Interesting how they seem to be processing orders in different ways. I ordered on Oct 25th - upgrade to my existing contract, 18 months, £39 per month, £77.98 up front including £3.99 delivery. I saw the £77.98 being held on my bank account, i.e. difference between actual balance and available balance was £77.98. This lasted for about 5 days and then went away. I've not seen a transaction for £2 or any other amount since then from MPD and my order went straight to 'pending stock'.

This has been the first time I've pre-ordered anything, I think I can safely say it will be the last.