Angry drivers have attacked Tesco for blocking £120 on their debit or credit cards when they use them to pay at the fuel pump - even if they spend much less on fuel.
In the past month, the amount customers can pay in one fill-up has risen from £99 to £120 at Tesco and Esso Alliance forecourts across the UK due to the rising cost of fuel, but this means the pre-authorisation amount - the amount that's temporarily put on hold on your card - has also risen to £120.
The measure is intended to stop people driving off without paying for fuel, or filling their car with more than they can afford and being unable to pay for it. Before that, it reserved just £1, but last year, Tesco, along with several other supermarkets, changed the way it sold fuel at a small number of forecourts, which involved “reserving” £99 in customers' accounts when they paid at the pump.
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Tesco said the new system was due to Visa and Mastercard’s payment rules and that the £120 should be returned immediately after sale, but some angry drivers have taken to Twitter to complain about having waited several hours or in some cases days for the hold to be lifted.
@SocialistPlus said: "Pay at Pump this morning. £120 was deducted from our bank account as well as £60 for fuel. They say that the £120 is a holding fee to ensure enough money is available, refunded within 4 hours. 7 hours later and nothing. Has anyone else experienced this?" while @Kfooz21 asked: "Can someone contact me about a pay at pump payment which has been pending from bank account for a week! Absolute disgrace!!! You've taken the actual payment so why is £120 still pending. No-one seems willing to sort this out."
Tesco replied on Twitter: "Once you’ve filled up, we then let the bank know exactly how much you filled up and the rest of the pre-authorised amount is released back to your account within an hour," but customers blasted the system, with @ldthompson92 replying: "What a farce. You took £120 on Friday plus £17.51 for fuel. It’s now Monday & I still don’t have it back. Please explain how this makes sense & why anyone should continue to use this system?
@MichelleThomps1 said: "This is stupid. There is no way that you can ask the bank to give it back to you. You have taken 120 and the 17 out of the account. Surely that’s robbery!"
Tesco changed the way it sold fuel in some forecourts last year. Some Tesco petrol garages still only take £1 from accounts - but the new £120-checking system will be rolled out to all of them by the end of the year. The system only affects pay at pump transactions - if you pay in the kiosk, you will still just be charged for what you have bought.
Tesco said if a customer does not have £120 in their account, the pump will tell them how much they have available and allows them to refuel up to this amount.
Asda and Sainsbury's still only pre-authorise £99 and £100 respectively.
Mastercard told The Sun : "Although customers may notice in their banking apps an initial transaction for a higher ‘pre-authorised’ amount than the fuel they bought, this is very temporary, as almost immediately after the sale is made the exact value of fuel dispensed is withdrawn from their account, and any remainder of the pre-authorised amount is released for use. "Should cardholders experience any issues or have any questions regarding this new process they should contact their bank."
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