In recent weeks attention has been raised over a change to how the public purchases fuel at ASDA in Enniskillen.

In the past, a pre-authorisation fee of £1 was taken from a person’s bank account to let them fill their car up to £99 before the final amount was then charged.

However, Visa and Mastercard have now changed the way pay-at-pump transactions are managed at all fuel retailers across the UK.

Now, instead of customers needing at least £1 in their bank account to allow them to fill up, the pre-authorisation amount has changed to £99.

On social media, some Fermanagh people have been questioning this change, querying whether ASDA is withdrawing £99 out of their account even if they are not getting that amount of fuel.

While ASDA did not want to comment on this latest change, as it was brought in by Visa and Mastercard, the retailer explains the change on its website, saying that the £99 will be “temporarily held” while the customer fills up their car.

Once the customer has finished refuelling, the remainder of the unused funds will then be released back into their account straight away, and they will only be charged for the value of fuel they have taken.

However, some people have claimed it takes more than a day for the money to reappear in their account.

To protect customers

ASDA say the reason Visa and Mastercard introduced this change is to protect customers from going overdrawn when purchasing fuel.

In addition, with the new approach, if there is less than £99 in a customer’s account, the card issuer will be able to tell them the maximum amount that can be spent during the pre-authorisation process, and that will be the maximum they can spend on fuel.

“Once the transaction is complete and you’ve finished filling up your car, your card issuer should release any unused money almost immediately.

“However, it’s been reported that in some instances it may take longer for the amount to reappear on your banking app.

“If this is the case, we first recommend refreshing your banking app. If this doesn’t resolve the issue, and you’re concerned that the held money isn’t reappearing in your account, you should contact your issuing bank for guidance.

“They’ll be aware of these changes and will be able to advise you. ASDA will only charge you for the value of the fuel,” explained the ASDA website.