Confusing credit card charge for free charging

[Halodde]

I'm sorry if this has been posted somewhere else. But I didn't see it if it was. So I'm starting a new thread to hopefully help other owners from having to deal with an unnecessary situation.

I still have free charging with Electrify america. And just recently within the last month put a credit card into my Lucid wallet. Today when I plugged in to an EA station to charge where I have charged many times before for free, I immediately got a $50 charge notification from my credit card. So I called Lucid customer care and they explained that that is just an authorization charge and not an actual charge. Upon looking at the receipt after charging, he was correct. The receipt for charging clearly shows no charge for my session.

Hopefully others will see this and understand that they don't have to call lucid to find out why they're being charged when they're charging should still be free.

 

[Halodde]

Voice to text needs work

 

[Patrick L]

I'm sorry if this has been posted somewhere else. But I didn't see it if it was. So I'm starting a new thread to hopefully help other owners from having to deal with an unnecessary situation.

I still have free charging with Electrify america. And just recently within the last month put a credit card into my Lucid wallet. Today when I plugged in to an EA station to charge where I have charged many times before for free, I immediately got a $50 charge notification from my credit card. So I called Lucid customer care and they explained that that is just an authorization charge and not an actual charge. Upon looking at the receipt after charging, he was correct. The receipt for charging clearly shows no charge for my session.

Hopefully others will see this and understand that they don't have to call lucid to find out why they're being charged when they're charging should still be free.

Hear hear... I got authorization failure on my free EA charging session just 2 days ago. This had never happened before. But once I put in my c.c. info, I was authorized to resume my free EA service. Weird. Now I am curious to see if any charges come thru on my c.c.

 

[segbrk]

Hear hear... I got authorization failure on my free EA charging session just 2 days ago. This had never happened before. But once I put in my c.c. info, I was authorized to resume my free EA service. Weird. Now I am curious to see if any charges come thru on my c.c.

To add one more bit of context since people are likely going to find this thread, the CC requirement and authorization were added to charge for idle fees. Lucid always said that idle fees would not be covered, they just didn't have the infrastructure in place to back that until now. If you have free charging and you move your car in a timely manner after charging, you'll see that $50 authorization and no actual charge will go through.

 

[Negan1000]

I'm sorry if this has been posted somewhere else. But I didn't see it if it was. So I'm starting a new thread to hopefully help other owners from having to deal with an unnecessary situation.

I still have free charging with Electrify america. And just recently within the last month put a credit card into my Lucid wallet. Today when I plugged in to an EA station to charge where I have charged many times before for free, I immediately got a $50 charge notification from my credit card. So I called Lucid customer care and they explained that that is just an authorization charge and not an actual charge. Upon looking at the receipt after charging, he was correct. The receipt for charging clearly shows no charge for my session.

Hopefully others will see this and understand that they don't have to call lucid to find out why they're being charged when they're charging should still be free.

It may take up to 5 days for the pending charge to drop off your credit card..

 

[Halodde]

Update... Apparently the $50 auth charge happens more than once but isn't consistent. I got it once yesterday but charged twice. And I just got it again today.

 

[Cat Daddy]

I'm sorry if this has been posted somewhere else. But I didn't see it if it was. So I'm starting a new thread to hopefully help other owners from having to deal with an unnecessary situation.

I still have free charging with Electrify america. And just recently within the last month put a credit card into my Lucid wallet. Today when I plugged in to an EA station to charge where I have charged many times before for free, I immediately got a $50 charge notification from my credit card. So I called Lucid customer care and they explained that that is just an authorization charge and not an actual charge. Upon looking at the receipt after charging, he was correct. The receipt for charging clearly shows no charge for my session.

Hopefully others will see this and understand that they don't have to call lucid to find out why they're being charged when they're charging should still be free.

Sorry not true every time you plug in your credit or debit card will actually be charged $50 and it’s up to your bank in what ever timeframe to credit your account. If you were to take trip that required you to plug in 3 times your account would be charged a total of $150 one $50 for each plug in. This stems from the fact that some idiots were leaving their vehicles on idol running up the charge that Lucid had to pay EA so without notice to us owners they changed their policy. I have spoken to both Lucid and EA concerning this situation and awaiting further clarification. Stay tuned!!

