Hi @Kellyflowers. Your card was not actually “charged” the first time. There was a pre-authorization hold placed on it. That hold will drop off in 3-5 business days, which is standard with most all issuers of debit cards, especially business debit cards. Since you said this happened on Thursday, then I would not expect the hold to drop off of your account until Tuesday - Thursday.
I believe you. But I’m sure that when you used it the day before, the pump didn’t mess up and you didn’t have to run the card a second time. As long as the transaction completes normally, then the pre-authorization hold is usually just updated with the actual amount and all is good. That’s why you don’t usually notice it. The problem comes in when the transaction is cancelled/aborted after the hold amount is approved. Since there is no follow-up to complete the hold transaction, when you re-run your card at the gas pump, a second pre-authorization hold is generated.
What the gas station should have done is let you pump your gas then close out the first transaction manually without having you run the card again. Since they did not follow what I would call correct procedure when the pump messed up, the first hold is going to stick around for 3-5 days. The problem here is the fault of the gas station employees who probably didn’t follow procedure. I’m not sure there is much you can do about it except be sure that you don’t overdraft your account until the hold falls off.
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. Gas stations are notorious for this. They put up misleading signs that say the banks initiate the holds, which is nothing short of a lie. Banks don’t initiate holds — gas stations do. This will clear up. It just takes time.
@perkits Wow. Our pumps start at $25 here. They can max out at $50. Isn’t the USA a fun country? Lol
