong."

Tesco has been approached for comment.

Last year Tesco started reserving £99 from customers' bank accounts if they used a self-service pump at some forecourts.

These pumps rely on customers putting in their card detail and PIN before filling up their tanks.

If a customer bought £50 of fuel, they would have the remaining £49 released back to their bank account.

But now Tesco is upping that £99 limit to £120 across all of its self-service petrol and diesel pumps.

At current fuel prices, a £120 limit means petrol drivers can buy 74 litres and diesel vehicle owners 66 litres on average.

The previous £99 limit meant drivers can buy 61 litres of petrol and 55 litres of diesel at Tesco self-service pumps.

The same applies to nearly 200 Esso petrol stations which Tesco co-runs.

Tesco is doing this to let more customers fully refill and stop drivers from filling up with fuel they can't afford, The Mirror understands.

Aside from the £99 pumps, most of Tesco's self-service pumps reserved £1, with the supermarket taking the rest of the cash for petrol later on.

Drivers will soon have £120 reserved from their bank accounts when they fill up at any Tesco self-service pump.

If a customer does not have £120 in their account, the petrol pump will tell them how much they do have.

The motorist can then buy fuel up to that limit.

Many drivers on social media have already noticed their limits changing.

One said on Twitter : "Has the amount you take from the initial payment from pay at the pump changed?

"Normally £1 comes out of my account but just been and £120 has come out and only put £20 in."

New figures show that diesel is more than 20p more expensive than petrol for the first time on record.

The average price of a litre of diesel is now 163.13p, with diesel 20.81p higher at 183.94p a litre.

Last week The Mirror reported that petrol prices could rise again after it was confirmed oil production will be slashed by two million barrels per day.

The deal was agreed by members of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) and Russia.

It marks the biggest reduction by the group since the height of the pandemic in 2020.

Oil prices had already jumped last week, on expectation of supply being cut - raising fears this will push up fuel prices as a result.

A spokesman for the RAC motoring group the wholesale cost of fuel would "inevitably" be pushed up as a result.

"The question is when, and to what extent, retailers choose to pass these increased costs on at their forecourts," spokesman Simon Williams said.

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