FORKS — People who use credit cards with the Accel/Exchange card management system should check their bank accounts.
There may be an unpleasant $100 surprise.
When a $100 charge for fuel from the Sequim Safeway filling station showed up on Forks resident Jon Preston’s bank account, he knew something wasn’t right.
Preston and his wife drive small cars. Even at today’s fuel prices, $40 would fill their gas tanks.
There was no way either one of them could have purchased $100 in gas, he said.
“A hundred dollars taken out can mean a lot of things,” Preston said.
Thinking that someone might have accessed their credit accounts, Preston reported the charges to his bank.
While he was there, the bank received a notice from Safeway that $100 charges were appearing on the accounts of many of the store’s customers, he said.
His next step was to contact Safeway to get his money back. When he contacted the store’s corporate offices, he learned more.
The problem began when the Accel/Exchange network, a company that manages debit card transactions, placed $100 holds on cards for fuel purchases but never actually charged patrons for their fuel purchases, Safeway payment services center manager Tracie Wilson said
When Safeway’s computers didn’t receive notice of payment a week later, each account that used Accel to purchase fuel was charged the full $100, Wilson said.
Sequim’s Safeway wasn’t the only store that produced such charges, she said.
Customers using the Accel system received similar charges in many places — not only at Safeway fuel stations.
Calls placed to Accel/Exchange requesting comment were not returned by late Thursday.
Accel/Exchange also provides services to other fuel stations, including Arco, Citgo, Chevron, Texaco and Shell.
Refunds were issued to overcharged Safeway customers this week, but banks may not credit the refund for three to five days, Wilson said.
Preston checks his accounts daily after having experienced credit card fraud many years ago, he said.
That’s how he knew there was a charge to his account that neither he nor his wife, Debbie Ross-Preston, incurred.
His quick action saved his family a lot of trouble.
But many people don’t check their accounts as often and may not know about the charge until they begin receiving overdraft notices, he said.
A short-term $100 charge isn’t a problem for people who keep high balances in their accounts, but there are many for whom the unexpected loss of $100 will cause financial havoc, Preston said.
“Many of my neighbors could not afford this,” he said.
This time, it was “only” $100, but it could have been worse.
“It could have been $1,000,” he said.
Who should be concerned about whether their account is affected?
Each bank card has several system logos on the back, Wilson said.
Those with the Accel or Exchange logo may be a part of the system that produced the computer error.
When in doubt, check bank accounts online or in person, Preston said.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at arwyn.rice@peninsuladailynews.com.
