The merchant has no other way to verify that the card is good and the numbers have been entered correctly. The nominal amount involved in the transaction should not be an actual charge to your account.
Policies on releasing the holds on those amounts are set by the card issuer/processor, not by the merchant. If you have a particularly troublesome problem with that aspect, you should consider a different card issuer. Quote
If the card doesn’t get approved when you’re doing the purchase, the transaction ends right then and there until you provide a valid, verifiable payment.
Having a verified card on file also eliminates the need to enter the full information each time you want to conduct a transaction - also a measure which impacts potential security risks. Quote
He's right, he'll never understand.
It is very common practice, no not every company but it is common and he still wants to argue as if he knows better.
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If this is happening when you use a card already on file, there is a glitch which you should report to customer service so the problem can be corrected.
(Also, you say you get “charged” the fee again. The ‘fee’ is actually just a hold for that amount for the period (usually about three days) the processing company waits for an actual charging document to be submitted by the merchant. If you are actually being charged this amount, again there is a glitch which should be reported.) Quote
Apparently you don't know what it's like to live in New Jersey.
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