Having Problems At The Pump?
Posted on April 2, 2008
Filed Under Credit Card News | 1 Comment
These days, it’s a whole lot quicker and easier to pay by credit card at the pump. But if you have a van or sport utility vehicle, it costs a lot more to fill your tank.
Monroeville home improvement contractor Ken Sarver drives around in a large truck. With gas at $3.35 a gallon, it costs him more than $90 to fill the tank, and he uses his credit card to pay.
But once the tab hits $75, the gas stops flowing.
“It is a total inconvenience,” said Sarver. “It really is. To go get the cash just to be able to fill up now.”
There’s nothing wrong with Sarver’s card. It’s a potential problem for anyone with a big vehicle. Credit card companies like MasterCard will only take responsibility for about $75 in fraudulent or stolen card charges at a gas pump.
As a result, many gas station chains also cap the amount you can charge at the pump at the same price. Anything higher comes out of the station’s pocket if the card is stolen, which is bad news for customers trying to redeem the maximum $30 gallons on supermarket pump perks. But one local station owner said at Sunoco and other gas chains, customers can get around the cap.
“That they should have their credit card processed inside by the cashier,” said service station owner Hugh Campbell.
Campbell said when you process it that way, you can go above the $75 limit because they can check your identification or signature inside. Sarver has a simple suggestion for the credit card companies.
“Tell them to raise the limit on their cards,” he said. “The fuel goes up, but the card doesn’t.”
A MasterCard representative said the company currently has no plans to raise that $75 fraud coverage limit.
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