Speedway, SuperAmerica ripoff change in their usage of credit / debit cards Midwest Nationwide
Well this is a new one on me and shows HOW customer loyalty does not pays at some businesses, I have purchase gasoline from Speedway for many years, even before it was Speedway, the old Bonded Oil Co.
Recently I have noticed a change in their usage of credit / debit cards. Since I travel a good deal from February through October, it really just became apparent. Along with this, I find their customer loyalty is more expensive.
Just before leaving on a trip, on Thursday, I filled my tank at a local Speedway Gas Station (a 22 gal tank), since it was a little better than half full it only took 10 gallons, the gas came to $ 17.68, which I had used my debit card at the pump for. Before leaving on the trip, I happened to check my account balances the next day and was surprised to see a $ 50.00 pending transaction to Speed way. On the way to my destination, I again stopped at a Speedway for 15 gals and a total of $ 28.08 and on arrival at my destination I filled up for another 12 gals for a total of $ 22.04. On Friday night after arrival at my motel, I again checked by account balances and found that I now had 3 - $ 50.00 ($ 150.00 total) pending transactions to Speed way for the purchase of $ 67.08 in gas!!!
On my way home, I stopped at a BP across the street from a Speedway that I had previously stopped at, also paying with the same credit card, purchasing 15 gals of gas for $ 27.93 and refilled my SPEEDWAY Coffee cup for $ .60 less than Speedway charges me for a refill of the same cup. That's essentially saving $.04 a gal on the 15 gal gas purchase.
On Monday evening after arriving home, my account balance still showed the $ 150.00 in pending transactions at Speedway for $ 67.08 of purchases, but the BP transaction showed the true amount of $ 27.93.
On contacting Speed way Customer Service on Tuesday regarding this, I received an eMail that it had been forwarded to the appropriate department for response, 2 months later and still no response.
I'm sure they won't miss it much, but I will no longer be purchasing my approximately 3200 gals of gas per year at Speedway.
I just want to make everyone aware of these unscrupulous practices.
Ron
MidWest, Ohio
U.S.A.
1 Updates & Rebuttals
Mike
Radford,Virginia,
U.S.A.
Don't pay at the pump with a debit card.
#2Consumer Suggestion
Fri, April 01, 2005
This is more of a bank rip-off than a gas station problem. To collect more fees, banks have exploited the technical limitations of how debit cards work.
There are two things a merchant does when you use a credit or debit card. The first is "authorization." The merchant contacts the bank and asks if your account is good for a certain amount. If the bank says yes, then the bank is guaranteeing they will pay UP TO that amount on the consumer's behalf later. Then, up to a couple of days later, the merchant will "close" the deal with the exact amount of the purchase. Upon closing, the money is transferred from the consumer's account to the merchant.
Usually the amount authorized and the amount closed are exactly the same. But in certain cases they are not. At a restaurant, they authorize the tab plus about 20% for a possible tip. Later they will close based on what you wrote for the actual tip. Rental car companies often authorize a security deposit, but don't actually take it unless you don't return the car on time. And then there's pay at the pump. Before you pump, the station doesn't know how much gas you will buy, so they authorize a large amount. It used to be common practice to only authorize $1.00 to see if the card is "live". Some stations may still do that, but then they risk not being paid if there isn't enough money in the account.
If it's a CREDIT card, an authorization counts against the credit limit, but is otherwise invisible to the consumer. The next authorization may be declined if it would be over the limit, but that's about all bad that will happen from an outstanding authorization.
DEBIT cards tied to checking accounts, or "check cards" work differently. Banks count the authorization against your available balance. If it ends up taking the balance negative, they might even say you were "overdrawn" and charge a fee. This is COMPLETELY BOGUS. Your money does not leave the bank until the merchant closes the transaction. The bank did guarantee to pay UP TO the authorized amount, but they didn't actually pay it.
The solution is simple. Do not pay at the pump with a debit card. Pump first and then take your card to the cashier inside. This way the only amount the bank ever sees is the actual purchase amount. In general, if you ever go near a zero balance, the debit card is NOT your friend. The excessive authorizations and delayed closures will burn you.