Can a service station hold a sum on your account?
You’ve probably already noticed it: a rather large sum of money, often up to 125 euro, is being held when you stop to fill up your tank at a petrol station. At MAES, we regularly receive the question why we do such a thing and whether it’s legal. We gladly answer al of your question to reassure you.
Fuel, Fuel Card, Tips
What’s the essence?
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Why is there a hold on your account?
The sum that is held on your account when you use a debit card at one our service stations, is only a deposit and is quite traditional in the European Union. After all, we don’t know for what amount of money you are going to fill up your tank and want to be safe from theft or abuse.
Of course, not the entire amount, but only the sum you used to fuel, will be written of your account. The sum being held will be released immediately or after a couple of minutes after you used the petrol station. Only when your bank has technical issues, it can take up longer. In those cases, it is wise to contact your bank to release the hold. After all, we never receive your hold and therefore unfortunately can’t assist you.
Why is there a difference between the amount of money that is held?
At a petrol station where only passenger vehicles fuel, the sum of the hold on your account will be 125 euros. However, at stations where truck drivers can also stop to fill up their tanks, the amount can rise to 375 euro. That’s how much a full tank of a truck in general costs.
But what if there’s no 125 euro in your account, does that mean you can’t fuel? Of course not! We wouldn’t want your fuel light to turn on or you to panic . In case there is less than 125 euros in your account, a smaller amount will be held. For example, if there’s 50 euros in your account, 50 euros will be held and you just tank for 50 euros or less.
Can I avoid the hold?
Unfortunately, if you decide to keep paying with your debit card, you will have to take into account that we hold a sum on your account. If you really don’t like the idea of a hold, you can always choose to pay with your credit card. For businesses, we have different kinds of fuel cards, which don’t hold money. We provide the same kind of card for independent business. Compare our fuel cards online and apply for the one that comes to your needs the best.
Do you have any questions about our fuel cards?
Do not hesitate to contact us.