AKRON, Ohio – The practice of credit or debit “holds” on gasoline purchases continues to add to the pain of pumping gas, the Akron Beacon Journal reports.

Both Visa and MasterCard require that retailers place “preauthorizations” of $1 on signature debit (check card) and credit card gas purchases. Once the transaction is preauthorized, the bank that issued the debit or credit card places a “hold” on that account. Most consumers don’t notice holds on their credit cards because they have sufficient credit lines that they don’t exceed, even with holds.

The gasoline stations point to the credit card companies and the rules that require them to place holds, while the credit card companies say it’s the oil companies or the bank issuers that make the holds necessary. “The consumer is the one whose ox is getting gored,” said Ed Mierzwinski, consumer program director for the national consumer-rights group U.S. PIRG.

While credit holds have been around for a while, and are common for hotel stays, car rentals and restaurants, pay-at-the-pump features used holds historically to check the validity of the credit card. Now it’s become more of a problem when buying gasoline because of higher gasoline prices, experts say.

“The retailer gains nothing out of the hold,” Jeff Lenard, NACS spokesman, told the newspaper. “We take the blame and have customers that are not just angry, but unable to spend money in the stores.”

Click here for the NACS Fact Sheet on “Debit Holds for Fuels Purchases.”