As far as not removing the nozzle I’m not sure how in the world they could do a pre-auth unless it’s just done automatically as soon as the card is swiped? I’ve never had that experience and I’m sorry it happened. I realize it’s a lot of money to have held.
You are correct. The authorization happens as soon as the card is swiped.
I’ve been reading some of the responses on this thread to Mr. Peet who works at a local energy company (gasoline, diesel, gas, C-stores, and so so and so on) doing their books. From an intimate knowledge of the process, she’s been laughing herself silly at some of the ignorant responses. (Not yours, though.) The greedy gas station owner guy got the biggest *guffaw* of all.
The clearinghouse that processes the transaction is who puts the lock on the card and process the transfer. This is NOT VISA, Mastercard, or the like nor is it the bank that issued the card; the clearinghouse processes different cards from all kinds of purchase points.
Great information! Thank you for sharing. I never knew it was a clearinghouse which explains a lot.
I once had a pre-authorization put on my debit card from a company that I never ended up doing business with. I called our credit union and asked to have it removed as it was for a fair bit of money and they said they could not remove it. I was surprised, but now reading you response, it’s clear why they couldn’t.
Thank you! I’m sure you and your hubby have educated a lot of people today :-)