I had a terrible day at work!!!

[Pansori]

Just venting, but one caller ruined my good vibes for the day. The man had used his cc to buy $8.50 worth of gas. He paid at the pump, so of course the merchant pinged his card for a $1. The man called me, thinking the $1 was a fraudulent charge. I explained to him it is common for gas stations to ping his card anywhere from $1-$200, and if in the future he wanted to prevent it he would have to go pay inside.

He said I was LYING!!!! He said he has bought gas in many places, all over the U.S. with his cc at the pump and this has NEVER happened to him! He accused me of trying to let fraud go on his cc (which would technically not be fraud). I tried to explain to him that it was a matter if verifying that the card is active and had available funds, the same way that a hotel or a rental car agency would do.

He accused me of lying again!!! Said I was making things up, that yet again he has rented cars and slept in hotels all over the States, and NEVER have they held funds on his card! I was floored. This is a 45 year old man, who obviously had web access (as he asked me to email him information), so it was not like he was living in the stone age. I would be more forgiving if he was older.

Then he escalated on me with his wife screaming at me from the background, also accusing me of making up stories. Dealing with this sort of customer service can be nerve wracking, to say the least.

Honestly, in this day and age how can someone go through life using a cc on a regular basis and NOT know this stuff??

[LuckyRobin]

Hmm...I'm 41 and I've never had a gas station do this...but of course I've had many hotels do this. Still, that is no excuse for the man's rudeness. I'm sorry you had a rough time with that caller.

[Pansori]

It is called an authorization hold. It never leaves pending auth. status, and eventually drops off your acct. I have had people declined because they are close to their limit and go to fill up... but when they swipe their card at the pump the gas station tries to run it for over the amount. For USAA cards I usually see the holds to be around $75 or $100, the most was $200 at a gas station.

I always use my debit as credit for gas, and they usually have a $1 on my acct for several days. If I run it as a debit it goes through immediately.

[irmanator]

This is why I don't pay at the pump. Sorry he was so rude to you that is uncalled for.
I wish people would realize that you get more flies with honey than vinegar.

[disneysteve]

I can understand them authorizing for $75 or $100 to make sure the funds are there to cover the purchase, but what purpose does it serve to authorize for $1? Other than letting them know the account is active, it doesn't tell them that enough credit is available to cover the purchase.

I don't think I've ever encountered this and I always pay by credit card. Of course, I also don't check my statement on a daily basis so it is possible that the amount never shows up when I'm looking. Seems like between the two of us buying gas regularly, I would have caught it at least once.

[Coronet]

I've seen a lot of places charge $1, mostly gas places. I've also had it done for some online purchases I've made.

This guy was pretty nuts. Did you transfer him to your boss or something to set him straight?

[Pansori]

Are Gas Stations Holding Your Money Hostage? - San Diego News Story - KGTV San Diego

And to be fair, I was understanding about him not knowing about the gas thing, because a lot of people don't know about the auth holds when you pay at the pump. I explain it so much I have my verbiage down pat. What was surprising to me was him not knowing about the holds rental agencies and hotels do... isn't that common knowledge? I am a frequent traveler as well, most USAA members I speak with travel a lot... and to date it was just not something anyone has ever questioned me about, much less accused me of lying about. If anything, I get calls from people who are annoyed that so-n-so hotel hasn't released the hold.

I also didn't expect him to escalate so bad. There are some calls that I KNOW they will ask for a supervisor. Having to explain a payment float and dealing with auth users is almost a guarantee escalation. If I know the caller will not be happy with my news I usually put them on a brief hold, take a deep breath, and prepare myself for the verbal onslaught.

But it has been a good morning so far. I forgot today is payday, and it was higher than I expected, so double bonus. Plus I am getting a lot of my personal business done, so I am feeling accomplished.

[Pansori]

This guy was pretty nuts. Did you transfer him to your boss or something to set him straight?

Transferred. I had to talk over them to tell them I would get a sup, they were very upset.

But the sup told me he would back me up, so that was nice.

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

Are you using industry lingo and abbreviated words when you speak to customers? Please, when you talk to me, do not say "sup" or "auth". Say "supervisor" and "authorization", "authorized party," "authorized payment," or what ever real words you mean. And the verbiage that you have down pat should be spoken slowly, not as though you are bored to death and only saying it because you have the responsibility to say the words to a caller.

Don't know if those are your problems, but I've encountered them on the phone.

