Debit Cards

We at Grow Light Express STRONGLY recommend that you NEVER use a debit card for online transactions. They work significantly different from traditional credit cards.

Why? Well if we directed you to this page it's probably because you have already discovered the downfall of debit cards. When you use a debit card when you submit an order, the funds in your bank account are placed in reserve right then -- whether the transaction was successful or not. That's because debit cards are like CASH to your bank, so banks protect themselves by setting aside the funds up front, so you can't spend the cash later while the transaction is being settled.

It doesn't matter to to your bank if you changed your mind later or had a problem with your online transaction. Your funds will remain on hold until your bank releases them, often several working days after the transaction -- EVEN IF YOUR SALE DID NOT COMPLETE.

This means when you pull out your debit card and use it online, the money for your intended purchase will be unavailable to you for a period of time that is determined by your bank. Most banks clear out debit card holds within 2-5 working days, but some banks longer. That time period is not controlled by us -- it's between you and your bank.

The most common time we see this problem is when a customer places an order in which their credit card billing address does not match the shipping address entered on an order. As you should already know, we do not support different bill-to and ship-to addresses here at Grow Light Express. When you attempt to check out with an address mismatch, our system will reject your order... BUT YOUR BANK WILL PUT THE FUNDS ON HOLD ANYWAY BECAUSE YOU ARE USING A DEBIT CARD. If you attempt the transaction several times, as many people do, YOUR BANK WILL PUT THE AMOUNT OF YOUR ORDER ON HOLD EVERY TIME YOU ATTEMPT TO CHECK OUT. We have seen people make several attempts to check out, unsuccessfully, and in the process wind up with ALL THEIR CASH held in suspense by their bank for several days.

For example if you have $600.00 in your bank account and you attempt to make a purchase of $200.00 three times, you will have no available funds left.

So how does this get resolved? Your bank will naturally clear these transactions that do not have "attached sales invoices" -- in other words, when no matching sale shows up from our order processing system. When the funds are released is up to your bank (there's nothing for us to do. All we do is NOT process a sale). Again, most banks take 2 - 5 business days to release your funds. Please don't call us asking for help to clear this up. We don't control this process! Call your bank, if you think that will help.