proo

I've not tried my UK mastercard in the prepay ones but it worked when I went to the shop to pay. Could just be the prepay machines.

Mark Fagan

At one time I thought this had to do with credit cards that don't have
imbedded computer chips (as in North America). This has been an ongoing
problem anywhere there isn't an attendant, such as in parking garages. You
just have to make sure you cary sufficient coins. I don't recall problems
with attended gas stations and we just avoided the unattended ones.

"John Stolz" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > Anyone else come across this?
    > Just things were improving for travellers with
    > UK credit cards (ie UK PIN cards now mostly accepted in France), I've
    > noticed the introduction of POS machines which only accept French credit
    > cards.
    > I tried to get fuel at an unattended petrol station (of the Colruyt brand)
    > - the premises and pre-pay POS machine liberally decorated with VISA and
    > MC stickers failed to accept three different credit cards (2 VISA, 1 MC).
    > The manager of the attached Colruyt supermarket said the machine only
    > accepted French credit cards. He called the 'responsable' for petrol
    > stations who said this was the case for all Colruyt fuel outlets (although
    > the shop takes foreign VISA and MC.

TrespassersW

"John Stolz" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > Anyone else come across this?
    > Just things were improving for travellers with
    > UK credit cards (ie UK PIN cards now mostly accepted in France), I've
    > noticed the introduction of POS machines which only accept French credit
    > cards.
    > I tried to get fuel at an unattended petrol station (of the Colruyt brand)
    > - the premises and pre-pay POS machine liberally decorated with VISA and
    > MC stickers failed to accept three different credit cards (2 VISA, 1 MC).
    > The manager of the attached Colruyt supermarket said the machine only
    > accepted French credit cards. He called the 'responsable' for petrol
    > stations who said this was the case for all Colruyt fuel outlets (although
    > the shop takes foreign VISA and MC.

I found myself in an identical situation in Calabria a couple of weeks ago.
Not a single unattended gas station in the Corigliano Calabro area accepts
non-Italian cards, although I recall they did a couple of years ago.
Moreover, even serviced stations sporting VISA/MC signs (eg Tamoil at SS106)
take Italian cards only. I found only one Api station that actually accepts
other cards. Meanwhile, you can pay with any credit card at all the stations
on the autostrada.
TW

Tim

"John Stolz" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > Anyone else come across this?
    > Just things were improving for travellers with
    > UK credit cards (ie UK PIN cards now mostly accepted in France), I've
    > noticed the introduction of POS machines which only accept French credit
    > cards.

I've been telling this to people here for ages, and each time
I do, one or two people pop up to tell me that I am talking out
of my hat. Thanks for confirming it for me, sorry that you had
to find out the hard way.

FWIW the C&P system used by the Frence banks is different
to the one that has just been introduced into the UK (and
apparently other European countries) The French system will
be updated eventually.

tim

Chancellor Of The Duchy Of Besses O' Th' Barn And

tim (moved to sweden) <[email protected]> wrote:

    > "John Stolz" <[email protected]> wrote in message
    > news:[email protected]...
    > > Anyone else come across this?
    > > Just things were improving for travellers with
    > > UK credit cards (ie UK PIN cards now mostly accepted in France), I've
    > > noticed the introduction of POS machines which only accept French credit
    > > cards.
    > >
    >
    > I've been telling this to people here for ages, and each time
    > I do, one or two people pop up to tell me that I am talking out
    > of my hat.

Not me- I would have agreed with you- and I've complained about it.

--
David Horne- www.davidhorne.net
usenet (at) davidhorne (dot) co (dot) uk

Martin

On Fri, 22 Jul 2005 17:58:42 +0100, [email protected]
(chancellor of the duchy of besses o' th' barn and prestwich tesco)
wrote:

    >tim (moved to sweden) <[email protected]> wrote:
    >> "John Stolz" <[email protected]> wrote in message
    >> news:[email protected]...
    >> > Anyone else come across this?
    >> > Just things were improving for travellers with
    >> > UK credit cards (ie UK PIN cards now mostly accepted in France), I've
    >> > noticed the introduction of POS machines which only accept French credit
    >> > cards.
    >> >
    >>
    >> I've been telling this to people here for ages, and each time
    >> I do, one or two people pop up to tell me that I am talking out
    >> of my hat.
    >Not me- I would have agreed with you- and I've complained about it.

Didn't this happen more than decade ago? There were already problems
with non French cards in 1993, the last time we had a holiday in
France.
--
Martin

Chancellor Of The Duchy Of Besses O' Th' Barn And

Martin <[email protected]> wrote:

    > On Fri, 22 Jul 2005 17:58:42 +0100, [email protected]
    > (chancellor of the duchy of besses o' th' barn and prestwich tesco)
    > wrote:
    >
    > >tim (moved to sweden) <[email protected]> wrote:
    > >
    > >> "John Stolz" <[email protected]> wrote in message
    > >> news:[email protected]...
    > >> > Anyone else come across this?
    > >> > Just things were improving for travellers with
    > >> > UK credit cards (ie UK PIN cards now mostly accepted in France), I've
    > >> > noticed the introduction of POS machines which only accept French credit
    > >> > cards.
    > >> >
    > >>
    > >> I've been telling this to people here for ages, and each time
    > >> I do, one or two people pop up to tell me that I am talking out
    > >> of my hat.
    > >
    > >Not me- I would have agreed with you- and I've complained about it.
    >
    > Didn't this happen more than decade ago? There were already problems
    > with non French cards in 1993, the last time we had a holiday in
    > France.

