CC preauths and real-time online banking dilemma

[pizzafanatic]

I couldn’t be the only one that has this problem. It’s annoying and my CC company is telling me there’s nothing they can do. When I take a CC order, my merchant services will preauthorize 15% over the ticket price to cover a gratuity if the customer chooses to write one in. Ok, no problem.

The issue is when a customer goes home, looks at their account online and sees a “pending” transaction that’s more than the receipt that their holding. I’ve had several that called in all hot accusing my driver of writing in a tip for himself.

My response is always the same. I apologize for the confusion and let the customer know that what they’re seeing a simply a preauthorization and that the settled amount will be the amount he/she signed for on their receipt. Most are fine, but I get a few that still don’t get it.

Do any of you deal with this same problem? Is there a way of keeping this from happening? BTW, it’s really bad on 3 day weekends because a customer can buy from me on Friday and it shows on their online banking until the following Tuesday before it get processed.

 

[Registered_Guest]

I don’t have that problem because I’ve set that to 0 in my cc software. I’d check again with your servicer and see if you can do the same. There is no real reason to do it.

the real problem I often have is when some cancels their order that they paid for with a checkcard. Sorry, you won’t see that money again for at least 3 days. People have tried to blame me for bouncing other checks.

 

[brad_randall]

“Order, get delivery, check online banking, call back angry…” I also set it to zero in my software. If you can’t do this or can’t have it done for you, I would consider changing processors.

As the number of people using debit cards and online banking exploded in the past few years, we were getting calls daily about employees trying to “steal” money. Now we don’t preauth any gratuity cushion and we eliminated those confusing exchanges.

RG is correct, cancellations ARE still a problem. You should be able to send a “remove” authorization command or something. sigh

I want to open a carry out only place with an ATM in the parking lot. No checks and no charges. Randy Moss was right… straight cash is the only way to go!

 

[bodegahwy]

Are you guys kidding? Your customers are checking the transactions on-line between statements? None of this has ever come up even once.

Did this happen to you more than one time?

 

[brad_randall]

We’re in a college town, so everyone is plugged in and I’ve learned that very few seems to keep a check register anymore. Once a batch didn’t settle due to a glitch and I had to force the authorizations through a week-and-a-half later after I caught the problem. I will NEVER do that again - I’ll just write it off as lost income but saved sanity. I even had a customer call this week wondering why the check they wrote hadn’t cleared yet (the G.M. got busy/sidetracked and left the deposit in the safe at the other store where it sat for an extra two days). I hate online banking.

Anyhow… I’m not exaggerating, we were fielding complaints on a daily basis about that gratuity preauth. If you don’t believe me, you can call and talk to my G.M. about “back when the gratuity percentage was still in the computer.” He’ll shake his head in disgust and reel off a string of expletives.

 

[steveo922]

Never heard of such a thing either.

The only time I experience any confusion from people who check their online statements is when I void a cc to edit an order and the customer called back to tell me they been charged twice. I simply let them know it will be credited back in another day or two. But now, if it comes up I let them know right when it happens that if they go home to check it could appear twice.

 

[Registered_Guest]

bodegahwy:

Are you guys kidding? Your customers are checking the transactions on-line between statements? None of this has ever come up even once.

Did this happen to you more than one time?

you are dealing with an unusual customer base…obviously more “well off” than most.

for example, another problem I have is if someone changes their order and I have to authorize their card again… Many times it will now decline because the original auth for $25 only left $5 in their account. I have this happen at least twice a week.

I’ve had people call me 15 minutes after their order to tell me that I charged them twice…yes they looked online that fast.

I hate how debit cards work. I’ve had employees screw up and do things that caused multiple authorizations. Causing people to bounce checks. It is a nightmare sometimes.

 

[Registered_Guest]

bodegahwy:

Are you guys kidding? Your customers are checking the transactions on-line between statements? None of this has ever come up even once.

Did this happen to you more than one time?

you are dealing with an unusual customer base…obviously more “well off” than most.

for example, another problem I have is if someone changes their order and I have to authorize their card again… Many times it will now decline because the original auth for $25 only left $5 in their account. I have this happen at least twice a week.

I’ve had people call me 15 minutes after their order to tell me that I charged them twice…yes they looked online that fast.

I hate how debit cards work. I’ve had employees screw up and do things that caused multiple authorizations. Causing people to bounce checks. It is a nightmare sometimes.

 

[pizzapirate]

pizzafanatic:

When I take a CC order, my merchant services will preauthorize 15% over the ticket price to cover a gratuity if the customer chooses to write one in.

Had the same issue once. I honestly can’t remember now if it was the cc processor or the POS provider. If your cc processor is telling you its not them talk to your POS people. This “can” be corrected and should be.

We used to get the same complaints from people who constantly monitor their transactions. Although we fixed the “pre-set tipping” problem we still have people call in to question charges because they change their orders after their cards have been run. If they change their order their card is “authorized” for the new amount. People freak out because they see both authorizations. Its a bit of a problem because when they call their bank the bank does not explain to them they are just authorizations and will go away. It doesn’t happen a lot but it still does.

 

[Daddio]

pizzapirate:

pizzafanatic:

When I take a CC order, my merchant services will preauthorize 15% over the ticket price to cover a gratuity if the customer chooses to write one in.

Had the same issue once. I honestly can’t remember now if it was the cc processor or the POS provider. If your cc processor is telling you its not them talk to your POS people. This “can” be corrected and should be.

