"origin.com EA Pending", charged £1 on pre-paid debit card

[slamhound]

I received a £25 pre-paid Visa gift card and decided to spend the whole sum on Bioware points; 2x800 points for £6 each, and 1600 for £13. I'm aware of the math and how it's not exactly the best value, but it does neatly clear out the total value of the debit card.

However the transaction was declined immediately, so I decided to wait a little before permenantly setting the card as a payment method. I then decided to check my account on the gift card provider's website and noticed that I have been charged twice for a sum of £1; once when the first transaction failed and again once I attached the card as a remembered payment method. Both transactions are attributed as "Signature Payments: origin.com EA Pending"

I'm assuming that Origin initially charges a new payment method a small sum to validate it, and once it did this for the first transaction the stored credit on the card became less than the total sum of items purchased.

Am I likely to have these validation payments refunded so that I may make my intended purchase? If so, how long will it likely be?

[MLadyD7 · Accepted solution]

Cards carrying the Visa and MasterCard logo all require retailers to institute the $1-hold process and most also include debit cards. The charge is a preauthorization that provides a way for your credit card company to verify the card is valid before allowing you to use it when the amount of the full charge is not yet certain.

The $1.00 is temporary.

Just give it some time, the time depending on the accounts involved.

-----------------------｡ ◕‿◕｡------------------
►►► ✔ Please don't forget to resolve your question if this helps and Click XP if someone helped! ◄◄◄

[MLadyD7 · Accepted solution]

Cards carrying the Visa and MasterCard logo all require retailers to institute the $1-hold process and most also include debit cards. The charge is a preauthorization that provides a way for your credit card company to verify the card is valid before allowing you to use it when the amount of the full charge is not yet certain.

The $1.00 is temporary.

Just give it some time, the time depending on the accounts involved.

-----------------------｡ ◕‿◕｡------------------
►►► ✔ Please don't forget to resolve your question if this helps and Click XP if someone helped! ◄◄◄

[PGHammer20607B]

I'm in a similar, but not identical situation - I bought a DLC package for an EA game I already own, and loaded a prepaid VISA I got specifically for such usage.  I have a Authorization Hold (frm EA Origin)  that has (temporarily) put my balance below the amount of the DLC - will the hold be taken into account (by the merchant - EA in this case) when approving or denying the purchase?

Followup - apparently not; the transaction failed, and it was entirely due to the hold putting the balance below the purchase amount.  (The hold was $2.00, and the balance (pre-hold) was $30.05.)

[PGHammer20607B]

Nice to know - however, because of those "hold" charges, purchasers have to allow for them when making purchases with prepaid cards.  (Right now, I'm waiting on a USD$2 hold charge that caused a payment decline because my account balance went under the amount of the purchase entirely due to said hold.  Hopefully I'll be able to make another deposit that will put me far enough over the post-hold balance that I can make the purchase next week - after the hold clears.  Yes - it's because I'm aware that a new transaction attempt will mean a new hold - and land me right back in the soup if I don't add more funds to the account.)

[Jaxenoxi]

do you have any idea how long the hold usualy lasts?

---

@MLadyD7 wrote:

Cards carrying the Visa and MasterCard logo all require retailers to institute the $1-hold process and most also include debit cards. The charge is a preauthorization that provides a way for your credit card company to verify the card is valid before allowing you to use it when the amount of the full charge is not yet certain.

The $1.00 is temporary.

Just give it some time, the time depending on the accounts involved.

-----------------------｡ ◕‿◕｡------------------
►►► ✔ Please don't forget to resolve your question if this helps and Click XP if someone helped! ◄◄◄

---

[Jasmine03247]

One issue is that I wanted to download sims 4 which I do believe is around £13 and I tried to buy it 2 times but the first said failed so I logged out then back in and bought it again then I got a notification saying I had spent £1 at this site? But it did not give me the game? I am broke and I only have £14 now lol please tell me what I can do for this app

[EA_Darko]

The £1 charge is pre-authorisation @Jasmine03247.. A pre-authorisation is a temporary hold on money in your account which is generally the balance of an item or service you have ordered. This is not a charge and the money does not leave your account, it is just the bank and service provider ensuring that the money is there to cover the order. If you look back over your invoices from your credit card company you will no doubt see that while a certain amount of money was earmarked it was never actually taken from the account. 

Darko