Strange credit card transactions-help About This Page:

[Huntermom]

I have a credit card I use basically for car rentals and to get gas when I lose my debit card which has been happening all too often.

Friday, I had my card in my hand, dropped it between the parking lot and the mall (I was only 4 cars in and it was 8:30 a.m. at a very small mall). I had just gone through the door when I realized I dropped it but could not find it. So I canceled the card and am using my credit card, mainly for gas.

My policy is to go on line every few days and pay for my purchases so it's more like a debit card. When I go online my gas purchases are only coming up as $1.00. I did one for about $30. and one for $15. Of course I did not get receipts so I'm not sure of the exact amounts.

I think I will call the card company tomorrow-I don't want get a bill for all these gas purchases months down the line.

Has anyone had this happen to them?

Diane

[ilovejack72]

what happens with gas is the credit card only holds $1.00 on your card and in the next couple of days they will take the hole amout. this happens to me all the time and i called and this is what i was told hope this helps

[lukeandbrookesmom]

Yes, it happens. Some card companies charge the $1.00 until the actual charge goes through. It's listed with many companies as a 'processing' or 'admin' fee and when the charge is posted the $1.00 disappears. I just had a client call me a couple of weeks ago because when I charged her trip balance the $1.00 showed up first and she had never seen that happen either. Two days later the actual trip charge was there and the $1.00 charge was gone.

[whoSEZ]

One of our local gas stations does this -- should clear for the full amount in a couple days. The $1 transaction will disappear and the actual amount will go through.

[rescuesk]

The card we use for gas purchases does this also. It's very weird....

[valegirl5292]

I have had this happen also, thats why you have to save the receipts so you know exactly how much you paid.

[emilyandlogansmom]

Our gas always shows up at $1 for 3 days or so, debit or credit card and is then charged the full amount...based on all the other posts, I'd say this is completely normal.

[5SOXFNZ]

This is the way all our cards work when we use the card slot on the machine (as opposed to going inside). What happens is that before the machine let you pump it "calls" to verify that the card is valid...since it doesn't know how much your charge is yet (since you haven't pumped) it "clears" $1.00. Once the transaction is complete, it stores the information to the main system in the gas station. At the end of the night (or next morning, in some cases) the store will "batch" out their cards (which means they send an electronic file to the CC companies saying "this is what we charged today") At that point the $1.00 charge will be replaced with the actual amount of the sale.

This also happens oftemn at a restaurant where you may see a charge for the meal before you added the tip...it's sort of the same process where the restaurant sends the "final amount" through at the end of the night!

[sueraep]

Hello all~
This is a completely normal transaction (I work in a bank, so I see this a lot). The gas stations are just testing the account to make sure it is open/valid. Then the purchase (depending on which gas staion and who they process their credit/debit cards through) will fall off and eventually (normally 2-4 days) your transaction will post. It is just how they process their cards. The lenghth of time it takes for your purchase to actually show up will vary then by financial institution. No worries about these types of transactions.

[Huntermom]

Thanks, you are all right. I spent some time last night on the card website and it said it can take up to ten days for the transaction to show up. The Sunday one has, the Friday has not.

The strange thing is last time I lost my debit card, I didn't notice this happening at all and I do try to go on each morning to pay my charges.

Thanks again.

[TMWIlson7196]

Originally Posted by ilovejack72

what happens with gas is the credit card only holds $1.00 on your card and in the next couple of days they will take the hole amout. this happens to me all the time and i called and this is what i was told hope this helps

That is correct. Samething happens to me.

[wishingKathy]

I'm sure everyone that has posted is probably correct, but I have to tell my story. My credit card number has been stolen twice and I never lost possession of the card. My husband is very security minded on our computer and so we are really not sure how it happened. We do think that 1 time it was "skimmed" at a gas pump. The first time Chase (of course it is always my disney visa - I don't use anything else - love those points!) called me because someone used it in a box store in Georgia while I was in Pennsylvania making a purchase. I started looking at my statement on line almost daily to keep an eye on it - I find it outrageous that it happens so often and there seems almost nothing to do about it. I noticed 1.00 charges and called fraud alert - they informed me that it was probably legitimate, but sometimes thieves use small charges to "fish" to see if a number is valid. Sure enough, after watching it for 24 hours I was sure that it was being stolen and fraud alert agreed. They cancelled the card and issued a new one immediately. So I hope yours is ok - but wanted to give you a heads up anyway. Good Luck! Kathy

[Huntermom]

Thanks, Kathy. I had a debit card stolen in Orlando so am usually pretty good at staying on top of things. I know how much havoc a thief can cause. One of the $1.00 is off and has come through as my gas purchase. The other is still pending but is a local merchant so I can stop by later this week if it doesn't come through although the bank said ten days.

I recognized the charges as places I had gotten gas, my biggest concern was not having a ton of charges come through later as I'm trying to pay as I go.

With luck I'll have a new debit card in a day or two.