I know this has been a bit of a sore point for some, especially when they seem to introduce it and then back track a while ago. But it seems, it’s back…
I’m curious how the likes of Starling, who takes £30, will fit into this
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Personally I think the answer is just to connect pumps to the internet and prepay
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Our local Tesco allows you to input how much you want before you take fuel. Why they can’t use that and only request that amount, is beyond me?
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It’s all over my local FB group and it’s ABSOLUTELY DISCUSTIN and why doesn’t the Council do anything about it ?
Seems like a good idea to get a credit card for those people, or have £99 spare?
Alternatively, file complaints with the offenders and say you’ll shop elsewhere until they let you prepay for petrol
That would introduce a change to the end users experience of using the system. A lot of people aren’t even really aware it’s a thing, and many pumps don’t have that option at all.
Most people likely won’t even notice the pre auth for £99, in most cases it’s updated almost instantly to the correct amount.
Or just use a credit card like a sensible person
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It’s so odd how often references to councils or councillors “doing something about [something]” which is well outside the scope of their powers or responsibilities seems to come up in Facebook groups and online forums, etc.
It’s like certain people seem to need/want everything decided for them by government. Bizarre; there is nothing stopping them from complaining about it directly to the company involved themselves!
On a technical level, the use of partial authorisation and also instant-updating of the Pending charge to reflect the true value of the transaction in posting should ensure that the system works, but it seems like it often causes issues (particularly around the original £99 authorisation persisting for days and not adjusting virtually-immediately as it is supposed to).
Generally, it’s always best to use a credit card for transactions such as these and also car hire, hotel rooms and so on to avoid issues and allow things to settle without “your money” being held.
I realise that not everyone has a credit card, nor necessarily wants or is eligible for one, so this is an issue. It will get better as we become an increasingly always-on connected society, but the fact payment isn’t instant is (currently) a technical limitation of how the card processing networks work.
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True, but even introducing it for the cases where it is used would probably help.
I think people are only really aware of the whole preauth thing because of notifications and viewing pending transactions introduced by the banks. Before that it was just hidden in the numbers
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True, but it was still a problem for those without much in their account.
If you kept a £1,000 buffer, for example, in your account then it would be fine if a few pending transactions added up to quite a lot and got adjusted down later - less so if you had little funds, as it could result in later charges not going through due to a £0.00 available balance.
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If this means we don’t have to wait until the next working day for the right amount to show in our banking apps then I am all for it.
Having said that, when I was a student, I did utilise Tesco Pay@Pump to fill the car up a few times when I had £0 for a few days until payday, I use to top up knowing I had 2-3 days before they took it out and I’d be paid in 2
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I’m sure people do a similar thing with credit cards but it’s a slippery slope!
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Visa and Mastercard already updated their sites
I can confirm that it works exactly as Mastercard have said. The reserved amount is released as soon as refuelling finishes and the correct amount is charged.
This was with HSBC Premier credit card the other day.
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Even though they look to be one and the same thing, the EFTPOS device on the pump is quite separate from the pump itself.
Since the invention of automated filling stations, it’s been the norm world over for them to be disabled until an assistant resets and activates them, giving them an opportunity to see that the user is operating the pump safely and is not a known runner. If the operator was untrusting, they could request payment or a deposit upfront and then reset and activate the pump with a limit.
When the handle is returned to its holder the totals are sent to be remedied - either by the customer settling the bill at the kiosk or by using the funds captured in advance.
Those principles remain even in the days of pay at pump, the only difference is that the EFTPOS device is now authorising the pump instead of a human.
The user approaches the pump in a deactivated/waiting state.
The user uses the EFTPOS device to authorise payment.
The EFTPOS device resets and activates the pump with a maximum fill level.
After the user finishes, the pump sends the totals to the EFTPOS device which automatically completes the transaction.
The (relatively recent) ‘set fill level’ feature you speak of is entirely pump-side, and the EFTPOS device expects the pump to be in a completely decavtivated state when they begin using the device. Similarly in the traditional ‘pay at kiosk’ flow the person who needs to activate the pump does so without knowledge of any limits the user themselves have added on the pump; it’s an event outside of the normal authorisation flow.
It’s also possible to set that fill level after the authorisation has taken place but before lifting the handle.
They used to do that with Solo cards back in day.
The pump authorised and subsequently debited a flat £30 - it would only let you fill up to that limit & if you filled up less it would refund the difference within a few days.
Big brother Switch just worked like other cards.
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