HAMPTON ROADS, Va. – With high gasoline prices hovering around or above $3 a gallon, consumers are increasingly becoming more concerned about what happens to their bank account after they fill up, reports the DailyPress.com.

Prior to last year's hurricanes, consumers may not have noticed charge limits (between $35 and $50) for gasoline purchases made with a credit card. But with high gasoline prices, credit card companies have adjusted their card limits (Editor's note: Visa caps gasoline purchases at $50; MasterCard at $75.)

The adjusted rates mean those consumers who purchase fuel with plastic "may lose access to between $50 and $75 in their account for up to three days," regardless of how much a consumer spends--even if its just $10, notes the news source. Furthermore, if a consumer hits the $75 charge limit without completely filling up the tank and re-swipes the card to continue their purchase, it could result in another $75 held by the bank.

"If a customer has a low balance in a debit account or high balance on a credit card, the hold put on their money could cause them to overdraw," writes the news source. Meanwhile, according to American Bankers Association (ABA) spokesperson Tracey Mills, "If that does happen, it's because of an error and you want to call the bank and say it's an error."

Unfortunately, it's not the banks and credit card companies catching the blame for holds placed on customer bank accounts. 

Retailers such as Farm Fresh decided to let their customers know credit card companies set the policy on card holds after being on the receiving end of customers upset about pumps turning off and bank accounts being overdrawn.

"We've had a lot of customers that were upset about it, and we had to get the bank and the customer on the phone at the same time," Jane Cecelic, vice president of pricing and integrity at Farm Fresh, told the news source.

Card holds are "the latest headache related to credit cards" for retailers as more consumers use plastic to pay for fuel. The news source notes that Farm Fresh customers either didn't know credit cards placed limits on how much could be purchased at the pump, or didn't understand why a hold would be placed on their bank accounts. (Editor's note: click here for more information on card holds.)

"We had a lot of customer complaints that, 'I can't fill up my SUV' …. Or, 'Why does the pump shut off at that spot?'" added Cecelic.

Jeff Miller, president of Miller Oil Co., which operates 45 Miller Stores and Miller's Neighborhood Markets (and NACS vice chairman of Member Services), told the news source he has already seen his profits "slashed" by high gasoline prices and increasing use of credit cards. He noted that he pays about a 2.3 percent fee to Visa for each fuel purchase at the pump.

The news source writes that the "credit situation" is reaching a point of "crisis" for retailers, which according to Miller has grown from a small expense to his largest expense after employee health care.

"It is the most significant problem we have, as far as I'm concerned," said Miller.