• Why pressing fill at some petrol pumps can lock up hundreds of dollars

    From Lawrence D?Oliveiro@3:633/10 to All on Thursday, January 15, 2026 00:34:00
    An increasing number of filling stations no longer have human staff at
    all, or even shops -- just self-service pumps. Being in the habit of
    always filling up my tank, I have continued that with self-service.
    But here <https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/360924432/pay-pump-nightmare-woman-paid-53-petrol-and-then-199-vanished-her-account>
    is a cautionary tale of customers who find that a hold has been placed
    on funds in their bank accounts, to the amount of hundreds of dollars,
    when they select the fill option. The balance is supposed to be
    released once the final payment has gone through, but sometimes this
    doesn?t happen immediately, and indeed may not happen for days.

    I?m assuming this applies to EFTPOS transactions, not credit cards. I
    don?t think they allow holds on funds like this on credit cards.
    That?s what I?ve been using for paying at pumps, not my EFTPOS card.

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.2
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Tony@3:633/10 to All on Thursday, January 15, 2026 02:02:19
    Subject: Re: Why pressing fill at some petrol pumps can lock up hundreds of dollars

    Lawrence D?Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> wrote:
    An increasing number of filling stations no longer have human staff at
    all, or even shops -- just self-service pumps. Being in the habit of
    always filling up my tank, I have continued that with self-service.
    But here ><https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/360924432/pay-pump-nightmare-woman-paid-53-petrol-and-then-199-vanished-her-account>
    is a cautionary tale of customers who find that a hold has been placed
    on funds in their bank accounts, to the amount of hundreds of dollars,
    when they select the fill option. The balance is supposed to be
    released once the final payment has gone through, but sometimes this
    doesn?t happen immediately, and indeed may not happen for days.

    I?m assuming this applies to EFTPOS transactions, not credit cards. I
    don?t think they allow holds on funds like this on credit cards.
    Yes they do and have done so for years.
    Most hotels, car hire companies etc. do it. Often for as long as a week. It makes obvious sense for that sort of company.
    That?s what I?ve been using for paying at pumps, not my EFTPOS card.


    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.2
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Lawrence D'Oublespeak@3:633/10 to All on Thursday, January 15, 2026 02:56:05
    Subject: Re: Why pressing fill at some petrol pumps can lock up hundreds of dollars

    Lawrence D?Oliveiro wrote:

    An increasing number of filling stations no longer have human staff at
    all, or even shops -- just self-service pumps. Being in the habit of
    always filling up my tank, I have continued that with self-service.
    But here <https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/360924432/pay-pump-nightmare-woman-paid-53-petrol-and-then-199-vanished-her-account>
    is a cautionary tale of customers who find that a hold has been placed
    on funds in their bank accounts, to the amount of hundreds of dollars,
    when they select the fill option. The balance is supposed to be
    released once the final payment has gone through, but sometimes this
    doesn?t happen immediately, and indeed may not happen for days.

    Nothing new. This hold on funds has been going on for decades.

    Here is a news article from 2014 where it mentions a $150 funds hold for credit card users: <https://www.stuff.co.nz/timaru-herald/editors-picks/9856048/Self-service-petrol-perplexes-some-customers>

    Here is a news article from 2017 where it mentions a $200 funds hold: <https://www.stuff.co.nz/motoring/100209785/heres-a-solution-to-kiwi-drivers-petrol-pump-pain>

    I?m assuming this applies to EFTPOS transactions, not credit cards. I
    don?t think they allow holds on funds like this on credit cards.

    Incorrect. They do allow it on credit cards.

    That?s what I?ve been using for paying at pumps, not my EFTPOS card.



    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.2
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Lawrence D?Oliveiro@3:633/10 to All on Thursday, January 15, 2026 21:27:03
    Subject: Re: Why pressing fill at some petrol pumps can lock up hundreds of dollars

    On Thu, 15 Jan 2026 03:04:37 GMT, Willy Nilly wrote:

    I pay cash, never a problem.

    I never noticed that any of those payment machines had a place to
    insert cash.

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.2
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Gordon@3:633/10 to All on Friday, January 16, 2026 00:18:42
    Subject: Re: Why pressing fill at some petrol pumps can lock up hundreds of dollars

    On 2026-01-15, Lawrence D?Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> wrote:
    An increasing number of filling stations no longer have human staff at
    all, or even shops -- just self-service pumps. Being in the habit of
    always filling up my tank, I have continued that with self-service.
    But here
    <https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/360924432/pay-pump-nightmare-woman-paid-53-petrol-and-then-199-vanished-her-account>
    is a cautionary tale of customers who find that a hold has been placed
    on funds in their bank accounts, to the amount of hundreds of dollars,
    when they select the fill option. The balance is supposed to be
    released once the final payment has gone through, but sometimes this
    doesn?t happen immediately, and indeed may not happen for days.

    I?m assuming this applies to EFTPOS transactions, not credit cards. I
    don?t think they allow holds on funds like this on credit cards.
    That?s what I?ve been using for paying at pumps, not my EFTPOS card.

    Hotels ask for your credit card as insurance against one doing a runner.


    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.2
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Gordon@3:633/10 to All on Friday, January 16, 2026 00:20:46
    Subject: Re: Why pressing fill at some petrol pumps can lock up hundreds of dollars

    On 2026-01-15, Lawrence D?Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> wrote:
    On Thu, 15 Jan 2026 03:04:37 GMT, Willy Nilly wrote:

    I pay cash, never a problem.

    I never noticed that any of those payment machines had a place to
    insert cash.

    So Wiily goes to places which do have a human in place.

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.2
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Tony@3:633/10 to All on Friday, January 16, 2026 01:42:20
    Subject: Re: Why pressing fill at some petrol pumps can lock up hundreds of dollars

    Gordon <Gordon@leaf.net.nz> wrote:
    On 2026-01-15, Lawrence D?Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> wrote:
    On Thu, 15 Jan 2026 03:04:37 GMT, Willy Nilly wrote:

    I pay cash, never a problem.

    I never noticed that any of those payment machines had a place to
    insert cash.

    So Wiily goes to places which do have a human in place.
    That is far too complicated for Lawrence.

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.2
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)