French Fuel Pumps

[Bob 60 & retired]

Hello will off to France very soon, it appears that more fuel stops are going auto pumps with a card debit/credit I have always advoided such pumps. But have been advise that I may have problems obtaining fuel out of hours eg after 6 pm off motorways . My question is does the auto pump reconize a English card and give instruction in english ? On the road toll I have seen an english button to press but never seen this on a fuel pump. Always have the feeling it will swallow the card if you pressed the wrong button

[simontodd]

yes it recognises your English and changes language automatically

 

Simon

[MalH]

No problems last few years, apart from the station just out of Ouistreham where you need to avoid the far left pump for some reason!

[ericfield]

Hello will off to France very soon, it appears that more fuel stops are going auto pumps with a card debit/credit I have always advoided such pumps. But have been advise that I may have problems obtaining fuel out of hours eg after 6 pm off motorways . My question is does the auto pump reconize a English card and give instruction in english ? On the road toll I have seen an english button to press but never seen this on a fuel pump. Always have the feeling it will swallow the card if you pressed the wrong button

The only trouble you may encounter is the garage not accepting your card. Though most pumps now accept UK cards there are still some more rural ones that don't. If it does reject your card. ..it does just that . ...and spits it back at you.

 

I usually go to supermarkets which invariably have the cheapest fuel as well.

But finding the cheapest in your location is easy using this site. ...

 

http://www. prix-carburants. economie. gouv. fr/mobile/

Edited August 4, 2014 by ericfield

[AlfaEuropa]

We couldn't get the pay-at-pump in Belgium to take our pre-paid Thomas Cook Mastercard. Had to resort to the normal credit card.

[Bob 60 & retired]

Thanks for all the feed back. .... I give a go now with some confidence cheers

[Gordon]

Just be aware that many fuel pumps (particularly at supermarkets) have restrictive access, so you may not be able to access the pumps with a caravan on tow.

Gordon.

[JCloughie]

This year they took my payment but seconds before also took 100 Eros. The mistake was recognised the next day but not until I had spent a lot of time on the phone to UK and had my card stopped. Very inconvenient. Had to hope my debit card always worked after that which it did.

 

John

[ValA]

You can't use a pre-paid 'Currency Card' in French fuel pumps - or rather they are the cards which can cause problems. We've never had a problem in recent years, using both a debit card and a credit card in fuel pumps, so the best of luck. The machine won't 'swallow' your card - at the worst it won't deliver you any fuel, so in that event don't leave filling up until you've only got a few drops left. Make sure you have enough to drive on to another fuel station if necessary!

[moulin87]

If your UK doesn't work at a 'rural' automatic station but you have some Euros, wait until the next Frenchie comes along and give him your Euros and then he will use his card for your fuel. Sign language only is required. .

[sulyka]

We had some problems when we first moved over here 9 years ago but in recent years there has been a lot of upgrading/modernisation and everything works fine now. You really shouldn't have any problems in our wonderful country but having said that I guess there will still be some place off the beaten track that is years behind and I bet someone on here will find it!

[JTQ]

Might be a good idea to make the point of now using our UK "pay at pump" fuel stations, particularly those supported with a kiosk, and gain some experience and thus confidence?

[The Waltons]

Just recently returned from a 24 day trip to the South of France and found that some of the fuel pumps nearer the south accepted the debit card ok, but all the instructions were in French. Managed to get through ok . As recommended by OP, don't try and get the caravan through some of the supermarket fuel stations with the van in tow.

Also watch some of the service stations. We were caught out by one with a chicane and had to do a tour of the service station to then take us out of a lorry exit. It was on the A75 south.

[lunarloopy]

Last year took the rear end off my Clubman going through the "caisse" (booth), fill up, walk over to booth pay then drive out via the wider lane .

Also, Pre-paid debit cards, unless of the new "chip&pin" style won't work in the automatic machines, but are readily accepted at the booth.

Bon journee

[Clubman]

Last year took the rear end off my Clubman going through the "caisse" (booth),,

 

Snap! Well not quite, very slight damage to Clubman but totally re-aligned the cash booth! Cost my car insurance €1000. Funnily enough the fuel station operators were quite "cool" with the incident, probably had their eye on a new booth??

