'Merchant may withhold up to €375 for refueling': what you need to know about the amounts held on your credit card | My guide

When you refuel and pay with your credit card (or debit card), the merchant temporarily blocks an amount on your card (or account). You then present your card before you fill up, at a time when the gas station cannot know exactly how much you will spend.

Lost card or suspected fraud? You must do this until your card is blocked yourself.

“A gas station in Europe will charge a maximum of €375 for refueling,” says Isabelle Marchand of Viblevin. “That's a lot of money because the gas station operator doesn't know if you're refueling a passenger car, a van or a truck. The gas station will never book more than that, but it will take less time, if you can only refuel there with passenger cars and vans.

“In the past, many people were surprised when between 125 and 375 euros were frozen in their accounts,” says Laura Claes from Testancope. “That is why Belgian legislation – at our request – today stipulates that the payer must be informed in advance when the payee wishes to block such a payment. The trader is not obliged to state the amount of blocks that the trader blocks, which is very unfortunate.

“Hotels and car rental companies can also place a hold on your credit card as a guarantee,” continues Isabelle Marchand. “They are allowed to do this throughout Europe. The dealers themselves decide the amount of this guarantee. So it is better to check this yourself when booking a hotel room or renting a car.

“Once the fuel nozzle is hung back on the hook, the exact amount used is deducted from your credit card or account, and the reserved amount is released immediately, unless there are technical problems,” says Isabelle Marchand.

“That's right,” answers Laura Claeys. “It seems that it is not always possible to release the amount immediately after refueling. This is how things went wrong at Argenta in August 2023.” Isabelle Marchand: “Of course this can happen sometimes, but if you know the amount of refueling, Technical glitches only occur intermittently.”

For how long can hotels and car rental companies prohibit deposits? “This is an agreement between the trader and the customer. Once the trader releases the deposit, the banks will of course release this amount immediately,” says Isabelle Marchand, financial sector ombudsman. “The trader has the legal freedom to choose the collateral he requests and the holding period,” said Jean Cattarosa, Financial Sector Ombudsman. “But we think the merchant should act sensibly here.”

Especially when renting cars, there are often problems releasing the deposit, says Jan Cattarosa. “On the one hand, there are problems with landlords deducting costs from the reserved amount without the tenant’s consent. On the other hand, sometimes car rental guarantees are not released until much later.

What credit card do you need? For example, are you looking for one that includes free insurance? Here you will find the credit card that suits your needs.

“The main thing is to collect the amount blocked on your credit card or account, and think carefully about whether you have enough for your other payments, for example when travelling. You can keep an overview via your banking app,” advises Isabelle Marchand. “To avoid withholding, you can refuel at the stations where you pay afterwards – after refueling,” continues Laura Claeys.

“If the car rental company charges you costs you don't agree with, you can initiate a chargeback via Wordline,” adds Jan Cattarosa. If the blocking of the amount reserved for refueling has not been lifted, please contact the bank.

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