UK drivers have been warned about new fuel station rules that may see £100 'taken' from bank accounts.
One motorist is warning other drivers about the major change, brought in at petrol stations across the country after he noticed the amount taken from his card.
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Mark Fuller filled his car with fuel at a Sainsbury’s petrol station, but when he checked his online banking, he was surprised to find a different cost.
The Express reports that the driver said he had pumped £70’s worth of fuel into his car, even though £100 had been drawn out of his account.
It comes under new requirements by Visa and Mastercard, meaning self-service pumps can “reserve” a certain amount of money temporarily.
This is a change from a £1 pre-authorisation taken from customers' accounts to confirm that their card was valid before they filled up.
Mark wants to warn customers of the new pay at the pump pre-authorisation.
He said: "I normally get my fuel from Sainsbury's and I normally pay at the pump to stop me going to the shop and it's always been the case of putting your card in and they take £1 off your card.“You top up your fuel and then two or three days later the remainder of the balance.
"The other evening I went to get some fuel as I normally do, got £70 worth of fuel and when I got up the next morning I checked my banking app and £100 had been taken out.
“I rang up Sainsbury's and they said it had nothing to do with them and it was down to the banks and now they take £100 out of your account and reimburse you the remainder.
"It's absolute madness.
“If somebody goes in and pays £30 worth of fuel they will take £100 out and they won't get the remainder for two or three days.”
"I just want to make people aware because I'm quite fortunate in the fact I had £100 in my account but if somebody hasn't and tries to pay at the pump they're going to be overdrawn etc," he told Plymouth Live.
According to Money Saving Expert, if a driver has more than £100 available in their account then £100 will be reserved on their card when they pay at the pump.
The account is only billed for the amount spent and the rest is returned, although this can take some time.Unused reserved funds never leave their account but they temporarily come off the available balance.
They should revert back within minutes if the system works correctly but some social media users have reported waiting up to five days.
Until funds are returned it can leave some people unable to pay bills if close to their limit.
If there is less than £100 in their account or on their card balance then whatever is available will be reserved.
Drivers will be billed for the actual amount used with the funds returned.
The pump will cut off automatically once a driver reaches their available balance, meaning they shouldn't be taken over the spending limit or pushed into an unarranged overdraft.
This system is being rolled out to major supermarkets, with around 60 Sainsbury’s pay-at-pump sites having already been adopted.
Tesco has rolled it out as part of a pilot at a small number of its sites, with Asda planning to introduce it soon.
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On its website Morrisons said the changes came in from November 2021 and advises customers to pay inside the petrol station to avoid the £100 pre-authorisation charge.
The Sainsbury’s website says: “Under new industry requirements mandated by VISA and MasterCard, self-service pumps at Sainsbury’s Petrol Forecourts will request a £100 pre-authorisation amount before starting the fuelling process; this is to ensure that customers have sufficient funds to cover the cost of fuel dispensed.
“Previously, customers had a £1 pre-authorisation taken from their account to confirm that their card was valid before they began to fill up.
“The exact cost of the fuel would then appear on the customer’s account typically one or two days after the transaction, which could make it difficult for customers to track available spend."
Express.co.uk have contacted Visa and Mastercard for a comment.
