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gas at Castroville Texas

Bartman

Well Known Member
I just want to let people know I got gas at Castroville Texas Saturday on the way home from the Port A shrimp boil. I got 25.9 gallons of gas for the low price of 920$ yepper a little over 35$ a gallon ...when I got home I called my automated banking line and found out I had been charged 920$ so I called the airport I was real nice and told them what happened there response " we cant do anything about that"........I just want everyone to know.... Castroville about 30mi west of san antonio has low price gas but Hondo about 40mi west of san Antonio also has low price gas........so if your getting gas in the area you might want to avoide Castroville and go to Hondo...P.S. the charge was on a visa debit card I am working on getting my money back but what a pain in the butt.
 
Was it a self serve terminal? did it ask you for how many gallons? did you select fill up?
I'm unfamiliar with that airport but I know many self service kiosks ask these questions then put a hold on your card for what you ask, by the time the final charge hits your account it will be for the correct amount.
I.e. if you select fill up it defaults to 200 gallons (this # is variable depending on the airport but this is my guess based on the hold being $920). so if gas is at $5.00 and I select fill up there will be a hold of $1,000 on my card but if I only pump 10 gallons when the charge goes "final" (about 2 days) I will only be charged $50. when I fill up at places like this I usually just put 3 gallons over what my totalizor says I need for the gallons so the hold isn't unreasonable.

If I'm right you will see the correct charge in a couple days
 
If I'm right you will see the correct charge in a couple days

You are correct. The "charge" on the debit card was probably a "preauthorization" -- which looks and feels EXACTLY like a charge on a debit card, in that it makes your funds unavailable. The good news is that it will be "returned" to your checking account in a period of 7 to 10 days.

We run into this all the time at the hotel. We have finally gotten to the point where we actively recommend AGAINST using a debit card to reserve a hotel room, because it has the exact same effect as described in this post.

Example: You reserve three nights at the hotel. The total for the reservation is $400. We preauthorize your card for $400.

If it's a credit card, you never know it happened. The preauthorization takes away $400 from your available credit, which is usually many thousands of dollars.

If it's a debit card, which is linked directly to your checking account, the preauthorization instantly FREEZES $400 in your checking account -- EVEN IF THE CARD CAN BE USED AS A CREDIT/DEBIT CARD.

Why? Because that's the way your bank wants it!

Why? Because they make money on the "float". This money is the money that is being "held" for us, which means you don't have it anymore, and I don't have it until you check in. So who has the money?

Answer: YOUR BANK. And they get to play with it, and do!

IMHO this is one of the biggest scams in America. On any given day, this "float" is many BILLIONS of dollars, all being used, interest free, by banks. It is exactly the same as if you gave your bank an interest free loan -- and no one knows anything about it.

If you think I am aggravated by this, you would be right. We get yelled at at least once a week by someone who simply did not understand how a debit card worked. They can end up bouncing checks, and screaming at us, even though we are very, very careful to explain the potential consequences of using a debit card to hold a room.

Moral of the story: Never, ever, EVER use a debit card to reserve a hotel room. Or buy avgas.

And since this was such a depressing post, I think I will share a nice picture from this evening's flight. :)

Here's Mary, about to grease a landing tonight in tough, windy conditions...

10322684_676726545696576_4336873733523583844_n.jpg
 
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Mine was worse

A couple years ago, the pump at my local airport was "sticky" and would only trickle until it got going...so, in my infinate wisdom, I kept re-swiping my card after it would time out, and after 3 swipes it wouldnt accept my card, so I had my BIB use hers for 3 more cycles of the darn thing. I managed to trickle out about 5 gallons before her card quit...Then it hit me. Using the "fill-up" button, it was charging me $300.00 each time, so we had 5 gallons@ $1800.00 on a Friday evening and both debit cards were maxed out. It took 5 business days for them to clear up and show the correct charge of $25.00 !! So, lesson learned, always use "gallons" button, and quit if pump is not working.
 
Debit card

Well live and learn.....thanks for all the info about debit cards vs credit cards. I use to pay for everything in cash and only used a credit card when I had to, (rent a car, etc) I got a debit card a few years ago and till now thought it was great kinda of like paying with cash. Now I see that debit card has problems too. Well the point of the story is the Castroville Airport response was total ****, I am the kind of persons that say good things about people that give good service and bad thing about people the give Bad service. I don't spend my money where I got bad service and I don't spend my money where my friends have got bad service. ......On a better note the Port A shrimp boil was great I went last year too.
 
Well live and learn.....thanks for all the info about debit cards vs credit cards. I use to pay for everything in cash and only used a credit card when I had to, (rent a car, etc) I got a debit card a few years ago and till now thought it was great kinda of like paying with cash. Now I see that debit card has problems too. Well the point of the story is the Castroville Airport response was total ****, I am the kind of persons that say good things about people that give good service and bad thing about people the give Bad service. I don't spend my money where I got bad service and I don't spend my money where my friends have got bad service. ......On a better note the Port A shrimp boil was great I went last year too.

Sorry if I came across as harshly anti-debit card. I am NOT. Debit cards have their place, and work well for many finite purchases. I use mine all the time.

Just be careful when using them in situations where the price is not fixed. Those pre-authorizations can kill you!
 
Well live and learn.....thanks for all the info about debit cards vs credit cards. I use to pay for everything in cash and only used a credit card when I had to, (rent a car, etc) I got a debit card a few years ago and till now thought it was great kinda of like paying with cash. Now I see that debit card has problems too. ....
I have spent a number of years consulting with financial institutions and banks and here is what I learned:

1. Remember when it was a bad thing to bounce a check? Well, banks encourage the use of debit cards because they know you will overdraw your account and when you do, they hit you with a fee. They no longer worry about getting their cash because almost everyone is on direct deposit and they know that in a week or two, they will get their money back and the ?service? fee.

2. Young folk, under 35, don't carry cash anymore and most don't own checkbooks. If they owe you money, they will do an eTransfer to your (PayPal?) account. They think nothing of using their debit card to buy a pack of gum.


3. You do not have the protection you think you have when using your debit card, use a credit card instead. Some cards, American Express is a good example, can be set up to keep you from rolling over your balance and must be paid in full each month. They also typically give you ?miles? for each dollar spent with their card. Keep two cards from different companies because inevitably you will stop for fuel some place that doesn?t take one of your cards.

4. Before inserting either your debit or credit card in ANY automated machine, be it an ATM or gas pump, pull hard on the card swipe reader. Crooks are really good at making very OEM looking card skimmers.

5. Turn off the Bluetooth in your phone when not in use or make sure it is secure. It is very easy for someone to scan your phone and retrieve all those precious credit card numbers you have stored in there.
 
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