That $50 is almost certainly a pre-authorization hold, not a real charge. Electrify America places a temporary hold on your card when you start a guest or credit-card session, then replaces it with the actual session amount when the charge completes. The $50 disappears on its own — typically within 3–10 business days, depending on your bank.
How to confirm that’s what happened
Check whether the $50 shows as “pending” rather than “posted” in your banking app. A hold sits in pending status and never posts. Your actual session — usually $15–$35 — posts separately once the session closes. If you see both a pending $50 and a posted session amount, everything is working as designed, annoying as it is.
Banks release holds on their own schedule, not EA’s. Debit cards are slower than credit cards, and the hold ties up real available balance on a debit card in the meantime — one of several reasons to use a credit card at public chargers.
The two cases where it’s something else
An idle-fee pileup. EA bills $0.40/minute after a 10-minute grace period once your session completes. Leaving a car plugged in for an hour past full adds about $20 on top of the session. Check the session receipt in the app — idle fees are itemized.
A session that never closed properly. Rarely, a failed session start or an improperly ended session leaves a hold hanging or bills incorrectly. If a $50 posts (not pending) with no matching session, contact EA support through the app or the 24/7 line with the station, date, and stall number. Response on the phone is quick in our experience — the EA complete profile covers their support performance.
How to avoid the hold entirely
Sign in through the EA app with a stored payment method instead of tapping a card at the stall — app-initiated and Plug & Charge sessions skip the guest-flow hold. Members also skip the $1 session fee, and if you use EA even twice a month the Pass+ membership pays for itself anyway (the math).