Petrol Station Took £99 or £100? What That Charge Is

It is a pre-authorisation, not a payment. When you pay at the pump, the station has no idea how much fuel you are about to take, so it asks your bank to ring-fence a set amount before you start. Once the pump stops, the real cost replaces it.

You put £30 of petrol in and see £99 or £100 leave your balance. The money has not gone anywhere — it is reserved, and it comes back.

At a glance

What it is: A pre-authorisation hold, not a charge
Typical size: £1, £99 or £100 depending on the station
Real amount: Settles within a few days
Money actually taken: Only what you pumped
If it sticks: Contact your bank, not the garage

Key Takeaways

A hold is not a payment. It reserves funds so the retailer knows the money exists; only the fuel value is ever taken.
Pay at pump is where it happens. Paying at the kiosk normally authorises the exact amount instead.
How fast it clears depends on your bank, not the garage. Some release it within hours, others take several working days.
It can push you into an overdraft if your balance is tight, even though the money is not really gone.
Chase your bank, not the petrol station, if it has not cleared.

Why the amount is so big

The pump cannot know whether you are putting in £5 or £100. So before it releases any fuel, the terminal asks your bank to confirm and reserve an amount that comfortably covers a full tank.

Practice varies:

Some stations reserve a nominal £1 to check the card is live, then request the real amount afterwards.
Others reserve £99 or £100 up front, because a £1 check does not prove the funds are actually there.

The second approach became far more common after card schemes tightened the rules on unattended fuel terminals, precisely because £1 checks were letting people draw fuel on cards without the balance to cover it.

What happens next

You tap or insert at the pump. The terminal asks your bank to hold an amount.
The hold appears on your account, usually marked pending, and reduces your available balance.
You fill up and the pump stops. The station now knows the true amount.
The real transaction settles — typically within a couple of working days.
The hold drops off. Only the fuel value is ever debited.

You will sometimes see both the hold and the real charge at once. That is normal and short-lived; the hold falls away on its own.

How long it takes to clear

This is set by your bank, not the petrol station, which is why two people at the same pump have completely different experiences.

App-based banks such as Monzo and Starling usually release holds quickly, often within hours.
High street banks commonly take two to five working days.
Some cards hold for up to a week in the worst cases.

Weekends and bank holidays stretch it, because settlement runs on working days.

When it actually matters

For most people it is a curiosity. It becomes a real problem when your balance is tight:

A £100 hold on an account with £120 in it leaves you £20 until it clears.
It can tip you into an arranged or unarranged overdraft, with charges.
Several fill-ups in a week can stack multiple holds at once.

If money is tight, pay at the kiosk instead. Paying inside authorises the exact amount you pumped, so no oversized hold is placed. It is the single most effective way to avoid this.

If the hold does not clear

Give it five working days first, since most resolve themselves.

If it is still there:

Contact your bank, not the garage. The hold sits with your bank. The station has already sent the correct final amount and cannot release anything.
Have the date, amount and station to hand.
Ask them to release the pre-authorisation. Banks do this routinely.
If you were charged twice — a hold that settled and a separate full charge — that is a genuine duplicate. Raise it as a disputed transaction and ask about a chargeback.

Where else this happens

Fuel is the most common, but the same mechanism appears wherever the final bill is unknown at the start:

Hotels, which hold an amount at check-in for incidentals
Car hire, often a substantial deposit hold
Restaurants and bars running a tab
Online orders authorised at checkout but charged on dispatch

The rule is the same in all of them: a hold is a reservation, not a payment, and only the true amount is ever taken.

Frequently asked questions

Why did the petrol station take £99 when I only put in £30?

That is a pre-authorisation hold. Pay-at-pump terminals cannot know how much you will take, so they reserve an amount that covers a full tank before releasing fuel. Only the £30 is actually taken. The £99 hold drops off once the real transaction settles, usually within a few working days.

How long does a petrol station hold take to clear?

It depends on your bank rather than the garage. App-based banks often release within hours, while high street banks commonly take two to five working days. Weekends and bank holidays extend it because settlement runs on working days only.

Have I been charged twice for petrol?

Almost certainly not. Seeing both a hold and the real amount at the same time is normal, and the hold disappears by itself. If both are still there after about five working days, or both have fully settled as completed payments, contact your bank and raise it as a duplicate.

How do I avoid the £100 hold?

Pay at the kiosk rather than at the pump. Paying inside authorises the exact amount of fuel you took, so no oversized hold is placed. That is worth doing whenever your balance is tight.

Can a fuel hold put me into my overdraft?

Yes. The hold reduces your available balance while it stands, so a £100 reservation on a low balance can tip you into an overdraft and trigger charges even though the money is never taken. If that happens, explain it to your bank — they will often refund the charge.