 

[sri]

I have pending charges since Saturday. Two for failed charge and One for successful one

 

[segbrk]

Sorry not true every time you plug in your credit or debit card will actually be charged $50 and it’s up to your bank in what ever timeframe to credit your account. If you were to take trip that required you to plug in 3 times your account would be charged a total of $150 one $50 for each plug in. This stems from the fact that some idiots were leaving their vehicles on idol running up the charge that Lucid had to pay EA so without notice to us owners they changed their policy. I have spoken to both Lucid and EA concerning this situation and awaiting further clarification. Stay tuned!!

There certainly was notice, just maybe not the most effective notice. There was a banner in the mobile app (at least iOS), there was a push notification to the mobile app, there was an announcement on this forum, and there was an email sent out to owners. It didn't explicitly say there would be a hold, but it did announce that there would be changes to bill for idle fees. Also, your card is not being charged $50. It is an authorization hold. I could see it being a problem with a debit card maybe, but it makes practically no difference if you use a credit card. This is a relatively normal thing to see at gas stations (and hotels and rental car companies and other such places with security holds), so I'm not sure why it's such a surprise here?

 

[Halodde]

Sorry not true every time you plug in your credit or debit card will actually be charged $50 and it’s up to your bank in what ever timeframe to credit your account. If you were to take trip that required you to plug in 3 times your account would be charged a total of $150 one $50 for each plug in. This stems from the fact that some idiots were leaving their vehicles on idol running up the charge that Lucid had to pay EA so without notice to us owners they changed their policy. I have spoken to both Lucid and EA concerning this situation and awaiting further clarification. Stay tuned!!

With all due respect, you don't know whether or not I was charged for all three of my recent charging sessions. So although maybe I should have been, I wasn't.

My experience shows that it's inconsistent. That's what I was saying

 

[Halodde]

There certainly was notice, just maybe not the most effective notice. There was a banner in the mobile app (at least iOS), there was a push notification to the mobile app, there was an announcement on this forum, and there was an email sent out to owners. It didn't explicitly say there would be a hold, but it did announce that there would be changes to bill for idle fees. Also, your card is not being charged $50. It is an authorization hold. I could see it being a problem with a debit card maybe, but it makes practically no difference if you use a credit card. This is a relatively normal thing to see at gas stations (and hotels and rental car companies and other such places with security holds), so I'm not sure why it's such a surprise here?

I didn't read anything that said there would be a hold placed on the card every time you charged. That's why I was surprised. I thought the only charge would occur if you incurred the idle fees. And I certainly didn't expect the $50

 

[Negan1000]

I didn't read anything that said there would be a hold placed on the card every time you charged. That's why I was surprised. I thought the only charge would occur if you incurred the idle fees. And I certainly didn't expect the $50

They can instantly put a hold on your credit card when you plug in. However, they are unable to release the hold when you unplug.

 

[Halodde]

They can instantly put a hold on your credit card when you plug in. However, they are unable to release the hold when you unplug.

I understand. My posts were for the benefit of other owners who, like me, were not expecting the hold charge at all. I said in my OP that it wasn't an actual charge implying that it would/should be released at some point

 

[Buffalo Bob]

The $50 pre-authorization charge I incurred at dark-thirty on the morning of 02/07 did not disappear until the morning of 02/12, so almost exactly five days later. I don't think it's unusual for it to take so long, since a pre-authorization charge is usually followed shortly thereafter by an actual charge. (A good example is a restaurant. It pre-authorizes the pre-tip amount, and then waits for the restaurant to enter the final amount, including the tip, and that's what hits your balance a couple days later.) In this case, the cc system keeps waiting and waiting for a charge that never comes, and then gives up after five days (the time may vary by card issuer)... unless you do incur an idle fee, and most of us never do.

 

[Temmrich]

I'm sorry if this has been posted somewhere else. But I didn't see it if it was. So I'm starting a new thread to hopefully help other owners from having to deal with an unnecessary situation.

