so i went to a bp in durham on the way home from a friends house. bought gas at the pump, 20.01 and paid with debit at the pump. then i went inside and bought a pack of smokes, 3 something, paid with same debit card and the screen read 3 something. did this all with a paypal debit card.

got home and was checking somehting and realized that they charged 75.00 to my account. there is a charge for the 20.01 listed as a PIN transaction. then there is a charge for 75.00....instead of 3 something.

problem is, i didnt get a receipt, thinking ...well i dunno, just figured it didnt matter.

either way, i have all the charges listed online and they can check in their system to see that i bought cigs. theres nothing in the store that could even cost 75.00 and i cant fit that much gas into my car (and i already bought 20 bucks worth outside, listed in my statement)..

you think i can go in there tomorrow and clear this up or am i fucked out of 71 bucks and change?

9/4/2008 10:42:26 PM

I dunno, you should wait and check your funds after 8 or 9 am then go straighten it out.

9/4/2008 10:45:05 PM

where do you bank?

the bank should cover it

[Edited on September 4, 2008 at 10:47 PM. Reason : talk to your bank, not the gas station]

9/4/2008 10:46:26 PM

Is this a pending charge/hold, or is this listed with all the other previous charges that have already been properly taken out of your account?

9/4/2008 10:46:42 PM

your problem was the smokes...cancer's a bitch

9/4/2008 10:47:37 PM

its listed as pending, but already debited from my account. im hoping its right in the morning.
hasnt done this yet, although im new to this paypal debit
no bank, paypal

^thats what i was thinking, stupid for buying them, i will only smoke a few anyways..

[Edited on September 4, 2008 at 10:49 PM. Reason : lkj]

9/4/2008 10:48:21 PM

what's the advantage to paypal debit over a bank?

9/4/2008 10:50:22 PM

in all seriousness, it might be right in the morning...i've had this happen before with online purchases, where it clears a certain amount, and then only actually deducts the correct price

if it doesn't fix itself by the morning, call up paypal (though i don't know how they work)...you might also want to call the station and have them verify the amount

9/4/2008 10:51:30 PM

not sure either. but once when i bought a pack of smokes with credit card, the lady keyed in the wrong amount. she caught the mistake after the receipt was printed, but it was only like 17c, so i said, "keep the change," like i was balla.

always a good idea to check price on scanner or receipt. takes but 2 seconds.

9/4/2008 10:51:55 PM

usually gas stations will authorize your card at the pump for the maximum amount they will allow in one transaction (that's why the pump stops at $50 or $75)

when merchants process credit or debit transactions, they submit the initial hold for the amount for the initial authorization. when they process the batch that night (or a bit later), they submit the actual transaction amount. gas stations do this so they won't get ripped off (i.e. you pump gas, they do the auth afterwards and your card gets declined, the gas is already in your car)

give it a few days - i'm almost certain the $75 will get released since you were already charged $20.01.


rules to live by:
1) don't use debit cards at the gas pump unless you have buffer room in your account, as you'll be out $50 or so for a couple of days, even if you only get a few bucks worth of gas.
2) use credit cards so this isn't a problem. just make sure you pay it off at the end of the month.

[Edited on September 4, 2008 at 10:53 PM. Reason : this is also how restaurants are able to charge you tips after you sign the receipt]

9/4/2008 10:52:59 PM

oh the ever common freak out regarding pending charges and debit cards.


give it a day or two before releasing the dogs. You should be fine.

Next time, run the card as credit at the pump, or be prepared to lose availability of funds as they try to prevent people from finagling free gas with plastic. Granted if you have 20 bucks on a card, especially paypal you can technically grab whatever amount of gas you want, as the pump won't batch out for a couple of days usually.

[Edited on September 4, 2008 at 10:54 PM. Reason : .]

