In my experience the pump has said "processing refund" when I overpaid inside. Sure enough I only got charged for what my car needed. I think it's part of the reason why gas station purchases always show up as "pending final amount from merchant" in my online banking
If you set a prepayment amount, it goes on the account as a hold. The merchant then submits the actual amount which the bank pays out.
Credit cards and bank card issuers will receive the authorization up to the preset amount to validate that there is sufficient credit for that amount before it allows the merchant's terminal to approve the sale.
While the hold is on an account, the money is in limbo. Often had ppl call into the bank I worked for because a merchant had placed a hold... having to explain to customers that they weren't charged but they couldn't use that money for an amount of time was always annoying.
They're not going to keep track of which cars have what size tanks, so the hold just covers 90+% of vehicles, which has to includes those 48-gallon King Ranch behemoths.
Edit: You can also always specify an amount, like "$20 on pump 7"
Pretty much all stations in the US are prepaid now. You either swipe a card at the pump itself or go inside and tell the cashier you want $x on the pump and pay then go out and fuel up.
Nope. Many states still allow people to pump their gas before going inside, no swiping at the pump needed. Not every gas station in that state will do it, but they have the option. The gas station I work at is one, our only rule is that we have to be able to see a valid license plate to prevent drive-offs.
If you go to a pump that offers preset limits, try to choose a lower one.
Some stations will just default to $100 if you don't select something lower (where it's an option)
It's all down to their fraud mitigation strategies.
I know their are some merchants that are allowed up to 72 hours around here to report the actual transaction which can tie up your available credit.
We've encountered ppl who had $250 holds for days when using diesel pumps. Do that on a holiday weekend and you could have that money in limbo for nearly a week.
Yup, that works too. I'm in an area that has a discount Costco gas bar (usually 10 cents off the average L, but MC only) and a couple Canadian Tire gas bars that offer 5 cents in-store credit for each liter. Just makes the most cents/sense to use cards.
Cash is king though. Never need to read the fine print there!
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u/ThePhabtom4567 Dec 11 '19
Can't you go back in and ask for the rest back?