can you explain about gas charging policies?
Sarah asked:
I went into a 7/11 last night — I needed gas, but also some other items, which is why I didn’t pay at the pump (as I usually do). I gave the cashier my credit card and asked her to turn on the gas on pump 6. She said ‘we can’t free flow the gas.’ I didn’t know what she meant, and asked for an explanation (there were by this time 4-5 customers waiting in line behind me). She said ‘I’m not authorized to free flow the gas. You have to pre-pay.’ I said, ‘that’s why I gave you the credit card.’ She said ‘I cant do that.’ The people behind me were getting really cross, and I didn’t understand what the problem was. She said ‘you have to tell me exactly how much gas you want to buy.’ I said, I want to fill it up, so how do I know exactly how much it’s ‘going to be?’ She said, ‘well you have to pay for it now.’ I said that when I pay at the pump, I don’t have to say in advance how much it’s going to be, so why should I have to when I pay inside? Then she said ‘aren’t you from here?
Why is it that when you pay at the pump they pre-approve it (for any amount) and when you pay inside you have to tell them exactly how much it is going to be?
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I went into a 7/11 last night — I needed gas, but also some other items, which is why I didn’t pay at the pump (as I usually do). I gave the cashier my credit card and asked her to turn on the gas on pump 6. She said ‘we can’t free flow the gas.’ I didn’t know what she meant, and asked for an explanation (there were by this time 4-5 customers waiting in line behind me). She said ‘I’m not authorized to free flow the gas. You have to pre-pay.’ I said, ‘that’s why I gave you the credit card.’ She said ‘I cant do that.’ The people behind me were getting really cross, and I didn’t understand what the problem was. She said ‘you have to tell me exactly how much gas you want to buy.’ I said, I want to fill it up, so how do I know exactly how much it’s ‘going to be?’ She said, ‘well you have to pay for it now.’ I said that when I pay at the pump, I don’t have to say in advance how much it’s going to be, so why should I have to when I pay inside? Then she said ‘aren’t you from here?
Why is it that when you pay at the pump they pre-approve it (for any amount) and when you pay inside you have to tell them exactly how much it is going to be?
Need a Gas Card? Win Your FREE Gas Card Now!
August 18th, 2009 at 12:24 am
When you “Pay at the Pump”, what happens is that the pump automatically attempts to authorize a certain amount. Generally between $50-$75, since this is the most that it usually takes to fill up a tank. When you finish filling up it then only charges the real amount. This is actually becoming an issue now with the increased gas prices. There are cases where the amount they are authorizing is not enough to fill up the tank. So the gas pump is actually shutting off early for some people.
When you go inside, the policy of the store may not be to just “turn on the pump”. This is because if you just give them a card, they have no idea if it is a good card or not. You could then fill up the tank and leave. The only thing they would have is a worthless card. So you need to give them a specific amount to charge so that they can verify the card is good.
August 18th, 2009 at 3:22 am
And it’s true. The gas comes out the end.