Barclays explains £120 rule that applies to anyone who shops at Tesco

A Barclays customer was surprised to seemingly be charged £120 at Tesco when they had only spent £16. The person contacted the bank over social media as they had a pending transaction showing on their statement for £120 at the supermarket. Yet they claimed they had spent much less than this.

They explained: "I spent £16 on fuel which has gone out but the £120 has not been returned. This has now sent me into an un-arranged overdraft, can't get hold of anyone to speak to." Barclays responded to explain the rules.

The bank said: "Tesco pay at the pump system requires a temporary pre-authorisation for up to £120, but you will only be charged the final amount for the fuel you purchase after you finish filling up. So they will deduct the £16 and credit you with the outstanding amount from the pending transaction."

The Tesco website also has guidance about what to do if your bank statement is incorrectly showing you have been charged £120. The advice states: "There may be a small number of occasions where your card issuer doesn't update your balance in real time.

"We'll only ever charge you for the value of the fuel you've purchased, but if you do have concerns, please talk to your bank for further details."

You can only fill up to the maximum of £120 when paying at the pump, but there is no maximum spend if you pay at the kiosk. If your account balance is less than £120, the fuel pump screen will show the value you can fill up to.

Some card issuers might not allow partial authorisations below £120, in which case you will need to use another payment card. You can use any chip and pin card when paying at the pump, apart from Visa Electron.

You can also pay using a fuel card, including using fuelGenie, UK Fuels, Keyfuels (purple card only) and Allstar. Contactless is not accepted when paying at the pump. If you pay using contactless at the kiosk, you can pay up to £100.