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Asda, Morrisons, Tesco, and Sainsbury’s explain ‘£99 petrol rule’ to confused motorists after backlash

It comes after the pre-authorisation rules for 'Pay at Pump' facilities have changed significantly.

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant - 15th February 2022

Four of the UK’s major supermarket chains have been forced to clarify how motorists pay for their fuel at petrol stations.

After reports this week claimed that Asda was the latest supermarket to bring in the controversial new £99 deposit rule for people using ‘Pay at Pump’ services, which sees it following in the footsteps of Tesco and Sainsbury’s, it’s sparked its fair share of backlash from motorists condemning its introduction, and many confused as to what it actually is.

If you’re unfamiliar with the situation that’s been unfolding since last summer and the changes that have been made, then it basically refers to the deposit amount which is taken when using ‘Pay at Pump’ facilities.

Previously, all ‘Pay at Pump’ transactions were authorised by simply requesting a £1 transaction from your card issuer, before taking payment for the value of the fuel one to three days later, but back in June 2021, new rules imposed by Visa and Mastercard saw that pre-authorisation amount rise up to £99 at some retailers.

This means your bank may create a temporary hold of up to £99 while you fill up.

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On completing the transaction, the actual amount is deducted immediately from your account, and the pre-authorised amount is immediately cancelled.

Previously, all ‘Pay at Pump’ transactions were authorised by requesting a £1 transaction from your card issuer / Credit: Pixabay

Mastercard explained in a statement shared to its website last year: “The way you pay for your fuel at an automated fuel pump in the UK is changing.

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“Your card issuer/bank will temporarily reserve up to £99 of your available balance while you fill up [and] then when you have completed fuelling, you’ll be charged for the correct amount of fuel you have used and the remainder of any reserved funds will be released back to your available balance.”

Read more: You could soon be charged a £99 deposit for fuel at petrol stations across the UK

While some supermarkets immediately rolled out this update to pre-authorisation payments, others have just started to trial the process.

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Tesco, Sainsbury’s, and Morrisons were the three supermarket chains to announce the changes to the pre-authorisation amounts for ‘Pay at Pump’ facilites last year, with Asda – which was said to have already been forced to suspend a similar scheme three years ago after complaints from motorists – reported to be bringing the change in this year.

But now, each of those retailers have had their say to confirm the latest.

Read more: Grandma left devastated after Pay at Pump fuel deposit leaves her with just £3 in account

Here’s everything we know.

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Asda

As per widespread reports this week, which have already garnered backlash from motorists confused at the situation and demanding explanation, Asda is currently in the process of changing its pre-authorisation rules to raise the deposit amount, but it has clarified how this will work in a statement.

The supermarket said: “On completing the transaction, the actual amount is deducted immediately from your account and the pre-authorised amount is immediately cancelled.

“The solution makes it easier for you to keep control of your finances when you pay for your petrol at the pump, however, if an issue does arise you should first contact the bank that issued your card.”

Morrisons

Out of the initial three supermarkets to implement the new rule, Morrisons was the last to introduce it, having only officially adopted the hiked pre-authorisation charge back in November 2021.

Explaining more about the process in a statement at the time, Morrisons said: “Under new rules, implemented by Mastercard and Visa, we must now request authorisation from your card issuer for up to £100.

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“Once you’ve finished filling up, the final transaction amount is sent to your card issuer.

“We will only charge you for the value of the fuel you’ve actually purchased, the remainder of your pre-authorisation amount will be released without charge.”

New rules may mean your bank creates a temporary hold of up to £99 while you fill up your vehicle / Credit: Marco Verch (via Flickr)

Tesco

Tesco is currently in the process of trialling the £99 pre-authorisation payment rule.

After announcing the trial back in June 2021, and coming up against a significant amount of consumer backlash, the supermarket explained in a statement: “We are currently trialling this change in selected locations, so you may find this payment change happens at one petrol station but not at another.

“If you have a problem with a payment, please contact your bank that issued the card, as this new payment rule is not under our control.”

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They added: “There may be a small number of occasions where your card issuer doesn’t update your balance in real-time [but] we’ll only ever charge you for the value of the fuel you’ve purchased.”

Sainsbury’s

It’s been reported that around 60 ‘Pay at Pump’ facilites at Sainsbury’s stores across the UK currently request a pre-authorisation amount of £100, before starting the fuel-filling process, with the supermarket’s website explaining that: “Under new industry requirements mandated by Visa and MasterCard, self-service pumps at Sainsbury’s Petrol Forecourts will request a £100 pre-authorisation amount before starting the fuelling process.

“This is to ensure that customers have sufficient funds to cover the cost of fuel dispensed.

“When the transaction has completed, the Pay at Pump terminal will send a message to your bank with the actual transaction amount which will be charged to the customer; the pre-authorisation amount will be almost immediately released back to the customer’s account.

