Unwary motorists who buy petrol from supermarket pumps face forking out a £99 deposit to pay at the pump following a new European-style rule change by Visa and Mastercard.
Drivers who choose to pay at the pump instead of at a kiosk must pay a ‘pre-authorisation charge’ to make sure they have enough money to cover the amount of fuel they put in their cars.
Last month Asda became the first supermarket to introduce the charge at three stores, but it has been met with complaints from some customers.
Jade Louise of Dewsbury claims she was debited £99 on top of her £5 petrol transaction at an Asda in her home town, and says there were no signs warning customers about the fee.
And she says the money did not reappear in her account for over two days.
Her post on Facebook telling of her experience went viral. She said: “Don’t go to Asda for fuel!!!! Unless you can live without £99 for around two-to-three days!
“They’ve brought in a new system that allows them to take £99 out of your account as a ‘deposit’ for your fuel then a second transaction of the fuel you’ve actually taken and they don’t return the £99 until the second payment has cleared, which can take At least two days with Asda....
“I rang Asda and a manager said they are trialling this, they used to pre-authorise your card for £1 but now it is £99.... so that is money taken from your account that you can’t use until they release it back once the other payment has cleared.
“My complaint to them was that they should have notices on the petrol pumps making customers aware of this as they have changed their policy.
“May 5 we got fuel and we’re still waiting for our refund... absolute joke!!!
“I don’t think this is happening at every Asda store, I was told they were trialling this system so perhaps it’s just at a few selected branches.
And she told the Examiner: “I’ve recently been made aware the funds are actually held by the bank on behalf of Asda. This is apparently to prevent people taking fuel they can’t afford to pay for.
“I’ve always used Asda because it’s usually cheaper and very convenient as it’s close to me. At my local Asda there is only the option to pay by card at the pump, it is not manned.
“As a mum of two children £99 is a lot of money. While this money is being held you are not allowed access to it obviously so can not spend it.
“In my opinion £99 is too much money to pre-authorise a transaction for fuel. It used to be £1. There were no signs anywhere notifying customers that Asda had introduced this change.
“This is my main complaint. I never meant for any of this to go so viral I just wanted to let my friends and family know of the issue I had and urge them not to go as I know many of them can not afford to be without £99 even if it is only for three days.
However, MasterCard says the money does not leave the customer’s account but is held by their bank until the fuel is paid for.
Asda insists that the money is never taken or held by it.
But such has been the volume of consumer outrage and confusion it’s understood that supermarkets may now have second thoughts about implementing the controversial scheme.
Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons have not yet introduced the £99 charge but it is thought they plan to introduce it in the near future.
Previously rules stated a pre-authorisation charge of £1 should be taken at petrol pumps.
A spokesman at Mastercard said: “Last year a change in industry rules meant that petrol stations with automated fuel pumps were required to pre-authorise a value equivalent to a full tank of fuel, so that customers didn’t fill up with more fuel than they could afford.
“This is designed to protect them, and the petrol station. If customers don’t have the required funds in their bank account, a further step is available to petrol stations which allows them to check what available funds a customer has, enabling a lower value of fuel to be dispensed.
“While some customers may see a request for a higher amount than the fuel they bought - perhaps on their mobile banking app -these funds are not taken from their account.
“Only the value of the petrol dispensed is withdrawn.”
An Asda spokesman said: “Visa and MasterCard have increased the minimum pre-authorisation amount at pay at the pump petrol pumps for all retailers.”