Do you know anything about military life? Do you know someone who is in the military? Ever noticed the proliferation of abbreviations and acronyms they use for something as simple as telling you when they will be moving and how long they will be staying there before they get some vacation time or get sent back to their original place of residence? So if you want to understand what they've said, you have to interrupt and ask, "What's that? What does that mean?"....Well 'most all jobs do develop their own lingo and even the simplest, most basic vocabulary might not be at all understandable to the people you are supposed to be helping. Examine your way of speaking if you are not being understood.

I know many people who do not check their accounts online and so would never have seen the holds on their cards that never materialize into charges. I think you should try to get information as to what portion of your card users do monitor online. The info might be helpful.

[Andrew Jackson]

Sorry the couple was so rude.

I noticed one of these charges on my card a couple weeks ago. It was only for a $1.

[cypher1]

I can understand them authorizing for $75 or $100 to make sure the funds are there to cover the purchase, but what purpose does it serve to authorize for $1? Other than letting them know the account is active, it doesn't tell them that enough credit is available to cover the purchase.

I don't think I've ever encountered this and I always pay by credit card. Of course, I also don't check my statement on a daily basis so it is possible that the amount never shows up when I'm looking. Seems like between the two of us buying gas regularly, I would have caught it at least once.

Online, yes. But I don't think I've ever encountered that $1 charge at the pump. And I've always used my CC, while checking my accounts almost daily for any questionable transactions. I'm sure i'd probably see it if it was an out of state transaction or so.

As for your work, you have to learn to not take it personal, while still being professional to defuse the situation. I remember it was very challenging for me when I first worked in IT Helpdesk and dealing with escalations. After awhile I just became immune to upset end users after realizing its just part of the job while learning to improve communication skills.

[disneysteve]

I knew they put holds on debit cards. I didn't realize they did it on credit cards, too. Again, I've never been aware of it happening on my account, but again, I don't check my account constantly. I just review my statement each month and I guess by then, any holds have already been removed.

[Pansori]

Are you using industry lingo and abbreviated words when you speak to customers? Please, when you talk to me, do not say "sup" or "auth". Say "supervisor" and "authorization", "authorized party," "authorized payment," or what ever real words you mean.

No, of course not. That would be entirely unprofessional, and I would be coached. We are not even allowed to say APR, we have to say annual percentage rate. I figured I would save myself some keystrokes, that is why I abbreviated.

The problem was not that he did not understand me. I was clear, and he completely understood what I was saying. The problem was that he accused me of lying. He flat out said "I think you're lying to me." He escalated because he did not believe me, not because he lacked comprehension.

As for your work, you have to learn to not take it personal, while still being professional to defuse the situation. I remember it was very challenging for me when I first worked in IT Helpdesk and dealing with escalations. After awhile I just became immune to upset end users after realizing its just part of the job while learning to improve communication skills.

It is hard to not take it so personally, sometimes. I often have to think as bad as what one call may be, the person next to me has probably had one worse. I suppose what irked me was how venomous the couple came off. They were very rude! I understand that they had some bad experiences using their card (the wife had been declined earlier because they ended up putting a block on the card), and I figured they were taking it out on me since I represent the bank.

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

I think I would dislike your job, Pansori.

I do think what people do not understand about money and credit can be huge. They can feel vulnerable.

Incidentally, when I bought minutes for my TracFone today, I encountered this statement in nice red letters:

"*Please note that a $1.00 Pre-Authorization hold will appear on your credit statement. This pre-authorization amount will be automatically reversed and your credit card will not be charged."

I don't recall ever having seen that before. Perhaps it was because I was using a credit card that I was not accustomed to using online. Maybe this particular card tips that off where as my more frequently used cards do not. I don't know.

[Like2Plan]

I knew they put holds on debit cards. I didn't realize they did it on credit cards, too. Again, I've never been aware of it happening on my account, but again, I don't check my account constantly. I just review my statement each month and I guess by then, any holds have already been removed.

Disneysteve,
I think one of the reasons you haven't seen the $1.00 amount is that it generally only shows up in the pending amount (as a total of all charges pending). I have a card that I don't use very often--and I occasionally see one of these charges pop up in pending ($1.00)because it is only thing charged for several days.
My Marriott card online format recently changed so that I can actually see a itemize list of all the pending charges. I have been able to see quite a few of the $1.00 pre-authorization charges as a result. I really like this new format.