Dear Ozbargain community,
This is my first post. So apologies if it doesn't meet your standard!
This morning my partner made a trip to Bondi Junction by train. Since there is no gate at our home station she forgot to tap on. So once tapped off at Bondi Junction she got charged the default fare ($8.30). When she informed this to the CityRail staff at Bondi, she was advised to call Opal to get the refund.
When I called opal customer care (the card is on my name), I was told that I reached my limit for fare correction for the life time of my opal card! As a result, for any future mistakes I won't get a refund.
I find it surprising as this has never been communicated to me before (by opal) that there is a limit of 3 fare correction per opal card. Given we make thousands of opal transactions each year, 3 fare correction limit sounds unreasonable, specially for a life time!
So could you please advice whether it sounds legal/logical to you. Given I have not seen any such terms and condition when I signed up for Opal I am finding it hard to comprehend. Any authorities (eg. fair trading, Transport NSW) should I talk to?
Hi. I agree that three times is a bit harsh and I personally hit the limit quite quickly.
The great thing is that you can purchase unregistered cards at most newsagencies / supermarkets and you get to start the cycle all over again. So disable your auto-top-ups, spend your existing credit down to <$1, then move onto your new card.
As for myself, the third time I made the mistake was over half a year ago. I haven't made the mistake again since.