Motorists Left Confused By Asda's New £99 Pay At Pump Rule

Asda customers have faced confusion after spotting new pay at pump fuel rules at a petrol station in Hull. 

A member of the Hull Traffic and Travel Facebook group warned others about a new ‘£99 bank balance’ change they’d encountered at Asda Kingswood, in turn prompting a bit of a debate in the comments. 

They said: "£99 bank balance to fill up at Asda Kingswood instead of a £1 now. 

"Wondered why everyone kept driving off (including myself)." 

Asda had previously announced that the way ‘Pay at Pump charges your bank account’ would be changing, explaining in a statement to customers: "Visa and Mastercard are changing the way that pay at pump transactions are managed,” the supermarket explained. 

"Previously when shopping at the pay at pump, your card was pre-authorised for £1. 

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"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. 

"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." 

But since noticing the new rule in action, shoppers feel a little divided, with one commenting on Facebook: "Not very fair if you're on your last few pound in your bank." 

But some were supportive of the change, writing: “In case you’re wondering why it's because scammers used to be able to put their bank cards in the machine, only having £1 in their account, and could get £99 worth if fuel as it wouldn't be debited to the account for a few days. Scammers took the liberty to use this all the time to either get fuel for themselves or to sell it on. So I guess the supermarkets have found a way to stop this from happening.” 

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Someone else said: “Right let's get this straight it's not the petrol stations doing it it's the banks it's Visa and MasterCard doing it to make sure you have at least £100 in the account you're using at pay at pump.” 

Another added: "Just go in and pay." 

According to Hull Daily Mail if you have less than the required £100 in your account, the payments machine will instead reserve a smaller amount - known as ‘partial authorisation’. 

When you’ve finished filling up, you’ll be billed for your actual usage and the remaining balance released. 

The team at MoneySavingExpert also advised in a 2018 blog post that if you don't have the money 'available in your account or on your credit card', it may just be 'easiest to pay in the kiosk'.

LADbible has reached out to Asda for comment.