One for the “I did not know that…” books.
Did you know that when you buy gas for your car and pay at the pump with your ATM, Debit or Credit-Card, the Gas station company puts a Hold on a portion of your line of credit?
What this means is – The gas company blocks out a portion of your line of credit so they know they will actually get paid for the gas you bought.
Ok. Sounds fair so far I guess. But how much of your money are they holding on to anyway? $10? $20? $30? $50?
Wait for it. Are you sitting down? They hold $100 or more!
If you are strapped for cash, you can actually buy $7 worth of gas from your gas station, cross the street to the grocery store and have your credit or debit card denied when you buy food – because the already greedy gut gas companies have put a hold on your money.
Outraged? You should be!
The gas companies say that they are just protecting themselves…
Of course, in 2008, you would think that the software (or hardware) does not exist to allow the gas companies to hold a small amount of money on your credit or debit for a few moments until your transaction is complete – (truth is – it does and many gas stations hold this amount for a few minutes til after you have replaced the gas nozzle in its holder…) And yet many, if not most, of them keep your buying power on hold for upwards of 24 hours! Why?
So you know – this is a common practice for car rental companies and hotels… and not surprisingly. But gas stations? Why?