# Credit card nightmare !



## julesanian (Mar 19, 2017)

Like many of you we use the Halifax Clarity Card for purchases abroad and with their app it's really easy to keep track of spending. 
Nightmare. I checked as usual and saw that a French Supermarket Petrol station had (pending) debits for our last fill up. One was for £113 !!! and one for £34. This one was ok but the £113 ?! WTF?!

So,I rang Halifax who said we should go back to the supermarket and query it with them. 
OMG we've been scammed I thought. We abandoned our tea and drove back , luckily just half an hour away, and what a farce. My schoolboy French and their pigeon English eventually deciding there was nothing could be done and we'd need to go to the police. 

Luckily , before we did this I rang the Halifax again to update them and this time spoke to a different person who said, 'Oh don't worry ! Continental supermarkets often do this, they debit first for the maximum amount of fuel that could be taken,  then a further debit for the actual amount. They then cancel the larger sum. It takes a few days for this to work through.'

So , if you notice double debits on your card - don't worry !! 

Avoid the abandoned meal, wasted journey and shock to your nervous system lol just roll you're eyes and tut at these funny continentals !!


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## carol (Mar 19, 2017)

Oh dear, what a farce but the tale was not what I was expecting so all's well that ends well.


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## walpeter (Mar 19, 2017)

I had the same in Spain last year on my Halifax Clarity. They have a funny system in Spain where you have to specify how many litres. Well I did it wrong and had many less litres than I had specified. When I checked my statement online it had logged the higher charge but was pending. I worried for a few days then when I looked again and it had been processed it was the right charge - whew!


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## ScamperVan (Mar 19, 2017)

Yes, had this with the Revolut after using it at an unmanned fuel station. 130 Euros "pending" which disappeared once the real amount was debited. 

Incidentally, without wishing to light a match under the usual "mine is better than yours" banter, I am very impressed with the Revolut card which we used alongside the Caxton (Caxton for cash withdrawals; Revolut for everything else).


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## AllanD (Mar 19, 2017)

julesanian said:


> Like many of you we use the Halifax Clarity Card for purchases abroad and with their app it's really easy to keep track of spending.
> Nightmare. I checked as usual and saw that a French Supermarket Petrol station had (pending) debits for our last fill up. One was for £113 !!! and one for £34. This one was ok but the £113 ?! WTF?!
> 
> So,I rang Halifax who said we should go back to the supermarket and query it with them.
> ...



I had the same thing happen with a Halifax Clarity Card last year at an unmanned fuel station but it took longer than a couple of days for the pending debit to disappear, I think it was at least a week, maybe a little longer. Just thought I'd let you know if you in case it still shows on yours for longer than you expected.


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## barryd (Mar 19, 2017)

Yes I discovered this one a few years ago on the Scooter near Biarritz.  Desperate for fuel, no cash and just the Halifax Clarity card.  Pump wouldnt accept it so I wondered if I had exceeded my credit limit.  Checked and I was about £80 in credit which confused me so I had a right carry on getting them to up the limit over the phone wondering if it was that and sure enough it was and once upped it worked.


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## Wooie1958 (Mar 19, 2017)

The first time it happened to us in France with the Halifax Clarity card i thought we`d been done as well     :scared:

I called their customer services who immediately put my mind at rest as they said it happens all the time and is the " Maximum Spend " amount you are allowed.

They then only take what you`ve actually spent and the first amount is cancelled.

As an aside if you use the " Pay At The Pump " service in Morrisons they only reserve £1 until the full amount is deducted several days later.

Check your " Pending Payments " if you have that option and you`ll see what i mean.


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## Tezza (Mar 19, 2017)

ScamperVan said:


> Yes, had this with the Revolut after using it at an unmanned fuel station. 130 Euros "pending" which disappeared once the real amount was debited.
> 
> Incidentally, without wishing to light a match under the usual "mine is better than yours" banter, I am very impressed with the Revolut card which we used alongside the Caxton (Caxton for cash withdrawals; Revolut for everything else).



Have never been able to use Revolut in in an automated fuel station. Last tried in February.


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## ScamperVan (Mar 19, 2017)

Tezza said:


> Have never been able to use Revolut in in an automated fuel station. Last tried in February.



Possibly ours is a 2nd generation card? If I remember correctly you were successful in the first wave of applications whereas we've had to wait for the next batch. The Jan/Feb trip was it's first outing and in fact, it's "virgin" transaction was the (unmanned - it was v early Sun morning) Carrefour station at Cite Europe.

Or maybe newer stations have better tech?


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## harrow (Mar 19, 2017)

Its like buying petrol or diesel in Liverpool they want the money first.:rulez::rulez::rulez:


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## julesanian (Mar 19, 2017)

Thanks for all the help folks. Payment is still pending but I'm sure it will soon disappear. 

Apparently it's to check that you have sufficient funds available in your account to cover the pre-authorisation, maximum fuel allowed.  So,  for instance, if you have £100 available in your account and you  want to buy £80 of fuel but the pumps are set to pre-authorise 130€, the card will be rejected and you won't be able to buy any fuel at all. 

In other words, the machine doesn't know how much fuel you are going to take , so it checks that you are able to pay if you were to take the maximum amount !!!


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## julesanian (Mar 25, 2017)

Whoo hoo. Just got a letter from Halifax Customer Service apologising and enclosing a £100 cheque. 
"Champagne for everyone"


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## jagmanx (Mar 25, 2017)

*The advantages of Credit Cards*

They will usually sort it out for you..

In some cases they will bear the cost (not you)

BECAUSE.. they want to retain your business/custom.

Retailers pay a significant proportion as they want the business.
Thus the CC company make a profit on every transaction..
Simple maths
1 person spends say £500 a month using their CC
at 2%  that is £10 profit per month per person.. How many people use CCs

I have often said..
I dont want 1 person to give me £1 million
I am happy if 1 million people each give me £1 (only)...

Look at the success of "poundland" and the like !


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## IanH (Mar 25, 2017)

Seen that too, and quite alarming, always with automated pumps. The real problem is when you don't get any fuel, quite often, they don't seem to like UK Saga cards.

As a consequence we now only use LeClerc hypermarket auto pumps but only as a last resort, otherwise always use attended petrol stations.


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## windyjools (Mar 25, 2017)

Wooie1958 said:


> The first time it happened to us in France with the Halifax Clarity card i thought we`d been done as well     :scared:
> 
> I called their customer services who immediately put my mind at rest as they said it happens all the time and is the " Maximum Spend " amount you are allowed.
> 
> ...



Asda did the same on our fuel purchase! Thought I'd lucked out and only paid £1 when I filled up with £50+, but all was corrected a few days later :sad:


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## BKen2 (Mar 26, 2017)

I had 100€ taken from my card at Mount Louise (France) auto station only bought 50€ worth didnt notice until I checked when I got home a week later ..went to my Spanish bank and queried it ..manager said it happens a lot with French transactions told me to wait a couple of weeks..low and behold it was credited back to my account not long after ...so no worries 


Brian K


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