Thanks for taking the time to update, and close off documenting your (frustrating) journey. Has been very interesting to read, and I wish others bothered to ‘end’ threads they open.
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Unfortunately we have to raise a dispute to give you the funds back so then if successful Mastercard will award the amount back to Monzo.
I also had a similar situation when I got Uber One (free trial) and I was charged incorrectly so I disputed it directly with them waited a month… nothing. Went to Monzo awarded straight away as standard normally, then my Uber account was charged the full amount again on both Uber Eats and Uber.
Luckily I have another mobile number so I can use my other account while Uber and Mastercard sort it out
I understand that, but it sounds like it may be reasonable to adjust the script for Uber disputes to make the customer aware of this before proceeding. By telling your customer “we will have to raise a dispute with Uber, and Uber will suspend your account while this is happening”, it gives them the option of saying “Actually, please don’t. I’d rather continue to use my account and keep pestering Uber support if that’s the case.”
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Thanks Nick, I do agree here and I’ll flag it with the relevant people.
It doesn’t sound like Uber are being particularly fair here, but it’s definitely something we should be aware of.
If I don’t get back to this thread in a few days please remind me!
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Been following this thread on here for some time - just wanted to chime in and say thanks to everyone for the insights etc added here. From my experience, I have the same pain with Uber pending transactions not clearing. I do have to say I only see it with Uber - all other pre-auth merchants I deal with seem to work exactly as expected. (I appreciate this is entirely anecdotal and I thoroughly respect the quest for hard facts and logs presented in this thread)
Happy to work with anyone who has access to logs if it helps anyone gather information on it.
It’s absolutely not a burning issue for me, luckily, but a minor aggravation nonetheless.
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While I have no longer been chasing after this with neither of the two companies as per my last message above. I’ve finally found a workaround to pay for Uber with Monzo without having my money withheld for 30 days. I’m sharing my method with the community for the sake of helping other users struggling with this issue.
Just to recap:
Actions that will eventually result in your money being withheld for 30 days:
- Using Monzo’s debit card in Uber’s app
- Using Google Pay to pay with Monzo in Uber’s app
- Using PayPal to pay with Monzo in Uber’s app
Actions that won’t result in your money being withheld for 30 days:
- Pay with NatWest or Halifax debit card direct in Uber’s App
- Pay with a credit card.
So what’s the workaround to be able to pay Uber with Monzo without having your money withheld for 30 days?
- Sign up for Curve (or Samsung Pay+, it’s basically the same thing)
- Setup either a credit card or one of your more reliable debit cards as Curve’s main payment method
- Add your Monzo’s debit card as a secondary payment method
- Pay for Uber using your Curve card
- Move transactions from successful trips to Monzo’s debit card using Curve’s “Go back in time” feature.
I’ve been using this method for over a month and had no issues with it . Auth holds go to my main payment method where they’re promptly refunded and my actual trips are paid with Monzo.
Ok, it’s a somewhat convoluted way of doing things, but “going back in time” isn’t really a complicated thing to do.
Unfortunately users moving more than 3 transactions a month will need to subscribe to one of Curve’s paid plans as the free plan limits your ability to “go back in time”. Having said that, for folks relying on both Uber and Monzo like me, Curve is certainly a good way to workaround the “pending auth hold” issue.
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I have found this thread interesting. But wouldn’t it be easier to simply use a dedicated credit card to pay for Uber trips, pay it off in full, and categorise that payment?
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Sure. Not using Monzo to pay for Uber (or anything that may result in authorization holds) at all is the simplest workaround. I think that even Monzo CS has suggested me not to use Monzo to pay for Uber somewhere in this thread.
I have specific reasons to want to centralize expenses in Monzo (e.g. Open Banking Integration between Monzo and my accounting Software which makes it easier to account for expenses and issue reimbursements from my business to my personal account). Having said that, paying with a credit card or debit card from another bank is the easiest way around the issue. With Plus or Metal you can even link the credit card directly to your Monzo account for categorization as you have suggested (although my accounting software isn’t smart enough to read such transactions, or even to read transactions directly from my credit card account :()
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Indeed! I go with the altogether simpler method of using my Amex for Uber. Instant notification of what amounts have been pre-authorised, and once the ride is complete, I know what will and won’t settle and can account accordingly.
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he’s making a perfectly valid point that everyone is going out of there way to misunderstand
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I found Uber behaviour odd during high peak time.
There was heavy rain, surge activated, and no cars available. The rides would time out looking for drivers. And none of the auths were reversed immediately.
It does feel they like to hold on to auths. Also in different geographies different über entities process payments differently. I do find using credit card for Uber best.
Note I don’t believe this is unique to Monzo, I had 30 days Auth hanging from Uber NL with Starling before.
It somehow feels that Mastercard Debit is processed by them differently to MasterCard Credit / Visa / Amex cards. Have people used Uber with flex and did that get instant refunds for holds?
