Costco shoppers left baffled over unexpected £120 charge - rules explained (2024)

COSTCO shoppers have been left baffled after spotting an unexpected £120 charge on their banking apps.

Drivers who fill up their cars from one of the wholesalers' 19 petrol forecourts are charged a pre-authorisation fee.

It's meant to be returned immediately after the shopper has paid for fuel, but one has reported having to wait several days.

Posting on the Costco Wholesale UK Facebook page one confused motorist said: "Tried phoning the store but couldn't get an answer.

"I have a pending cancelled payment of £120 from getting fuel on Sunday...does anyone have any idea how long it takes to clear?"

At the time of writing, she had been waiting five days for the fee to disappear but it was still showing as pending in her banking app.

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Curious customers replied in the comments that it should be cleared straight away.

One said: "These posts always confuse me so I'm guessing it must depend on your bank. I've never seen a £120 transaction on my account.

"The pump approves "up to £120" (or less if there's less in your account!) but only actually charges for what you've used. That's been my experience ever since I started using Costco for fuel about four years ago."

Another wrote: "Mine cancelled same day. It's just pending, it hasn't gone out."

A third commented: "Definitely should have had it by now. Do you have the cancelled receipt?"

Meanwhile, a fourth posted: "Mine is usually sorted out by the time I've left the pump."

The measure - where a temporary hold of £120 is applied to a customer’s account - is intended to stop people driving off without paying for fuel orfilling their carwith more than they can afford.

What you can do about the charge and how to avoid it

Several Facebook users were quick to point out that actually it's down to your bank to clear the charge - plus it can take up to seven working days.

Costco's website reiterates this guidance and tells shoppers to take it up with their bank if the cash is taking a while to shift.

The website reads: "When fuel is purchased with a Chip & PIN card, Costco requests a £120 pre-authorisation amount before beginning the fueling process.

"After the fuel is dispensed and the transaction is completed, Costco sends a notification message to the card issuer with the actual transaction amount.

"It's the responsibility of the card issuer to follow the AFD (Automated Fuel Dispenser) process to reverse the amount that was pre-authorised and deduct only the actual amount for the fuel purchased, as shown on the receipt."

It continues to say that "in theory" if the card issuer is following the correct procedure, the £120 pending amount should drop off shortly after the transaction is completed and be replaced with another pending transaction for the actual amount dispensed.

"From time to time, you may see a pending amount of £120 on your statement for longer periods due to an error with processing by the issuing bank this typically drops off between three to five working days although this can vary between card issuers," it adds.

So if you're still seeing the pending transaction longer than five working days after then you should probably get in touch with your bank.

There's really only one sure-fire way to avoid the pre-authorisation fee and that's by paying for your petrol at the kiosk instead of at the pumps.

Of course, Costco is not the only retailer that issues a hefty pending charge for drivers filling up at its forecourts.

In 2022, drivers were left furious when Tesco increased the "pay at pump" charge to £120 from £100.

Before that, it had just been £1, which had ledone man to take three trips to the pumpsafter seeing only £1 had seemingly come out, but he was bitterly disappointed to learn it was the pre-authorisation check.

Asda and Sainsbury'spre-authorise £99 and £100 respectively.

Morrisons also issues a £100 pre-authorisation charge too.

It's thought that most every petrol provider in the country issues some form of the pending charge but the price of which has shot up in recent years - they used to be between £1 to £30.

How to find the cheapest petrol prices where you are

Petrol prices change regularly so it's worth checking what prices are like near you.

Confused.comhas a useful price checker where you can find your nearest cheapest petrol station.

Another option is thePetrolPricesapp and website, which lets you check prices from more than 8,000 forecourts near you and use data provided by the public and directly from fuel stations.

Of course you'll want to factor in the distance if driving further to get a cheaper price and whether it's worth it.

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RAC has amileage calculatorwhich you can use to cost up a journey - don't forget to do the return leg too.

Prices at places like Costco and supermarkets are not standard across the country and can vary by location.

Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing money-sm@news.co.uk.

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