Opinion No. (2002)

BILL LOCKYER Attorney General THOMAS S. LAZAR Deputy Attorney General THE HONORABLE WESLEY CHESBRO, MEMBER OF THE STATE SENATE, has requested an opinion on the following question: When a customer uses a debit card to purchase gasoline at a service station, may the service station owner cause a hold to be placed upon the customer's bank account before allowing the gasoline to be pumped where the amount of the hold is in excess of the purchase price of the gasoline ultimately pumped, the hold extends beyond the fueling event, and the owner does not inform the customer of the existence of the hold? CONCLUSION When a customer uses a debit card to purchase gasoline at a service station, the service station owner may not cause a hold to be placed upon the customer's bank account before allowing the gasoline to be pumped where the amount of the hold is in excess of the purchase price of the gasoline ultimately pumped, the hold extends beyond the fueling event, and the owner does not inform the customer of the existence of the hold. ANALYSIS We are informed that customers who use debit cards to purchase gasoline at service stations are often subject to "preauthorization holds" on their…