Does your bank do this??

[Jaimee]

My co workers and I ordered some lunch the other day to be delivered to the office. I used my Visa debit card to place the order and the total was $18.88. I looked and my online statement that afternoon to check on a deposit and I saw there was a pending transaction for $23.65 from the restaurant. I had given the delivery person a tip in cash, so I knew that was not right. I called the restaurant right away asking if they changed the receipt or something and the manager assured me that it was processed for $18.88. So I called my bank (US Bank, which is a pretty big bank in the midwest) Apprently they made a change to their debit card practice and if you use your card at a restaurant they automatically tack on a "tip" when they put your card through to make sure you have enough funds to cover it if you decide to add on a tip after your meal. I've never heard of this before, and I guess it makes sense especially if you are paying for a big meal and then decide to leave a large tip and don't have the funds....I normally wouldn't have noticed, but being a single mom and with the holidays I'm pretty much watching every penny.. When the actual debit went through it was only for $18.58, but they "hold" the amount with the tip included until it's no longer pending, so those extra funds are unavailable in your account. I was just wondering if this was just my bank, or if this is common practice..???

 

[olena]

Yet another reason I will never, ever have a Fake Visa/check card. Banks use them to take such liberties with their own customers as well as retailers.

 

[my3kids]

Yep...I think it is pretty standard. If you don't check pending items online day to day, most people would never know. They do a hold of the total plus 20% tip. It won't ever appear on a statement. When you use it at pay at the pump gas stations, they generally put a $1.00 charge on the card to verify it is a valid card. After a few days the $1.00 disappears and the amount of the gas charge is on the statement, not in the pending items section.

 

[peg2001]

Yikes! I don't know if my bank does this or not because when they sent us debit cards, we sent them right back. It's one thing for credit cards to hold some of your credit in reserve for this sort of thing, but it is entirely different if they are holding some of MY MONEY hostage.

Peggy

 

[olena]

Originally posted by peg2001
Yikes! I don't know if my bank does this or not because when they sent us debit cards, we sent them right back. It's one thing for credit cards to hold some of your credit in reserve for this sort of thing, but it is entirely different if they are holding some of MY MONEY hostage.

Peggy

We had this problem, too. Our bank kept sending us check cards. We'd cut them up and call to fuss at them. We asked repeatedly that cards not be sent. Cards began arriving every 6 months! Their rationale was that they wanted all their customers to have and use fake Visas. We told them if another set came, we'd be firing them. More came this Fall and we changed banks.

 

[my3kids]

I actually switched banks because they DIDN'T offer check card access to an account!

 

[SeaSpray]

Our bank does NOT do this! We use our Visa debit card fairly often at restaurants and ONLY charge us the amount that we sign for. I can't believe some banks have the nerve to charge extra like that!! I check my account online daily and balance it every day as well, so I know for a fact that this is not something that my bank does. Not even as far as just "holding" a higher amount in case a tip is added.

P.S. In case anyone is wondering, I'm on the south shore of Massachusetts and we LOVE our bank, which is Brockton Credit Union. Early next year they're changing their name to HarborOne Credit Union. We used to use a large commercial bank but didn't like the service, or should I say LACK of service. At Brockton Credit Union the employees are friendly, call you by name every time, and have often gone out of their way to help us and answer questions we've had about various bank topics.

 

[my3kids]

SeaSpray...it isn't the bank, it is the merchant. They run the card through with the tip included as the toal amount of the sale. Once you fill out and sign the ticket with the amount you want, that is the amount charged to you. The only way you'd likely notice is if you look in the pending items file online daily with your account. If you gave a 20% tip, then the amount is the same. If you ended up giving more or less, a pending item will show up in a different amount. Probably by the end of the day that disappears and the correct amount is actually posted to your account.

 

[CBRorBust]

That is so weird.

I have never heard of this before. I'm pretty sure my check card/bank does not do this.

 

[RUDisney]

My3kids is exactly right. It isn't the bank. The bank only holds the funds that it is told to hold by the merchant. Restaurants do this, hotels do this, any vendor who may have an additional charge tacked on to the purchase price will do this. Has nothing to do with the bank.

 

[peg2001]

Originally posted by olena
We had this problem, too. Our bank kept sending us check cards. We'd cut them up and call to fuss at them. We asked repeatedly that cards not be sent. Cards began arriving every 6 months! Their rationale was that they wanted all their customers to have and use fake Visas. We told them if another set came, we'd be firing them. More came this Fall and we changed banks.

Yep. We ended up having quite an interesting conversation with our bank.

