Station system fuels anger as £300 withheld
A MIDWIFE has criticised Morrisons’ new pay-at-pump system after £300 was withheld from her account as she tried to buy £30 worth of petrol.
Morrisons fuel stations recently brought in a £100 pre-authorisation check, after Tesco and Sainsbury’s announced a similar system last summer.
Liz McMurtry made three attempts to pay at the pump last Friday afternoon in Port Talbot’s Morrisons filling station, but each failed so she paid at the till – only to find £100 had been withheld from her account for each of the failed payments.
The 64-year-old, a midwife at Bridgend’s Princess of Wales Hospital, had to wait five days for the full £300 to be restored to her available balance.
She said: “Once they have your card details, surely they could still claim the money if you drove off without paying. They don’t have to do this £100 retainer. It’s a ridiculous amount of money to take off people.”
Morrisons told the Post the system is operated by Mastercard and Barclaycard. A spokesman for Mastercard said the held £100 should normally be returned to a customer’s available balance within minutes.
Liz, of Mariners Quay, was a regular customer at the Port Talbot fuel station. She usually paid at the pump because she found it quicker than going to the till, but she said only 1p would be withheld from her account before the system changed.
Recalling her experience last Friday, she said: “On the first attempt the machine showed ‘authorising’ for four minutes. On the second attempt it declined my card. On the third attempt it showed ‘authorising’ again for three or four minutes so I cancelled.”
Liz filled her car with petrol and went to pay at the till. She says a young woman had been having problems on another pump and gone inside to pay a little earlier.
As Liz went in, she says the “upset” woman told her the pump had taken “all her money from her account” and she did not have any left to pay for her petrol.
This prompted Liz to check her own account. She found £300 was missing, having put £30 worth of petrol into her car.
Liz added: “The kiosk girl said Morrisons had started taking a £100 retainer the week before. It used to be 1p. She had a slip of paper with the new policy to show people in case anyone asked.”
The midwife paid £30 at the till and contacted her bank, which she says straight away restored £200 to her account, but she had to wait until Wednesday morning to get back the final £100.
“I was really cross,” she said. “It’s an awful lot of money to take off someone for £30 of petrol. My tank wouldn’t hold £100 worth anyway.
“How many people pull up to the pump – a young family or someone struggling for money in the pandemic – and are then not able to go shopping afterwards because they’re waiting for their money back? I won’t be going there from now on.”
A Mastercard spokesman said the held £100 should normally be returned to a cardholder’s available balance “very shortly” after they have finished filling up with fuel – within “minutes, not hours or days”.
He added: “Equally the unspent funds up to £100 never leave the customer’s account, they are held during the fuelling process to ensure whatever value of fuel that is dispensed, up to £100, remains available once filling up is complete.
“The change, when experienced correctly, is genuinely good news for motorists.
“The previous process meant that drivers could face unauthorised overdraft charges, and worse, some of the most vulnerable in society who have basic bank accounts or prepaid cards, were simply declined when trying to use pay-at-pump.
“When out of hours, pay-at-pump can be motorists’ only local option, and this new process means that everyone can use the facility.”