If you are buying gas soon, think twice about using a debit card.
Gas stations are again raising the amount of money they grab and hold on your card to the highest amount ever, leaving some customers with empty checking accounts.
Nichole Amber pulled up to a gas pump the other day, at a "Grab N Go" station in Fairfield, Ohio.
With her bank account as empty as her car’s gas tank, she put in only $10 of gas.
But the pump hit her debit card for almost $50 dollars, draining her checking account down to fumes.
“When I left and checked my card, I got charged $48.20,” Amber said.
So she marched into the convenience store where she found a sign saying debit cards will be subject to a 48- to 72-hour hold.
However, she said there was no sign at the pump, and when we looked, we couldn’t find one either.
More stations add pre-authorization holds
It’s known as a “pre-authorization hold.”
It’s perfectly legal, and many gas stations do it these days to make sure you have enough money on your debit card to pay for your fill up.
Visa and Mastercard now allow stations to grab as much as $175 from checking accounts, as long as it is returned to customers within 48 hours.
The problem is that the hold at some stations is now as high as $125-150, which happened to Linda Begley last summer.
"They put a $125 hold on a $32 gas purchase, which was like four times the amount,” Begley told us.
Most Kroger stores raised their hold to $125 in 2022, though all pumps clearly state that amount. Some Sheetz stations have holds as high as $150.
So how can you avoid it?
Pay with cash, or pre-pay inside, where the manager will then set the pump to dispense $20, or $40, or whatever amount you want.
The owner of Amber’s "Grab N Go" station told WCPO 9 they will be putting signs on all the pumps, and told us Amber’s charge has now been removed.
But she worries what if she needed her money that night.
"That literally took all the money I had,” she said.
The easiest way to avoid all this is to avoid using a debit card at the gas pumps. That way you don’t waste your money.
______________________
"Don't Waste Your Money" is a registered trademark of Scripps Media, Inc. ("Scripps").
Follow John:
- Facebook:John Matarese Money
- Instagram: @johnmataresemoney
- X/Twitter: @JohnMatarese
Follow Taylor:
- Facebook: Taylor Nimmo
- Instagram:@tnimms
- X/Twitter: @tnimms
For more consumer news and money saving advice, go to www.dontwasteyourmoney.com
