Italy Petrol Stations Credit Card Fee

I cannot say for certain about your situation. I can say that when I credit card which I always do) at a pump a hold goes up for a larger amount than I need, likely what it would figure is a full tank. And I can see these on my account for a couple days, they drop off when the actual sale is fully posted. So, one, check your account. Two, hopefully you had printed receipts for each transaction so that if there is an issue you there is proof to show the bank what you actually purchased. Presumably your receipts show the actual transaction and not 103 euro.

Thanks for your info Larry. It has been 2 weeks since our trip and there is no credit showing in our account. We have receipts from only 2 of the 3 transactions . Yes the receipt does show a certain amount we spent as opposed to what was charged on our credit card...but I am not confident that our bank will refund us the extra amount based on this ?? Im curious as to why this seems to not have happended to anyone else ??

I do not know how it works with a foreign credit card; with an Italian credit cards, it first blocks about 100 euro, but as soon as you put the hose away, the correct amount is charged.

@ Jo

Just spent 5 weeks around Italy, and you are right it can be a little confusing at first.

Larry explains it well. Remember our country is in the vanguard of implementing technology. Our afterhours petrol pumps have more advanced options, safeguards, and procedures.

As Larry points out initially the €103 or whatever, is a hold to make sure there is enough credit on the card and is not maxed out and Visa or Mastercard will honour the transaction. When you have finished pumping the petrol and replace the nozzle in the bowser, you should be able to read on the screen the € amount pumped and follow instructs if any to get the receipt. There should be a union jack somewhere if you cannot read Italian.

When you log on to your bank to review your credit card transactions you should see a hold amount, which will remain until the bits and bytes of the fuel company and your credit card bank and Visa or Mastercard companies talk and sort it out. At some time before your billing cycle concludes the hold should disappear, and the correct amount should appear, assuming you followed the correct instructions at the pump. Easy if one has a basic understanding/reading of Italian. If you did not follow the instructions, then I do not know what happens.

Remember CrowdStrike made a horrendous stuff up and buggered things up. The intermediatory businesses may take some time to fix things up. Just keep logging on to your bank and checking. 3FA will require a verification code to your mobile from your bank at home as per normal. Make sure your mobile is set to receive via SMS the verification code.

Regards Ron

Hi Jotan, I am in a similar situation as yourself. I have used my international credit card to refuel twice in Italy and got charged 103 Euros in both instances, on 3 October 2024 and on 5 October 2024. My bank doesn't show it as a 'hold' or 'blocked' amount, it can be seen as a full charge. I do have printed receipts from the gas station machine saying I spent about 70 Euros and 20 Euros but I am not sure if my bank can use this to refund me. As of 15 October 2024, my bank says they have not received any refund notification from the merchant side, and after 15 working days, I am supposed to raise a dispute on these charges.
Can you update me on the status of your refunds as of today? Any info you might have from your experience will be greatly helpful.
Regards,
Varun

I wonder if it is helpful to consider the vast number of UK visitors to NYC who feel blindsided by hotel check-in "holds" on their credit cards. They post about this on Trip Advisor weekly. And it's true that Americans with poor credit, at home, end up paying fees when unexpected holds are put on their very limited credit lines, and the next charge fails.

Absolutely dispute the charges. Include scans of your receipts.

I am wondering if these are actual credit cards or debit cards. Credit card is always more secure to use rather than a debit card.

Do you not have online access to your bank accounts that show you what you were actually charged?

They charge 100€ at first but then the final charge after you are done refueling is the correct amount. Basically the 100€ is a hold amount. Check your card charges online and see what your final charge is. It should be the correct amount.

All these replies keep talking about the banks holding an amount until it gets refunded…. I’m pretty sure this only applies to Italian and maybe European bank accounts. As yet we have had no luck getting back any money as our bank does not have sufficient details needed for a refund…. Despite presenting receipts. Looks like we will be out of pocket aprox AUD $300. Good money making scheme for the Italian petrol stations ! Good luck to others who have fallen victim as well ! Next time make sure u DO NOT go through self serve petrol stations !

I’ve used only my Italian debit card since I haven’t been successful with my U.S. card at petrol stations so maybe that is the problem. But yes I avoid US card transactions at machines when possible, as I prefer in person transactions to avoid this type of snafus. Petrol stations do accept cash in euro bills of 5, 10, 20, 50 euro, so that is what I use when I use self serve pumps, or I refuel during business hours when they are manned and pay the full serve price using my US credit card on an in person transaction. Full serve price is more expensive but in the overall scheme of things I don’t think the extra few cents per liter is going to break the bank when one considers that on an average 3-4 week vacation I can’t possibly cover more than 2,000km (maybe 150 liters in fuel max).

Jotan, please come back and report after you are home and receive your next credit card bill, and the one after that. Your anger is misplaced.

Jotan, holds are routinely place on credit cards by hotels and rental car agencies here in the US too. Other merchants too - sometimes they tell you and sometimes they don't. They don't want you running up a big bill and not having the credit to back it up.

Thanks for all suggestions all… yes we have done everything we can with bank and told we don’t have enough information to raise the credit but they will look into it. All these suggestions apply to European credit cards only and doesn’t seem to be applicable to Australian cards . It’s been over 4 weeks since back from the holiday… statements are in , no update from bank.
Tim it’s easy for u to say our anger is misplaced…. How would u feel if u are out of pocket over $300 ?? We are not rich and it’s a big loss after a very expensive holiday

Thank you, jotan, for your warning. My husband and I will be renting a car in Sicily for just one day but will have to top off the tank. We now know not to go to the self service machines. I would not want to wait for ?two credit card billing cycles? or even one to see that my bank had credited my account. Your anger/anxiety is justified!

Sorry this is a problem for Australians. I'd be angry at my bank more than the machine though.
I am from US and the system worked perfectly--I saw a hold, then the correct amount posted, with the difference refunded. It can be stressful since you don;t know how it works until you muddle through it.
I don't know why we just can't pay the exact amount with cards like "normal" but whatevs. I miss all the full-service stations!

jotan, if there had been an attendant, I would consider the possibility of preying on tourists. You said it was self-service. But I repeat my suggestion that you wait for the next two credit card statements to come in the mail (do you look at them, or just pay blindly? I had a friend who joked, "I let the Collection Agencies read my receipts ... ") and report back to us. I will apologize to you and admit my stupidity if you are still out the money two months from now.

Have you ever experienced a "hold" at, say, a hotel? BTW, in California, I have experienced self-service pumps that added 0.03 U$D per gallon "for credit card use". That was a rip-off, but clearly stated on posters at the station. How else would you use a self-service pump!?

BTW, your posts are a little vague about "credit" vs. "debit." You say credit card, but then you say "bank account". In the USA, credit cards and debit cards are regulated (by the government) very differently.

I don't know about NJ, but in California only self service stations exist, and you can pay cash (at a lower price compared to credit card) by simply walking to the cashier inside the little shop.
Regarding this specific incident, I know that Italian pumps charge you 100€ first as a pending charge, then when you are done pumping the actual amount pumped is charged while the 100€ reversed, and therefore the actual amount charged is what you actually used. For some reason I've been able to do so only with my Italian cards, as my US cards haven't worked at the machine, only with in person transactions (maybe because I needed a PIN, which I don't have in my US cards. I'm not really sure what happened in this case and why the OP was charged for the full 100€ instead of 56€.
Regarding the possibility of being scammed by the attendant, that is a real possibility. Numerous foreign tourists have reported that. Sometimes they charge you more than they actually pumped, so pay attention at the amount they pump in your car, and make sure you get charged that amount.