We used to get the same complaints from people who constantly monitor their transactions. Although we fixed the “pre-set tipping” problem we still have people call in to question charges because they change their orders after their cards have been run. If they change their order their card is “authorized” for the new amount. People freak out because they see both authorizations. Its a bit of a problem because when they call their bank the bank does not explain to them they are just authorizations and will go away. It doesn’t happen a lot but it still does.

It used to be the autorizations that took you over your credit card limit would cause an automatic penalty fee to be applied even though in reality the account was not over the limit. With some people riding so close to the edge this could expalin the constant monitoring of their accounts. In Canada the laws have been changed to make such fees illegal.

 

[pizzapirate]

Daddio:

It used to be the autorizations that took you over your credit card limit would cause an automatic penalty fee to be applied even though in reality the account was not over the limit. With some people riding so close to the edge this could expalin the constant monitoring of their accounts. In Canada the laws have been changed to make such fees illegal.

Wow, they charged over limit fees for “just” authorizations? not actual charges? I have no problem with over limit fees, but for just authorizations is amazing.

 

[stebby1]

I remember not too long ago there was a big stink with people using cards to pay at the pump at gas stations. What would happen is that when they swiped their card, it would pre-authorize for something like $75. The person would only get maybe $20 worth of gas, and if they were close enough to 0 in their account, the $75 hold would make them overdrawn and bounce future checks/charges even though there would be enough money in the account to cover it once the actual gas charge was posted and the hold removed.

 

[pizza2007]

Excellent point stebby!

That practice is still in place for most of those businesses and certainly at hotels. Reminds me of a day when I was running on fumes, but did not want to fill-up at the nearest stop because of outrageous price. I put in enough gas to get me to a decent place (about $9.99). Happened to check card the next day, and saw a $250.00 hold for $9.99 in fuel!!!

 

[famouspizza]

bodegahwy:

Are you guys kidding? Your customers are checking the transactions on-line between statements? None of this has ever come up even once.

Did this happen to you more than one time?

I am in an upper-middle class market and this happens at least once a month…especially these days…I am pretty sure you are in a resort area which explains why it never happens while people are away.

Same as what everyone else says…the hold for the tip MUST be removed by your processor or else SWITCH! This is done for HIGH-END restaurants to protect the servers but does not have a place for most all pizzerias.

We do have this problem for debit cards that orders are voided and re-entered or cancelled after they have been ordered…i kindly tell them it will reverse out in a couple days as we do not recieve the funds, but they should call their bank because it is out of our hands…it is annoying and frankly pathetic that people check every charge, but if they want to spend their last penny on pizza so be it!

 

[Gpizza92]

Registered Guest:

I don’t have that problem because I’ve set that to 0 in my cc software. I’d check again with your servicer and see if you can do the same. There is no real reason to do it.

the real problem I often have is when some cancels their order that they paid for with a checkcard. Sorry, you won’t see that money again for at least 3 days. People have tried to blame me for bouncing other checks.

I’ll run into this at least once every 3 months or so. I do exactly what famouspizza does, explain it’s out of my hands and apologize like crazy. One lady asked what I would do in her situation. I told her pay in cash. The amount of people that don’t realize merchants pay a % of every credit/debit card transaction is shocking!

 

[pizza2007]

bodegahwy:

Are you guys kidding? Your customers are checking the transactions on-line between statements? None of this has ever come up even once.

Did this happen to you more than one time?

Same here. Never in almost 3 years.

 

[15thStreetPizzaandPu]

pizza2007:

bodegahwy:

Are you guys kidding? Your customers are checking the transactions on-line between statements? None of this has ever come up even once.

Did this happen to you more than one time?

Same here. Never in almost 3 years.

This is happpening a lot now for us…not by the time they order but definately the next day.

This only happens for us when someone changes their order and we have to void the first ticket and ring a new one. It will show two debits for about 24-72 hours until the whole batch goes through the credit card processor.

 

[idahopizzaman]

The amount of people that don’t realize merchants pay a % of every credit/debit card transaction is shocking!
[/quote]

Had a customer the other day tell me that I don’t have to pay to accept credit/debit cards…the banks charge for that…& I politely told her you want to see my statement each month for the credit card charges each month? She said no & had now been paying by check, which would have cost me $$ too if I had not changed to a local bank. My original bank charged me for every dollar & every check that was deposited.

 

[SolutionsGal]

While this information may not help anyone, it is good information to know. The debit card issuers ( the bank that actually issued the card, sets the pre-auth limit to be added to the transaction. It has nothing to do with the merchant, unfortunately, the merchant takes the heat for the transaction. The good news is that many processors have worked with card issuers to set the pre-auth to zero, you can certainly find one that works for you. Good Luck

http://usa.visa.com/personal/cards/debi … s_faq.html

For example, if you use your Visa Debit card at a restaurant, your card may be authorized before the gratuity is applied. For these types of purchases, Visa Debit card issuers may earmark cardholder funds to cover the estimated cost of the transaction. This process, known as a “hold,†safeguards both cardholders and merchants. It ensures cardholders don’t spend more money than they have and merchants are paid for the transaction. While most transactions have a hold of less than 24 hours, Visa protects cardholders by requiring issuers or financial institutions to remove all holds within 72 hours.

 

[RobT]

Diana,

Don’t you think that debit card funds should be available immediately? When we void a customers debit card transaction, that customer should be entitled to have their money immediately. Lets say customer has $50 in their debit acct. They pick up their dinner for $20, and change their order adding another $3 to their order. Now they have 2 Pending $20 and $23 .

Now they need to gas the car up and can’t because the customer and the merchant don’t know that the hold is 72 hrs. Try to explain this to a customer. I’ve lost customers over this, and if anything, it is deterring customers from using their cards as much.

I believe this issue needs to be addressed, because it is affecting people out there.