This was done to death on the old AngloInfo sites from about 10 years ago…
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All our local stations have done this for many years, used to be €99, then depending on the petrol station either €130 or €150.
The balance is usually updated quite quickly, Super U can take a day or so.
Well, it’s clearly something which doesn’t happen to me…
I check my bank account and balance every day on-line on my main computer… no app needed.
No sign of any payments out of my account except for those I know about and have authorised… and no refunds either come to that…
They only show up on my phone app if you click on the transaction, not on any of my statements which just show the actual amount taken.
Now, I’m lost… I thought they were “taking” and “refunding”…
Ah well, I’ll have to look closely next time I get petrol…
They’re not actually “taking” anything (or they didn’t use to)
They are holding the pre-auth amount against your account and then release it when the real transaction arrives, effectively reserving it against your account so that the real amount when presented does not fail for lack of funds.
If that were not the case, the card holder could go on a shopping spree and blow the rest of the funds on the account. This prevents that happening.
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The whole pre-auth should take seconds, so the amount showing on a statement will be for the actual cost of the fuel.
There is a cash based analogy. Imagine a slightly distrustful fuel station, where you have to deposit 100€ with the cashier before they turn on the pump. You draw your fuel, then visit the cashier who gives you your (let’s say) 25€ change. As you drive away, it’s clear that you’ve spent 75€ on fuel even though you temporarily allowed the garage to have 100€. But if you’d checked your wallet mid transaction, you’d find that you were 100€ short.
The credit card version is a bit like that…
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You are checking transactions. Somewhere there will be a filter for pending payments. If you don’t have it on you won’t see them.
Ah… I don’t have a credit card …
So do I and I keep a record in my diary of every euro spent so I can tick it off when it comes from the bank via the online statement. Had to do this when I sold my house and had all that money in the account so I knew where I stood andif anyone asked any questions too!
Hi, We were all prepared to go along to the petrol station today, armed with a copy of our bank statement. However, I found that the money had been paid, despite blocking the card, BUT it was the correct amount!
So it was the pre payment thing, and you would have thought the bank (Boursarama) would have known that, but perhaps they were just being cautious -better that way I suppose. Thanks you all for your advice.
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Which is exactly why the prepayment occurs. The transaction(s) happened before the block.
Is this the first time you’ve used your Boursaram card… for such a transaction??
Sorry, Stella - i should have said ‘credit and debit’ cards.
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Bizarrely our local Total garage operates in this way even for debit / credit card payments. When you get to the pump you have to first go inside the shop thingy and say roughly how much fuel you’re buying. He swipes your card and pre-auths the amount you said before turning on the pump. He also sets a limit so the pump won’t deliver more than the amount you said.
If you buy the full amount he just terminates the pre-Auth without you needing to do anything else and gives you the receipt, otherwise if you were under the amount he cancels the pre-Auth and swipes your card again for the amount you actually used (safe in the knowledge you’ve got sufficient funds in your account).
It’s such a palaver, and the garage is on the main road through our town so traffic quickly backs up as people are queuing whilst customers run back and forth.
Yes but it keeps people employed. Regardless of how the queues build up. At several petrol stations round about, there is an employee that works part time, say mornings. Any car refuelling in the morning, either the whole station or all rows of pump except one, are obliged to pay the cashier employee at times when the employee is present, and not allowed to pay on the pump (except during the employee’s lunchtime).
In the afternoons, say, when the employee does not work, it’s all automatic.
There are advantages to both systems. Such as if you’ve not got enough headroom on your credit card for a 150 euro or whatever, preauthorisation that you will need on the machine in order to get fuel even if you will only need 10-20 euros’ worth of fuel (say for a motorbike) if the cashier is not there.
But in the UK, the employee would have been asked to help set up the machines, then sacked. Not in France.
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Yeah I get what you’re saying. I still remember, as a child sitting in the back of the car, when the petrol pump attendant used to fill up your car for you.
I was pleasantly surprised during my first trip to SA too find this still happens over there.
Totally agree!
When my local garage in England changed to ‘self service’ I went in to pay and asked the proprietor what my discount was for doing the job that he used to be paid to do. Obviously the figure was the next one down from 1. 
I really objected to start with and would search out places where they still served, but then I came to realise that it was very good from the point of view of running my business. I always fill the tank to the top and now continue that with 3 automatic ‘stops’ on the trigger. I then closely note my speedo reading on the receipt, and I always get a receipt, so I can work out back at home exactly what my mpg is. Before self service I noticed that sometimes the server either stopped short of full, or kept on going to ‘dribble down the wing’ in order to get a round figure on the price. Not good.
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Yes, exactly the same at my nearest Total garage. Even more bizarrely though, you only have to do this at some of the pumps, for others you just put your card in normally as at other stations. Never could work out why.
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