9/4/2008 10:53:17 PM

its different, it just connects to your paypal account, so if you sell something on ebay or something, you can transfer the money into to your bank account..which takes 3-4 days, or the debit card you have instant access if you need it. i just got it, dont use it much, dont have much money in my paypal

9/4/2008 10:53:54 PM

it's a good idea to always run your debit card as credit for everything anyway

9/4/2008 10:55:02 PM

Quote :

"always a good idea to check price on scanner or receipt. takes but 2 seconds."

it read 3 something on the scanner, i said YES to the amount. i checked it..just didnt get a receipt

9/4/2008 10:55:25 PM

^^this is also true

if for no other reason, paypal doesn't give you cash back on pin-based transactions, and the majority of visa promotions/sweepstakes and card rewards only work on signature-based transactions.

also, that's probably the reason you had an auth for $75 and were also charged the $20.01. run it as credit next time, or use an actual credit card.

^you weren't charged the wrong amount. the clerk didn't make a mistake. read teh thread.

[Edited on September 4, 2008 at 10:56 PM. Reason : .]

9/4/2008 10:56:11 PM

I've ran my paypal debit card at the pump a couple of times as credit when I only had a 20 dollar balance. I'd fill up 80 dollars in gas and paypal covers it and puts your account in the negative until you pay it off, effectively giving you a small line of overdraft credit with no penalty.

/unethical

9/4/2008 10:57:08 PM

not concerned about the balance, theres enough money in the account, but now i feel better about the pending charge. i didnt want to drive way the fuck out there again
no cashback on pin transactions? didnt know that. understandable i guess, so 200 limit on cash daily, atm

[Edited on September 4, 2008 at 10:58 PM. Reason : asdf]

9/4/2008 10:57:40 PM

this just sounds like an all around terrible idea

9/4/2008 10:58:03 PM

^^^yep i've noticed this too

also i love how we both said essentially the same thing GREAT MINDS THINK ALIKE K

[Edited on September 4, 2008 at 10:58 PM. Reason : .]

9/4/2008 10:58:17 PM

ok, so on my paypal account, it lists the 20.01 charge, and a 75.00 charge. no charge for the 3.80 or whatever. wouldnt I at least see that listed? even if they auth 75 for the pump? seems strange

9/4/2008 11:00:13 PM

basically it breaks down to

debit at gas pump - $75-100 dollar authorization hold to cover purchase
credit at gas pump - $1.00 dollar authorization, though I've ran into ones that somehow authorize 1.00 but check that there's at least $20-30 bones in the account.

^^^I'd use that loophole all the time in highschool effectively turning gas money into weed money when it was much more lax and only required 1.00 paypal balance

^20.01 and 75.00 with no separate 3.xx.. is a bit weird yeah.

[Edited on September 4, 2008 at 11:05 PM. Reason : .]

9/4/2008 11:00:55 PM

not really sure about that.

i'd give it a few days for the merchant to send the batch. it should all normalize by then. if not, call paypal and/or the merchant.

9/4/2008 11:01:10 PM

well, thanks for the help tww..

i think thats the first time ive ever said that (and actually meant it a little)

[Edited on September 4, 2008 at 11:03 PM. Reason : ad]

9/4/2008 11:03:23 PM

i buy 90% of my gas at BP and always run it as credit and all that ever shows up on my account is the exact amount i bought. none of this $1 at first, then the amount or anything

9/4/2008 11:03:39 PM

Quote :

"well, thanks for the help tww.."

why don't you hook me up with some of that fine glasswork you do

9/4/2008 11:06:51 PM

i think evan wants you to make him a buttplug

9/4/2008 11:07:55 PM

i got a couple pieces for sale, 100-250 range..thats it for a while, going to a glassblowing competition(yeah..lol)

9/4/2008 11:08:32 PM

i'm a shark!!!
i'm a SHAAAARK!
suck my diiiiick!!
I'M A SHAAARK!!

9/4/2008 11:08:55 PM

this is why i amex everything and pay it at the end of the month

i would rather let them deal with it if there is a problem

9/4/2008 11:09:03 PM

^^^are they labeled/separated in your portfolio ?

9/4/2008 11:10:28 PM

Quote :

"this is why i amex everything and pay it at the end of the month i would rather let them deal with it if there is a problem"

amex ftw

9/4/2008 11:10:55 PM