What are these pending charges on my credit card?

ResonantGlow asked:


I recently got my credit card and there’s currently $3 in pending charges, they’ve been there for a while, but it’s not decreasing my available credit and they’re not getting resolved. My outstanding balance currently depicts what I’ve spent so far on the card accurately, but that $3 pending has been there for a while… Am I getting charged for something I don’t know about?

Glenn

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3 Responses to “What are these pending charges on my credit card?”

1. Maryn Bittner Says:
   July 21st, 2009 at 2:49 am

   Dean

   My best guess is that the charge is something the credit card company is looking into on the suspicion that it’s fraudulent. They can leave a charge pending until they are satisfied it’s valid, or know it’s bogus.

   A few months back, I had a similar charge of $6 which was apparently an identity thief testing my account to see if s/he could get away with it. Oddly, it was to a charity–but not one I give to. I caught it looking at my charges online and notified my bank. The charge changed to “pending” the same day, then disappeared.

2. bdancer222 Says:
   July 22nd, 2009 at 9:28 am

   Jessie

   Call the credit card company and ask. Typically an item would show as pending if you disputed it. But it shouldn’t stay there month and after month.

3. wildbirdie Says:
   July 23rd, 2009 at 3:40 pm

   Gilbert

   A “pending” item is something that the card has authorized but the merchant has not sent in the final confirmation of the transaction.

   Example 1: I buy from walmart.com. They check my credit for 187.10. They don’t confirm the 187.10 transaction until they actually ship (a good business practice). That means that I will have 187.10 pending until shipment.

   Example 2: I want to pump my own gas. I put the card in the slot. The station want to make sure it’s a good card before giving me the gas, so they ask for $1 authorization. After I pump 57.32 worth of gas, they get authorization and confirm 57.32. What happens to the $1? It depends on the card processor. Some will see the later 57.32 and drop the prior authorization. Some will leave it out there and let it age off.

   If I by gas a lot, I will have some $1s aging off while I’m adding new $1s. So I’ll always have some out there.

   Don’t worry, it’s not costing you anything.