I don't remember the first time I had problems- around 2000. Before
then, the only time I used my cards was in ATM machines- no problem with
them, obviously.

--
David Horne- www.davidhorne.net
usenet (at) davidhorne (dot) co (dot) uk

Bb

On Fri, 22 Jul 2005 12:16:06 -0400, Mark Fagan wrote:
    > At one time I thought this had to do with credit cards that don't have
    > imbedded computer chips (as in North America).

Thats what I was told when my Visa card didn't work for buying RER tickets
from the automated machines at Orly.

I was fortunate to start looking for fuel while I still had a fair amount
left - it seemed like most stations were unattended and only took French
cards of some sort (no Visa or MC).

--
-BB-
To e-mail me, unmunge my address

Tim

"Martin" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > On Fri, 22 Jul 2005 17:58:42 +0100, [email protected]
    > (chancellor of the duchy of besses o' th' barn and prestwich tesco)
    > wrote:
    >>tim (moved to sweden) <[email protected]> wrote:
    >>> "John Stolz" <[email protected]> wrote in message
    >>> news:[email protected]...
    >>> > Anyone else come across this?
    >>> > Just things were improving for travellers with
    >>> > UK credit cards (ie UK PIN cards now mostly accepted in France), I've
    >>> > noticed the introduction of POS machines which only accept French
    >>> > credit
    >>> > cards.
    >>> >
    >>> I've been telling this to people here for ages, and each time
    >>> I do, one or two people pop up to tell me that I am talking out
    >>> of my hat.
    >>Not me- I would have agreed with you- and I've complained about it.
    > Didn't this happen more than decade ago? There were already problems
    > with non French cards in 1993, the last time we had a holiday in

I've been *not* buying petrol from the hyper market
automats for the past 7 years. Unless I managed to arrive
in Calais before the shops shut, it was full price from the
normal petrol stations for me.

Why can't they take cash (like the Swedish ones)

tim

didier Meurgues

Mxsmanic a écrit :
    > John Stolz writes:
    > > I tried to get fuel at an unattended petrol station (of the Colruyt brand)
    > > - the premises and pre-pay POS machine liberally decorated with VISA and
    > > MC stickers failed to accept three different credit cards (2 VISA, 1 MC).
    > > The manager of the attached Colruyt supermarket said the machine only
    > > accepted French credit cards. He called the 'responsable' for petrol
    > > stations who said this was the case for all Colruyt fuel outlets (although
    > > the shop takes foreign VISA and MC.
    > There is a good reason for this, but I can't remember what it was (it
    > was explained to me by someone who actually manages this type of
    > unattended stations at the corporate level). I think it has something
    > to do with fraud prevention.

Hi dear Mixi,
You are right as usual :+).....
You would translate that better than me but if I try, it says, for ex.,
under the choice of Visa electron card from Carte Bleue that it is a
"systematical authorisation card". The authorisation is asked to the
bank of the owner in order to avoid fraud and that it can be used in
the 720.000 shopkeepers in France able to manage with the validation of
the confidential code ("capable de traiter une transaction
électronique dans le respect du code service") BUT NOT IN THE PARKING
AND MOTORWAYS TERMINALS WHICH ARE NOT USING THE CONFIDENTIAL CODE AND
DON'T MAKE AUTHORISATION DEMANDS TO THE BANKS.

So it seems that some cards don't work in these unatended? places more
because of the banks will that because of the will of petrol stations
brands, contrary to what I replied to Tim. but who knows...

Link for e-cards :
http://www.e-cartebleue.com/client/home.asp
didier Meurgues

http://www.cartebleue.fr
For example :
La carte Visa Electron de la gamme Carte Bleue est une carte bancaire
de paiement et de retrait internationale à autorisation systématique
au premier euro dépensé (...) quelque soit le montant de la
transaction (paiement ou retrait), une demande d'autorisation est
automatiquement effectuée auprès de la banque du titulaire de la
carte pour vérifier que le compte est bien créditeur.
Cette demande d'autorisation sera effectuée via la banque acquéreur
(banque du commerçant), le système interbancaire et la banque
émetteur (banque du titulaire de la carte).
La Visa Electron apporte la garantie de ne pas dépenser au delà de
son budget et d'être couvert en cas d'utilisation frauduleuse.
La carte Visa Electron possède une puce et une piste magnétique,
comme toutes les autres cartes, mais elle n'est pas embossée (absence
d'indication en relief au recto).
La carte Visa Electron fonctionne en débit immédiat ou différé, ou
en mode crédit.
Un réseau d'acceptation en France et à l'étranger
La vitrophanie Visa Electron signale les commerçants équipés d'un
terminal de paiement capable de traiter une transaction électronique
dans le respect du code service.
En France :
La carte est utilisable en paiement auprès des commerçants agréés,
capables de traiter la validation du code confidentiel et la demande
d'autorisation : 720.000 commerçants.