“The introduction of this change means that the customer will almost immediately see the actual value of fuel dispensed in their bank account.”

Featured Image – iStockphoto

News

‘Busiest’ Easter bank holiday weekend expected as 19 million people hit the roads

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

It’s expected to be one of the busiest Easter bank holidays in three years, as millions of people travel across the UK.

With the four-day weekend upon us, and people nationwide prepare to make the journey to visit family or friends over their extra couple of days off work or school, the RAC has now issued one of its annual travel warnings – anticipating that 19 million people could be hitting the roads from this Thursday evening onwards.

It’s all according to a new study of drivers’ spring getaway plans carried out by the RAC and traffic analytics specialists INRIX.

Research is suggesting that traffic will be equally severe on Thursday 17, Good Friday, and Saturday 19 April, with drivers planning around 2.7 million trips every day during that period, but the number of planned trips does drop slightly on Easter Sunday to 2.5 million.

Sadly, that dip is only short-lived, as the number of trips increases once again to a further 2.7 million on bank holiday Monday as millions of people look to return home.

Woman driving a car
19 million people are expected to hit the roads over the Easter bank holiday weekend / Credit: Geograph | Pxfuel

To make matters even worse, it’s thought that a further 6.2 million journeys are anticipated at some point over the Easter bank holiday weekend, but drivers planning these trips are still unsure exactly when they’ll travel.

The ‘notorious British weather’ is likely to be a big factor in travel decision making, according to the RAC.

INRIX expects that tomorrow (Thursday 17) will be the worst day for traffic, when jams are likely to increase by nearly a third (30%) more than usual.

Meanwhile, on Good Friday, the lengthiest hold-ups are expected between 11am to 1pm, so drivers are therefore being advised to start their trips as early as possible in the morning, or delay them until later in the afternoon. 

Motorists are being warned to plan their journeys in advance / Credit: pxfuel

“The bank holiday weekend clashes with the end of the Easter break for many schools, which we think will change the nature of this year’s getaway,” admitted RAC breakdown spokesperson, Alice Simpson.

“Although journey numbers are still very high, we’re anticipating more day trips and weekend breaks than people heading off on one and two-week stints… [so] this could lead to a ‘hat-trick of hold-ups’ on Thursday, Friday and Saturday as drivers visit family and friends.

“But while getaway journeys may be shorter in length, we’re still expecting to see extremely high levels of traffic from Thursday onwards, with the greatest number of Easter getaway trips planned for three years.”

Read more:

Alice warned that drivers should expect queues if they ‘don’t plan the best time to set off’.

“It’s always best to travel as early as possible in the morning or later in the day when most of the traffic has eased,” she added.

Featured Image – Geograph

News

Onlookers ‘in tears’ after tiny duckling rescued from storm drain in beauty spot

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson The RSPCA has shared a video of a tiny duckling being rescued from a storm drain

The RSPCA has shared a heartwarming video of a reunion between a tiny duckling and his mum, after the baby bird fell into a storm drain.

The charity, with the help of staff in the nearby Grandpa Greene’s Luxury Ice Cream Parlour, managed to fish the tiny bird out of the storm drain in a painstaking two-hour-long operation.

Miraculously, the duckling was unharmed, and his mum was waiting nearby on the canal in Saddleworth ready to be reunited with her baby.

The RSPCA has now thanked the staff member who helped rescue the duckling, and issued a warning to the public to keep dogs on a lead when near wildlife, believing the poor bird was chased by a dog before falling down the five-feet-high grid.

The rescue operation too place in Diggle last Wednesday 9 April, with Animal Rescue Officer Lee Ferrans taking on the ‘long and painstaking’ process of tempting the duckling into a net.     

Lee said: “I wasn’t able to lift the grid so the only thing I could do was push an extendable pole straight down and try to catch the duckling in a net. There wasn’t a lot of room for manoeuvre and the net kept catching on all the debris.

“Just when I thought I’d been successful, the duckling kept disappearing into a drain on one side and then popping out again. A member of staff from Grandpa Greene’s had just finished her shift and came across to the other side of the canal to help me. I unscrewed the top of the pole with the net and held it down on one side of the drain while she used another section to gently encourage the bird to go into the net.

“It was quite a long and painstaking rescue but we eventually managed to bring the little one back up safely after more than two hours.”

The pair then placed the duckling into a cardboard box before heading further up the canal to reunite them with their mother and six sibling ducklings.

The adult duck ‘instantly recognised’ the chirping and swam straight towards it.

Lee added: “A little crowd had gathered and as the family were reunited people were shedding tears. It was a really lovely moment to see them all back together.

“I’d especially like to thank the member of staff from Grandpa Greene’s who offered an extra pair of hands – I couldn’t have done it without her – and to all the people in the area who stopped and were concerned.

“Storm drains can be a bit of a menace for ducklings, especially at this time of the year when there are babies around, and this brood was only a few days old.”

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Featured image: RSPCA

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