Asda motorists fuming after supermarket introduces £99 for ‘pay at pump’ rule
ASDA customers have been left fuming after the supermarket introduced a £99 holding fee on all "pay at pump" transactions.
The supermarket giant introduced the temporary cost at its forecourts in Hull, East Yorkshire, on Sunday.
Tesco and other large supermarkets have begun rolling out the new holding fee as part of a shake-up of rule when paying at a pump.
Previously, motorists would have £1 blocked out on their bank account to fill up before being charged the full amount one to three days later.
But under new rules, introduced by Visa and Mastercard last year, that holding fee will now jump to £99.
This means banks will now be able to temporarily block out £99 on motorists' accounts until their transaction has been processed days later.
Drivers in Hull have been kicking off on Facebook over the new charge - which were rolled out locally on Sunday, reports.
One user wrote: "£99 bank balance to fill up at Asda Kingswood instead of a £1 now.
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"Wondered why everyone kept driving off (including myself)."
Another wrote: "Not very fair if you're on your last few pound in your bank."
Motorists with less than £100 in their accounts have a smaller amount blocked out known as a "partial authorisation".
At the end of filling up, they'll be charged for what their actual usage and the remaining balance will be released.
The shake-up was announced last year as part of at attempt to tighten security measures and would be enforced in all large supermarkets across the country.
Drivers at the Asda in Hessie Road, Hull, were left raging when the new cap was introduced on Sunday.
One customer said she was being charged for the fuel she took instead.
She wrote: "It's the same at all Asda's now, I went to Skegness last year and only had £50 in my account but it still did the authorising of £99 pound and I put £30 in.
"After you've pumped the petrol the amount you have put in comes out in your pending, not the £99."
A second pointed out: "The issue was that people where creating fake accounts with £1 in and filling up £100 plus.
"Card obviously will never have the money in the account so it was never recouped."
Another urged people to go in and pay instead.
Martyn James, who runs consumer website Resolver, said he helped with over 2,000 complaints regarding the new charge last year.
He told the : "The way this is supposed to work is the money is 'temporarily' held on your account (meaning you can’t spend it) until the end of the transaction when the correct amount should be debited.
"Now the problem – as anyone who has used pay at the pump services will know – is sometimes the machines don’t do what they are supposed to.
"People have been reporting problems anyway with automated pumps, with keying in details, incorrect billing and other issues.
"Many people are rightly concerned that the £99 is being debited in error after they’ve driven away.
"The good news is if this happens, it should be pretty clear that there is an error and your bank should be able to step in on your behalf.";
An Asda spokesman previously explained: "Visa and Mastercard are changing the way that pay at pump transactions are managed.
"Previously when shopping at the pay at pump, your card was pre-authorised for £1.
"This then allowed all customers to fill up to £99 with the final amount charged to your account (normally the day after) and the £1 pre-authorisation removed.
"The new rules imposed by Visa and Mastercard mean that the pre-authorisation has changed to £99 which means your bank may create a temporary hold of up to £99 while you fill up.
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"On completing the transaction, the actual amount is deducted immediately from your account and the pre-authorised amount is immediately cancelled.
"The solution makes it easier for you to keep control of your finances when you pay for your petrol at the pump, however if an issue does arise you should first contact the bank that issued your card."