Open Thread: Has Money Magically Disappeared From Your Metrocard?

We got a call late last week from a distressed reader, upset that $9 she had placed on her Metrocard disappeared the very same day. And, when she went to get something done about it, she found agency reps very unhelpful:

On Monday July 23rd @ 9AM I used my debit card to put $9 on a metro card that already had $9 on it. The screen showed a total of $18 and some change. When I got done working at 2PM I went to head home, when I swiped my card there was just over $6 and some change left after 1 use… I figured no big.. I will tell them at the booth, they should be able to help. NO GO… I got to the booth and was told by a very frank attendant, that there was nothing he could do for me, and that I needed to call customer service, and gave me and envelope to mail in my card, but I had to pay to mail it… I told him I knew he didn’t make the policy, but to make people wait a month for their money is a stupid policy. He again just said there is nothing he could do…

Something really needs to be done about this… The MTA is basically stealing from the people…

The reader added over the phone that she fears money disappears from cards like this all the time, and the agency benefits from people unwilling to seek reimbursement through the overwrought process, which includes forms, postage and a 30-day wait.

Like our reader, I know I’ve had money magically disappear from my card at least once. And, another time, when a newly-purchased card with $10 on it refused to work at any turnstile, the agency never responded after I mailed it in with the appropriate form. At the time, I chalked up the first incident to a quirky mechanical error, and the second to “lost in the mail.” But I’ve heard this story from others, too.

So, has money ever disappeared from your Metrocard? Have you ever sought reimbursement from the MTA? Let us know!