[ericfield]

Never seen the point worrying about or squeezing into tight French petrol stations with the caravan. We all pitch our caravans and drive solo at some point. .so get the fuel then. If you get cut short, a splash and dash on a motorway isn't gong to break the bank.

 

Only time we plan to fill with the caravan attached is in UK where stations are predictable or in Luxembourg, for cheap fuel enroute.

[iansoady]

This year they took my payment but seconds before also took 100 Eros. The mistake was recognised the next day but not until I had spent a lot of time on the phone to UK and had my card stopped. Very inconvenient. Had to hope my debit card always worked after that which it did.

 

John

Sometimes an amount (as you say, often €100) is pre-blocked - I believe this is to ensure that when the real transaction goes through it will be paid. It's similar to what happens when you rent a car - the money isn't actually taken from the card, and the transaction disappears after a few days or so. On my online banking website it shows as "transactions not yet approved".

[russ6363]

We had the issue of our pre-paid MasterCard not being accepted for road tolls in Spain. When I got home I contacted the card company who told me it was due to the card being slightly different to a standard credit card in that you cannot go overdrawn. Due to toll booths generally being in rural areas, they do not have the ability to communicate with the card's bank to check the balance and hence authorize the payment.

Everywhere else I've not had a problem.

 

Russ

[ericfield]

We had the issue of our pre-paid MasterCard not being accepted for road tolls in Spain. When I got home I contacted the card company who told me it was due to the card being slightly different to a standard credit card in that you cannot go overdrawn. Due to toll booths generally being in rural areas, they do not have the ability to communicate with the card's bank to check the balance and hence authorize the payment.

Everywhere else I've not had a problem.

Russ

Had a lot of trouble in Italy getting UK cards to work and strangely in several more rural areas of Germany where their general abhorrence of credit cards spills over into garages. ... that only take a specific German fuel card.

[chrisbee]

Sometimes an amount (as you say, often €100) is pre-blocked - I believe this is to ensure that when the real transaction goes through it will be paid. It's similar to what happens when you rent a car - the money isn't actually taken from the card, and the transaction disappears after a few days or so. On my online banking website it shows as "transactions not yet approved".

My card works slightly differently in some stations. It takes 100 euros before dispensing any fuel then credits the difference a few days later. It could create a problem if you use it frequently and are near your credit limit.

[exkiaman]

We couldn't get the pay-at-pump in Belgium to take our pre-paid Thomas Cook Mastercard. Had to resort to the normal credit card.

 

We had the same problem with a prepaid currency card at the Carrefour Supermarket just down the road from Chateau du Gandspette in June, but it accepted my debit card without any problem.

[klyne]

On our first trip away to Europe with the motorhome last year we tended to use the pay at pump facilities as we are a bit big to squeeze through where the cash desk is. OK if its straight through but many seem to be on a kink. We did encounter several problems trying to use a variety of credit cards at some smaller supermarkets which obviously had older machines. The problem seemed to be worse at lunch times when the cash desk is closed, almost as though they switch something off. Never had an issue paying by card at the cash desk. In future I will try and fill up at the larger/newer supermarkets.

 

David

[RobJS]

yes it recognises your English and changes language automatically

 

Simon

Usually it will change although I found that the sure her south you are, and if off the toll roads then they sometimes remain french. Basically the sequence is

 

Put card in

Select 1,2 or 3 for the type of fuel and press the green v button. It within then ask you for the code. Once accepted it will ask you to retire / remove the card and begin filling.

 

It's really simple and nothing to be worried about. I only had one issue which was that my prepaid MasterCard from brittany ferried didn't work at Carrefour supermarkets on this visit (although it worked at the same station back in January).

[Caravanner1]

yes it recognises your English and changes language automatically

 

Simon

Not all do, the one I filled up at in Carrefour yesterday was all french, but it's still fairly easy to follow

[Jimd]

The pumps at the Intermarche in Bidart near Biarritz at the moment gives the choice of French, English or German when you insert your card and then work exactly the same as Tesco ones back home. Accepts the card and asks for the pin, remove your card and withdraw fuel up to €99 and then asks if you require a receipt. Also €1. 27/litre so pretty good.