I still have free charging with Electrify america. And just recently within the last month put a credit card into my Lucid wallet. Today when I plugged in to an EA station to charge where I have charged many times before for free, I immediately got a $50 charge notification from my credit card. So I called Lucid customer care and they explained that that is just an authorization charge and not an actual charge. Upon looking at the receipt after charging, he was correct. The receipt for charging clearly shows no charge for my session.

Hopefully others will see this and understand that they don't have to call lucid to find out why they're being charged when they're charging should still be free.

Bought June 2024 - - i have a similar/worse experience- went through the first "requirement" to enter a credit card - - called Cust Care and they explained that it was only for potential idle charges but that i still had free charging. then, weeks later, i got another odd email from Cust Care that i would no longer have free charging - that i was receiving it over the last 7 months "by mistake" !!. this week i charged again and my credit card was charged. the cust care people (through multiple interactions) say that unless i can "prove" that i have free charging, they will start charging me. i am livid - to say the least. This is the sign of a desperate, failing company. If they signed a bad deal with EA, just say so, and find a way out. Don't imply that we all were mistaken with the offers and promotions we received at purchase.

 

[hydbob]

Bought June 2024 - - i have a similar/worse experience- went through the first "requirement" to enter a credit card - - called Cust Care and they explained that it was only for potential idle charges but that i still had free charging. then, weeks later, i got another odd email from Cust Care that i would no longer have free charging - that i was receiving it over the last 7 months "by mistake" !!. this week i charged again and my credit card was charged. the cust care people (through multiple interactions) say that unless i can "prove" that i have free charging, they will start charging me. i am livid - to say the least. This is the sign of a desperate, failing company. If they signed a bad deal with EA, just say so, and find a way out. Don't imply that we all were mistaken with the offers and promotions we received at purchase.

Prove it by looking at your purchase agreement. It is listed there. Simple.

 

[californiaboy935]

It may take up to 5 days for the pending charge to drop off your credit card..

That is kinda abhorrent. If its free it should be free. Sure lock access if it remains unpaid but my card locks up sometimes with small charges due to Fraud detection. So in the middle of the night if I cant call my bank because its closed (small wealth management bank) or the card doesn't work for the $50 authorization for some reason am I stranded? @marqie

 

[Temmrich]

Prove it by looking at your purchase agreement. It is listed there. Simple.

and there the games begin - - when i got my vehicle and didn't find any confirmation or instructions on free charging i called Customer Care and they (a) validated the free charging, and (b) stepped me through how to access the free charging by setting it up in my app. and all worked fine, including the annotation in the app, for 8 months until Feb 5 - - when the charges started and, voila, suddenly app says "retail". So now I need to go find the Cust Care records. In hindsight i guess i should have had someone document to me that i had it but that would have never occurred to me.

 

[borski]

and there the games begin - - when i got my vehicle and didn't find any confirmation or instructions on free charging i called Customer Care and they (a) validated the free charging, and (b) stepped me through how to access the free charging by setting it up in my app. and all worked fine, including the annotation in the app, for 8 months until Feb 5 - - when the charges started and, voila, suddenly app says "retail". So now I need to go find the Cust Care records. In hindsight i guess i should have had someone document to me that i had it but that would have never occurred to me.

Customer care calls are recorded. If that happened, escalate and get them to review the recording.

But as always, what’s written and agreed to in writing is what matters, in almost all cases.

 

[Buffalo Bob]

First off, please note that this nets out to be a 'non-issue', but you may find it confusing. Some of you were concerned about the $50 pre-authorization pending charge that hits your credit card when you plug in at EA for your free charging. Sure enough, as long as you do not actually incur any idle fees, that pending charge goes away after around five days, without any charge ever affecting your credit card balance. I have never seen this before, but when that pending $50 Lucid charge goes away, it is replaced with a pending $50 Lucid credit. God knows why they do that, but I'm sure the pending $50 credit will also go away in a few days, also without ever affecting your credit card balance. Then again, if they want to let that $50 credit process every time I charge, I won't complain!