Us: "Don't send us debit cards. We don't want them."
Them: "I don't understand. What do you mean you don't want them?"
Us: "We don't want them, we refuse to have them."
Them: "But they take the place of your ATM card."
Us: "Will our old ATM card still work?"
Them: "Well, yes."
Us: "Ok then, we will keep using our ATM card and you cancel the debit cards."

They just couldn't fathom that someone might NOT want debit cards. Not to mention, when they first sent them out, they were going to charge $1 a month for providing you with such a wonderful product!! They've since dropped that fee.

Peggy

 

[oogieboogie]

This is pretty much standard practice by the merchants, not the bank. The bank does not process a transaction over the amount that the merchant states.

When you give your card (be it debit or credit card) at a restaurant, when the merchant swipes the card he needs to put in the amount. They then usually add a certain amount that they think would be for tips. If you then tip in cash, the overage amount does not get processed.
If merchants don't do this, what happens is when someone pays the tip on the card, then they have to reswipe the card again just to put the extra tip on, which is to them another transaction, which means another expense to the merchant as each transaction costs them 3% of the total bill that they must pay to Visa/Mastercard to process that transaction.

Sometimes banks will put on the overage amount on your online banking statement, but after 1-2 day processing, this usually reverts back to the original amount.

I know it's sometimes alarming, but just remember you always have liability protection from Visa/Mastercard as long as your transactions are signed and not PINned, even on a debit card.

 

[SeaSpray]

Originally posted by my3kids
SeaSpray...it isn't the bank, it is the merchant. They run the card through with the tip included as the toal amount of the sale. Once you fill out and sign the ticket with the amount you want, that is the amount charged to you. The only way you'd likely notice is if you look in the pending items file online daily with your account. If you gave a 20% tip, then the amount is the same. If you ended up giving more or less, a pending item will show up in a different amount. Probably by the end of the day that disappears and the correct amount is actually posted to your account.

Oh, ok! I thought the OP was saying it was her bank who was adding the charge! Nevermind then.

 

[KathyFP]

I have never had that done to my card. We use our debit card frequently at restaurants. I also check my account daily and view pending transactions.

Boy am I glad. I usually tip in cash.

 

[Mskanga]

OK, you must be aware ofo something. When you go to certain businesses, in their receipt ( usually underneath the total amount ) there's another line for tips, if you do not cross that line out when you sign the receipt, after you sign the receipt , the merchant can charge anything they want for tip, then you have to dispute the charge with the credit card company and that's a pain in the rear.
You should have a copy of the receipt that you signed for, it's not the bank doing this, it's the merchant. If they added something after you signed and you have a receipt that shows a different amount, then they are the ones with the problem.
I have had a check card for years now and never had a problem, I live off those cards, I never carry more than maybe $10 cash with me.

 

[lynxstch]

the tip line if paying the tip in cash..never thought of it your way..but you are entirely right...and I am going to start doing that right away!..thanks for the heads up!

 

[Tiggerlover91]

Originally posted by Mskanga
OK, you must be aware ofo something. When you go to certain businesses, in their receipt ( usually underneath the total amount ) there's another line for tips, if you do not cross that line out when you sign the receipt, after you sign the receipt , the merchant can charge anything they want for tip, then you have to dispute the charge with the credit card company and that's a pain in the rear.
You should have a copy of the receipt that you signed for, it's not the bank doing this, it's the merchant. If they added something after you signed and you have a receipt that shows a different amount, then they are the ones with the problem.
I have had a check card for years now and never had a problem, I live off those cards, I never carry more than maybe $10 cash with me.

Let me explain something to all of you now:

I'm a server and I do credit card/debit card transactions on a REGULAR basis. If I put anymore in on that transaction than the customer did...I LOSE MY JOB!! If the transaction is for $26.00 and they leave the TIP line blank....then I better do the same. Eight times out of ten, that tip is on the table.
However, if the transaction is for $30 and they put a $6 tip, but only put $35 on the total line, then I'm out a dollar. It happens all the time! I know of those who used to make the adjustment because it really seemed to be no big deal really, but it was and they all stopped when they realized they would be fired....no questions asked.
So those of you who go out to restaurants, don't sweat it if you forget to put a line through the TIP area. We've had 3 people at our restaurant get fired for credit card fraud, so it does happen, but on the average you'll find credit card fraud with stolen cards or duplicated numbers. Please take your receipt with you....I can't tell you how many I throw away daily. If you don't have that, then where's your backup.
Best to you all,

Denise