Q: I recently used my debit card to purchase $10.01 worth of gas at a Sunoco station. After that, one of my checks bounced even though I had enough money in my account to cover the check. I found out my check bounced because Sunoco had put a $100 hold on the money in my account for two days when I purchased that $10.01 worth of gasoline. My bank charged me for bouncing a check, but then refunded the money. This was a nightmare. What can I do?

MARIA PAUL
Penn Hills

A: In this case, Maria, there is something you can do. Sunoco has opened a special consumer line at 1-800-337-7583 to deal with customers who have had these holds put on their accounts as a result of filling up at Sunoco.

Although holds are not new in the business world, Sunoco spokesman Gerald Davis said the $100 hold on your bank account was made in error. It was an error that affected anyone who used a Visa debit or check card between Sept. 26 through Sept. 28.

"It was the result of an incorrect communication through a third-party network provider that affected Visa check card users," Mr. Davis said. "The transaction was supposed to result in an authorization, not a hold."

He explained that when a user swipes his or her card, Sunoco electronically verifies that the account is open and that there are no problems with the account. According to Davis, Sunoco then authorizes a sale of up to $75 (the $100 was a mistake, too.) Mr. Davis was very emphatic that Sunoco does not put holds on customer accounts, only authorizations.

The difference is important. An authorization of $75 allows you to pump up to $75 of gasoline. You are charged for whatever you actually pump. A hold electronically freezes $75 in your account and keeps that money out of your reach until the actual charge goes through, according to Mr. Davis.

Other companies have been putting holds on charge cards for years: hotels, restaurants and gas stations. Now debit cards are getting the same treatment. I explained this a couple weeks ago, but I got a few complaints from readers saying I didn't answer the question: "Is this legal?"

Ed Mierzwinski of the Pennsylvania Public Interest Research Group, a consumer watchdog organization, said that Mastercard and Visa allow merchants to take up to three days to determine the actual charge versus the authorized amount. In the meantime, your money could be held in limbo.

Consumers rarely notice the hold on credit cards. Consumers do notice the holds or authorizations on debit cards. Pennsylvania Attorney General Tom Corbett said his office is investigating the practice. If you don't think this is a fair way to collect money, you should call the attorney general's office at 1-800-441-2555.

Natural gas supplier update

I received many questions about the reader who had his gas supplier, Dominion Peoples Plus, raise his rate for an mcf (thousand cubic feet of gas) to $11.95. They said the real new rate is $14.95 per mcf. Everyone is right. Remember, your old low price was for a contract period of one to four years, depending on when you locked in a price and for how long you locked in that price.

Your new rate depends on when your contract runs out. The gas suppliers try to lock in a cheaper price for natural gas than the utilities, but there is no such thing as cheap gas today. Dominion Peoples Plus has been shopping for gas at a time when prices fluctuate from hour to hour. This isn't a matter of anyone getting preferential treatment.

I had one reader complain that her rate jumped from $6 to $14.95. The correct way to look at this is how lucky she was to have had a gas rate of $6 per mcf for the past four years. If a new lower price becomes available, Dominion Peoples Plus said that you will be able to lock in a lower price.