Ainsi sont exclus les terminaux de parking et d'autoroutes, qui ne
traitent pas le code confidentiel et ne font pas de demande
d'autorisation. La carte est acceptée en vente à distance, la
transaction faisant l'objet d'une demande d'autorisation.

En Europe et dans le reste du monde :
A l'international, la carte est acceptée chez tous les commerçants
affichant la vitrophanie Visa Electron et équipés d'un matériel
capable de traiter le code service et de demander l'autorisation.
L'identification du porteur se fait par le contrôle du code
confidentiel ou de la signature, suivant le niveau de garantie voulu
par l'émetteur et l'équipement du commerçant. A noter que la vente
à distance n'est pas autorisée auprès des commerçants situés à
l'étranger.
18 millions de commerçants dans 220 pays, dont 4,4 millions en Europe
acceptent la Visa Electron.
Concernant les retraits, le parc de DAB Visa est ouvert aux cartes Visa

Electron, soit 39.000 DAB en France, 760.000 DAB dans le monde, dont
251.000 en Europe.
Les services (etc...)

© Carte Bleue 2002 - Tous droits réservés.

didier Meurgues

didier Meurgues a écrit :
    > Mxsmanic a écrit :
    > > John Stolz writes:
    > >
    > > > I tried to get fuel at an unattended petrol station (of the Colruyt brand)
    > > > - the premises and pre-pay POS machine liberally decorated with VISA and
    > > > MC stickers failed to accept three different credit cards (2 VISA, 1 MC).
    > > > The manager of the attached Colruyt supermarket said the machine only
    > > > accepted French credit cards. He called the 'responsable' for petrol
    > > > stations who said this was the case for all Colruyt fuel outlets (although
    > > > the shop takes foreign VISA and MC.
    > >
    > > There is a good reason for this, but I can't remember what it was (it
    > > was explained to me by someone who actually manages this type of
    > > unattended stations at the corporate level). I think it has something
    > > to do with fraud prevention.
    > Hi dear Mixi,
    > You are right as usual :+).....
    > You would translate that better than me but if I try, it says, for ex.,
    > under the choice of Visa electron card from Carte Bleue

I meant those which are issued by Carte Bleue with the french system of
course....

that it is a
    > "systematical authorisation card". The authorisation is asked to the
    > bank of the owner in order to avoid fraud and that it can be used in
    > the 720.000 shopkeepers in France able to manage with the validation of
    > the confidential code ("capable de traiter une transaction
    > électronique dans le respect du code service") BUT NOT IN THE PARKING
    > AND MOTORWAYS TERMINALS WHICH ARE NOT USING THE CONFIDENTIAL CODE AND
    > DON'T MAKE AUTHORISATION DEMANDS TO THE BANKS.
    > So it seems that some cards don't work in these unatended? places more
    > because of the banks will that because of the will of petrol stations
    > brands, contrary to what I replied to Tim. but who knows...
    >

Mxsmanic

tim (moved to sweden) writes:

    > Why can't they take cash (like the Swedish ones)

Machines that contain cash invite vandalism.

Chancellor Of The Duchy Of Besses O' Th' Barn And

BB <[email protected]> wrote:

    > On Fri, 22 Jul 2005 12:16:06 -0400, Mark Fagan wrote:
    > > At one time I thought this had to do with credit cards that don't have
    > > imbedded computer chips (as in North America).
    >
    > Thats what I was told when my Visa card didn't work for buying RER tickets
    > from the automated machines at Orly.

My UK cards didn't work either- and they have chips.

--
David Horne- www.davidhorne.net
usenet (at) davidhorne (dot) co (dot) uk

Martin Theodor Ludwig

On Fri, 22 Jul 2005 08:57:43 +0200, John Stolz <[email protected]>
wrote:

    >I tried to get fuel at an unattended petrol station (of the Colruyt brand)
    >- the premises and pre-pay POS machine liberally decorated with VISA and
    >MC stickers failed to accept three different credit cards (2 VISA, 1 MC).

Sometimes these unattended gas stations do accept non-French cards, but
not very often, and not recognizable without inserting the card.

CU, Martin

Martin Theodor Ludwig

On Fri, 22 Jul 2005 12:16:06 -0400, "Mark Fagan" <[email protected]>
wrote:

    >problem anywhere there isn't an attendant, such as in parking garages. You
    >just have to make sure you cary sufficient coins.

Unattended French gas stations don't accept anything else than cards.

    >I don't recall problems
    >with attended gas stations and we just avoided the unattended ones.

In certain regions at certain times of the week this is hardly feasible.

CU, Martin