I got totally caught out with my travel pass this week and it ended up costing me. The pass I was 2 years 6 months old. It had another 6 months validity on it. However, a week ago it stopped working on the card readers. I tried on a couple different buses and the drivers were very nice about it.
I phoned Merseytravel and on the phone the chap I spoke to ask me to take the card out of any wallet it might be in and inspect for damage. I could not find any. He asked if I could take it to a Merseytravel centre, my nearest being in Bootle and if it was a question of it being faulty it would be replaced free of charge. He explained that they charge for loss or damaged passes, but it if is faulty no charge would apply.
I went to Bootle on Friday. The lady there did started out by being determined to find out why it wasn't working. In other words she didn't start by testing it on the card reader they have. She took it out of my plastic wallet and bent it around a little bit (I was surprised by this action as I was expecting it to be looked at rather then being put under any strain) and then disclosed there was a crack, which was in the very top left hand side by the red rose.
She said "it looks like it has been sat on." "have you had it in your back pocket?" I explained that I have only ever had it in my card holder which I keep in my wallet. I explained that I have taken great care of it and I believe the problem being due to reasonable wear and tear. No amount of reasoning with her made any difference. I ended up paying the £10 for a replacement so I didn't want to get stung with any bus or train fares in the mean time as she told me I would have to pay.
I asked for a comments form as I wanted to express my concerns. She gave me one along with a receipt. She said that she would put a note on my customer profile explaining that I had been issued with a comments form and that I was unhappy about paying the £10 charge due to the reasons stated above. I took a photo of my old pass as well as she insisted that I could not keep this. She then put it through a shredder. I was disappointed with that because it means this can no longer be considered along with my complaint.
I looked up Merseytravel's complaints procedure online and I saw it was possible to complain by phone if you call customer services. I phoned up and had a difficult phone call with a chap who was convinced that a complaint had gone in already based on the note on the system (above). Whenever I tried to explain that was only a note saying I had been issued with a comments form he kept cutting in saying "I don't know I wasn't there and I wasn't the one you spoke to."
In the end I won him round by saying I was concerned that the full information had not been captured and he then offered to submit another complaint for me. I hope to goodness he has actually raised a complaint (he said it needs to go to the "comments team") and not just added to some notes on my customer profile. I explained to him what had happened and he ended the call assuring me in a very nice was: "yes, I understand you feel like you have been hit twice. A faulty pass then being hit with a £10 charge." I made it clear to him that I understand if I had been careless with it and damaged it myself then I would of course except to pay. He assured me "don't worry, I know what to put."
I do feel let down my Merseytravel here. They have not allowed for wear and tear of the pass and I am unhappy as to the way they physically handled my pass.
Sadly the new pass I have been issued with now expires in April 2022. I am of course highly concerned it will not last this long - if not for it cracking but by the details fadin as per my opening post. I do not think the quality of the new pass is the best. Some of the text on the back of the pass is readable but could be much more clear. I fear that they actually have no intensive to issue high quality passes to people if they can extract £10 a time for a new one. This might also explain why they are issuing them for longer periods now. It really is as if they are extracting money from the most vulnerable people in society.
It will be interesting to see what they respond. However, given the militant response I have had up to now I am highly doubtful of anything positive.
For now, I have placed my pass in the plastic card holder. However, I was wondering if a smart phone protector (as suggested above) might help or indeed could this make it worse? I think you can get these from the pound stores.
