The Controversial Practice of Shell Stations Reserving Funds Without Consent
When you refuel at a manned Shell station, you may notice that 1,500 Danish kroner is reserved on your account before the fuel is dispensed into your car. However, if you pay with your smartphone using digital payment solutions like Apple Pay or Google Pay, you are not asked beforehand and therefore do not give consent to the reservation.
DCC Energy, the company operating Shell stations in Denmark, has acknowledged to DR that customers in a “minority” of cases are not adequately informed about the reserved amount.
“It is of course not satisfactory, and we are still working to resolve it as soon as possible,” writes CEO Daniel Andersen.
Lack of Legal Consent
Louise Damkjær Christensen, an associate professor at the Law Department of the University of Southern Denmark, believes that Shell’s practice is illegal.
“Consent must be given before the funds are reserved,” she explains. “But when using Apple Pay, customers are informed about the reservation after it has already occurred.”
Therefore, according to the associate professor, customers have not consented to the reservation of 1,500 kroner on their account.
“You cannot consent to something that you have not been informed about in advance,” she adds.
Violation of Payment Law
Paying with Apple Pay at a Shell station involves using your mobile phone as a payment card. However, on several manned Shell stations, 1,500 kroner is reserved on the card before the transaction is completed.
Even though the reserved amount is released shortly after refueling, this practice violates payment law, as explained by Louise Damkjær Christensen.
“The law states that funds can only be reserved on an account if the payer has consented to the exact amount to be reserved,” she clarifies. “And Shell stations do not obtain this consent.”
According to Consumer Council Tænk, Shell’s practice is simply unacceptable.
Rolf Høymann Olsen, a consumer policy officer for the organization, expresses concern over consumers having their funds tied up without their consent.
“Shell stations are allowed to reserve funds, but they must have a clear agreement with the consumer regarding the exact amount to be reserved,” he emphasizes. “And that is where the issue lies in this case.”
Have you experienced a similar situation?
If you have encountered a similar issue, please email journalist Frederik Brund Flintegaard.
Payment Law §95
If a payment transaction is initiated by or through a payee in connection with a card-based payment transaction, and the final amount is not known at the time the payer consents to the transaction, the payer’s provider can only reserve the funds in the payer’s payment account if the payer has consented to the exact amount to be reserved. (Source: retsinformation.dk)
FAQ
Q: Is it permissible for Shell stations to reserve funds on a customer’s account without consent?
A: While Shell stations are allowed to reserve funds, they must obtain explicit consent from the customer regarding the precise amount to be reserved, as per payment law regulations.
Q: What actions are being taken to address this issue?
A: DCC Energy, the company behind Shell stations in Denmark, is working to rectify the lack of transparency and consent in the fund reservation process to ensure compliance with legal requirements.