Fuel in France
Today on my day trip ,filled up at my usual " Intermarche" .Diesel was 98.7 euros.On the A16 the Total garage were charging 1.417 .
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Comments
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On the A10 the stations were charging between aboput 1.13 and 1.20 for diesel when I came down on Monday 8th. Unleaded petrol was in the 1.40 to 1.45 range.
Just did an online check on recent autoroute prices and this range seems pretty universal.
However much it was, the supermarkets are a lot cheaper - as in the UK as Wildwood states.
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If you want to check out where to buy the cheapest fuel in a town/area or even departement, then check the
French Government fuel price website.Every filling station is listed, and prices are updated very regularly in most instances.
On the front is a map showing all the Departements of France, and running your mouse over them will show the cheapest and most expensive fuel in that departement, in the panel to the right.
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Where was the Intermarche, Triky?
Write your comments here...Off at junction 31 for Wimereaux on the A16,towards the "Napoleon Column",left at the dual carriageway and at the top of the hill on right .Use it every time , !!
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On our journey down through France two weeks ago we bought our fuel at supermarkets prior to each night stop. In the past week we've been in Spain where the diesel price on the autopista has been just over one euro! At theses prices we've just bought at
service stations.At intermarche at Beaune, the unmanned pump authorized 149 euros worth of fuel and we drew 40, which meant 109 euros unavailable on our account until the purchase cleared. Who can fill up with 149 euros worth of diesel at at car pump?
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The 'authorised' amount, is that amount displayed on the pump as the maximum fill up amount. On some cards this amount is 'debited' from your account, so that amount isn't available to you until the transaction is cleared. However, if you have an account
with a reasonable balance you're not likely to notice this, only if your account contains less than the 'debited' amount or you have another big spend before the first transaction is cleared.For pre-paid cards this is a problem and why they're not recommended for use for fuel or autoroute tolls. Here's the advice from the CaxtonFX website:
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Your prepaid card will not work at automated petrol stations
For security reasons your Caxton FX card will not work at automated petrol stations. We recommend that you avoid using them or you use an alternative card to settle the bill.
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Avoid using your prepaid card at Toll booths
Caxton FX prepaid cards require a merchant to seek authorisation before they provide the goods or services. The majority of European toll roads and bridges do not seek an authorisation and therefore you can't use your Caxton FX currency card at most toll
booths.
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I agree, 149 euros seems a lot, but then the Toyota Hilux apparently has a 150 litre tank! I suspect that the maximum amount has always been the same, but as fuel prices have gone down this amount of fuel is way beyond the average tankful. It will be the
same amount for SP95 or Premium fuels which are more expensive and therefore you get less litres for your euro.0 -
Where was the Intermarche, Triky?
Write your comments here...Off at junction 31 for Wimereaux on the A16,towards the "Napoleon Column",left at the dual carriageway and at the top of the hill on right .Use it every time , !!
.Thanks, Triky.....
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As a fairly regular visitor to France, I am puzzled by this talk of "Authorised amount". I assumed it was the equivalent of the "Maximum Spend" amount shown on British Self Service Pumps. We visit Europe so frequently that we have a French Euro account, with Euro denominated Debit Card. We use this Debit card for all fuel purchases at both manned and unmanned service stations. I have never noticed any "authorised amount" being "held" pending the transaction(s) clearing.
In nine years of using the Euro Debit card, I have, twice, been asked, at a manned station, to swipe the card and enter PIN in the "office" BEFORE drawing fuel. This happened once in France (Narbonne), and once in Spain (Benicassim). In both instances, I queried with the Cashier why I was being asked to do this. In Narbonne, I was told that since the economic woes of 2008, the instances of cards being declined after fuel had been drawn had increased significantly and the cashier did not enjoy listening to the sob stories. In Spain (Benicassim), I was told it was because I was riding a motorcycle, and they had frequent problems with motorcyclists "doing a runner"!
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At intermarche at Beaune, the unmanned pump authorized 149 euros worth of fuel and we drew 40, which meant 109 euros unavailable on our account until the purchase cleared.
That's the bit I don't understand. What type of card were you using please?
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At intermarche at Beaune, the unmanned pump authorized 149 euros worth of fuel and we drew 40, which meant 109 euros unavailable on our account until the purchase cleared.
That's the bit I don't understand. What type of card were you using please?
We use a UK debit card from a major bank which is fee free in the EU ( It's no longer available to new customers).
We first came across the 'overhang' as we call it when had cause to check our bank balance on line. The 'amount available' was nearly £300 less than the balance. We had in the previous few days topped up our diesel before stopping each night.
We phoned our bank and they had a look and found the authorized payments which appear as 'payments pending' until cancelled by the supermarket. This happens within a few days when the actual amount for the fuel you purchased is debited.
The pre-payment for fuel, or the presentation of ID, at some service staions on the motorways of Spain should not be confused with the process we've described.
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Thank you, I understand now. I had never come across it as I use a credit card with a credit limit several thousands of pounds higher than I could ever possibly go, so had never encountered the problem.
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I use the Halifax Clarity mastercard as it has no transaction fees...I mainly use Carrefour and Leclerc pay at the pump...when I get my statement the following month I only get the fuel that I have actually used, and no refunded amounts..is that normal?
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I use the Halifax Clarity mastercard as it has no transaction fees...I mainly use Carrefour and Leclerc pay at the pump...when I get my statement the following month I only get the fuel that I have actually used, and no refunded amounts..is that normal?
By the following month the pending payments will all have been cleared and so you will be unaware of the effect we've described. It's worth noting only if you are in danger of exceeding your credit limit, or going into overdraft in your current account.
Pre loaded cash cards should not be used at unmanned pumps! Your Halifax card is not immune.0 -
wildwood
supermarket might be cheaper per liter, but it is NOT the cheapest way.
a friend and I have both tried supermarked deisel, and we found that branded gave us 15-20 extra miles per gallon
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I have filled up in France with supermarket diesel and there was no noticeable difference in the mileage we got. I have checked the mpg for branded diesel against supermarket diesel here and Tesco seemed to give a marginally better figure but not enough
to be conclusive.I cannot see there can be any substantial difference as a gallon of diesel is a gallon of diesel and whatever brand you buy it is in fact the same stuff as it all comes from the same refinery. The only difference is the additives or possibly lack of them
and theses are unlikely to give anything more than a marginal effect.I am afraid I am not convinced that there is any point in paying extra for branded fuel although the odd tankful might be useful if there additives are actually better.
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wildwood
supermarket might be cheaper per liter, but it is NOT the cheapest way.
a friend and I have both tried supermarked deisel, and we found that branded gave us 15-20 extra miles per gallon
My cousin is a tanker driver, he tells me branded and unbranded come from the same holding tanks at the refinery, and 15 to 20 mpg difference is difficult to believe
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