Drivers caught out by new £100 card 'charges' at petrol pumps

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Drivers have been caught out on new measures in place at the petrol pumps which ‘charges’ them £100. Changes brought in by Visa and MasterCard means £100 is automatically taken from your account as part of a pre-authorisation check, reports Birmingham Live.

The previous amount was £1 before the exact amount would then be debited from your account.Checks are carried out to ensure that drivers have enough money in their account to pay for the fuel.The cash never leaves the customer’s account and they are only charged for the amount of fuel that they have filled up with.However, customers cannot spend the ring fenced cash until it has been released.

Some have taken to social media to complain that they have been caught short as a result of the measure. One driver issued a warning after the temporary charge left her £20 into her overdraft after the £100 was ring fenced.She had enough to pay for the fuel, but the remaining cash was unavailable for two days.Others have reported similar waits for the fund to show up in their account once again.“I had this too in Redditch and visited the store three times and it’s still not back in my account five days later," one said.Another replied: "Wow, didn’t even know this, will always pay inside from now on.""So angry.

Please be careful using paying at the pump" said a third.One commenter advised shoppers "never use pay at pump if you're low on money". Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - Sign up to our daily newsletter here.