Asda petrol stations introduce £99 pre-charge to pay at pump with others expected to follow

New rules met with furious complaints by drivers

Asda petrol stations are charging drivers a temporary £99 fee to pay at the pump in a bid to ensure customers have enough money to fill up.

The “pre-authorisation charge”, which has been introduced at three of the supermarket’s stores, deducts money from the driver’s bank balance or credit card.

Although the charge never leaves the customer’s account, it is held in limbo and only returned once the payment for the petrol has cleared.

But the new rules have already been met with furious complaints by customers after one driver said she was still waiting to be reimbursed for the £99 days after filling up.

“Don’t go to Asda for fuel! Unless you can live without £99 for around 2-3 days!” Jade Louise, from Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, wrote in a Facebook post that has been shared thousands of times.

“My complaint to them was that they should have notices on the petrol pumps making customers aware of this as they have changed their policy,” she continued. “Fifth of May we got fuel and we're still waiting for our refund... absolute joke!”

An Asda spokesperson said: “We take any customer complaint seriously, but it’s important to clarify that at no point has Asda taken or held Jade Louise’s money as a result of this transaction.

"Visa and MasterCard have increased the minimum pre-authorisation amount at pay at the pump petrol pumps for all retailers and unfortunately there seems to have been a delay in Jade Louise’s bank releasing the hold.”

Asda has since been inundated with threats by customers to fill up elsewhere unless it reverses it decision. But the supermarket insists the increase will eventually “impact all retailers”.

Sainsbury’s failed to rule out introducing the higher charge when contacted by The Independent. A spokesperson said: “We are aware Visa and Mastercard are rolling out an industry-wide update for pay at pump machines.

“We are currently reviewing the update before any introduction at our petrol filling stations."

But a Morrisons spokesperson appeared to suggest the supermarket giant would not introduce the charge.

“At Morrisons petrol stations, the amount taken out of customers bank accounts should be the same as the amount they pay at the pump," she said.

Tesco failed to respond when contacted for comment.

The £99 fee was introduced for customers using automated fuel pumps by Visa and Mastercard last year, up from an earlier pre-authorisation charge of £1.

Mastercard said the move was designed to prevent drivers from filling up with more fuel than they could afford.

“This is designed to protect them, and the petrol station,” a spokesperson said. “If customers don’t have the required funds in their bank account, a further step is available to petrol stations which allows them to check what available funds a customer has, enabling a lower value of fuel to be dispensed.”

“While some customers may see a request for a higher amount than the fuel they bought - perhaps on their mobile banking app - these funds are not taken from their account. Only the value of the petrol dispensed is withdrawn.”