Banking....anyone ever heard of this????

[Stepharoonie!]

I have never heard of it, and Wachovia has never done anything like that to me (thankfully).

 

[GeorgeG]

The slips you get in a restaurant have a separate line for tips on the authorization slip and then the total. If you are not including a tip on the charge, you should strike a line through that space and copy the sub-total amount to the total when signing. Then, I would think that any charges more than what you authorized would amount to fraud and could be prosecuted.

I also check my account online regularly and have had no problems. If your bank pays an amount you have not authorized, shame on them!

 

[IloveDMB]

I don't see why someone would be mad over this. They never take the money. Nothing is stolen from you and they aren't making you leave that amount as a tip. The banks/restaurants are just covering their butts that you have enough in your account to cover the meal. It is called a pre-authorization. We do it all the time at the bar/restaurant I work at.

 

[faithinkarma]

I don't understand how the bank is covering their ***.......$25 was charged......the restaurant put in a request for $25, was approved for $25, obviously there wsa sufficient funds in the account to cover it. Yet the bank deducted $30 from our account. Why?

Okay, so 5 bucks is no big deal, granted.

But what if the bill had been for an expensive dinner out?

And what about the people who posted about going into overdraft because of this unanticipated 20% ?


I should mention we have had this card for years and this is the first time this has happened.

 

[Nala217]

I work as a customer service rep for visa and mc gift cards. The bank has nothing to do with the extra authorization. The software in the terminals at restaurants, hotels, beauty salons, any place that there could be a tip or incidental charges automatically adds up to 20% to make sure there is enough money available if you do leave a tip on the card. Every charge transaction ( such as a debit card transactions not using your pin)
go through 2 stages. 1: authorization 2: purchase The first happens when the card is first swiped. Visa or MC will approve a certain amount off the card. That money is held until the merchant submits their reciepts for payment. Then a couple days later it will go through as a purchase for whatever you signed the receipt for. Any additional money that was held will go back to your card. Many times the merchants don't even know that the terminal is adding the extra. They will put in only the amount of the bill and machine adds the extra. You do get the money back it just takes a couple of days. Also, this is most restaurants and such not all so occasionally it will not over authorize.

I hope this makes sense.

 

[faithinkarma]

Actually it makes perfect sense. Thank you very much.

 

[oogieboogie]

faithinkarma,

I know you said the bank admitted they did this. Certainly you don't always believe what a customer rep says do you?

Think about this: turnover ratios at banks are usually pretty high, especially big banks. Most off the tellers at our bank have been there less than a year or even six months. I'd take their word at face value until I find more concrete evidence.

Somehow, I honestly believe you got a customer service rep who just didn't know how things worked, especially with third-party processing.

I really wouldn't worry too much about it.


(edited)... didn't see Nala was posting at the same time. Faithinkarma, HAKUNA MATATA

 

[Serena]

It may not be a big deal to some. But I was being treated to lunch by a relative and because of the charge for the tip, and it not going through, I ended up paying for the lunch instead.
It was embarrassing for her.

 

[faithinkarma]

Somehow, I honestly believe you got a customer service rep who just didn't know how things worked, especially with third-party processing.

Actually I thought the same thing...rather I thought I was dealing with one of those people who will say anything to get off the phone and hopefully make it someone else's problem.

But I am still feeling my way around American banking rules which often differ significantly from Canadian ones. That is why I posted looking for imput.



Serena,

I have never in my life had a card refused, and yet it is my nightmare. ( I sometimes think I was in debtors' prison in a previous life ) So I can certainly feel for your relative.

And judging by the reponses on this thread, very few people were aware of this common procedure.

 

[oogieboogie]

I think I'm in the minority because I do work for a bank. I think I'm more aware of what happens to my money and how things get processed.

When you said your bank was Fleet, I said to mysel, Ooh, no wonder! Fleet has never had a good reputation when it comes to customer service.

Do you have a Commerce Bank around your area? I've heard they're a very nice bank.

 

[Nala217]

I'm glad that helped. I know that before I got this job, I didn't know any of this either. A lot of times this stuff is explained in the terms and conditions of the card but, most people ( including me) don't read them or if you do it's too confusing. As for customer service rep. from the bank I agree with oogie boogie.( Even though I'm a customer service rep though not at a bank) We have a large turnover here as well and I get many calls where customers have been given the wrong info by other reps and had to explain the errors.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Originally posted by Nala217

I hope this makes sense.

I was not "getting it". Thanks

 

[mickeyfan1]

We use Fleet Bank. I check my account every day. I notice that some restaurant transactions are processed with 20% added, and some aren't. They are shown as pending, and a day or 2 later, the charge that DH signed for is processed. My DH is also a clean freak when it comes to his van, so we go to the car wash a lot. They always preauthorize the max amount ($10.00) when the card is processed, within 2 days the actual amount is processed. I will say that I have had to call customer service several times, beeing that I am new to the bank, and have always gotten very nice, friendly, and helpful CSRs.