Keeping Check of Opal Usage

bozbargain on 06/05/2021 - 17:48
Last edited 06/05/2021 - 17:49

I get regular $20 Opal deductions from multiple family cards charged to my Visa. The Visa card charges never show an Opal card number or anything helpful to identify which card was topped up. I'm worried that certain family members may lose their card without noticing and the lucky finder keeps on using it - to make things complicated, both my wife and I keep kids cards with us and one of the kids have their own as well, we're all very irregular Opal users as well (some weeks very little activity, other weeks a fair bit). I know you can check your cards in your Opal app but is it also possible to have an Opal card linked to a card that's not part of your Opal account? Is it possible to get a full overview of all Opal cards linked to a certain Visa card? If not, what's the best way to do a full Opal audit?

Financial

Related Stores

Opal Card - NSW Government
Opal Card - NSW Government

Comments

  • Melencir on 06/05/2021 - 18:20

    Little confused by the "Opal card linked to a card" part.. but that said, i have 2 Opal cards under my Opal account.

    Don't see why it shouldn't be possible to have all the cards under your one account. Have you tried adding them when you have logged into your account?

    • bozbargain on 06/05/2021 - 18:40

      The problem is, there were probably 14 Opal cards linked to that credit card over time, some of them now blocked. Also, the same credit card is used for 2 Opal (online) accounts but I’m not even sure if there was a 3rd account maybe at one point in time. Ultimately, I just want to see which current Opal cards (they all have a number) are linked to my credit card, irrespective of the Opal (online) account. I hope this clarifies my question.

  • Neoika on 06/05/2021 - 19:12

    Never allow auto-recharge.

    • bozbargain on 06/05/2021 - 19:20

      Too late for that.

    • pennypincher98 on 07/05/2021 - 00:00

      Why not? I have autorecharge set for $5 on my card. Clogs up my transactions like crazy but I've got my Opal card registered to my account and check up on it daily.

  • ihbh on 06/05/2021 - 19:27

    Do you get monthly statements when there is usage? If so, have a quick squiz.

    • bozbargain on 06/05/2021 - 19:28

      No, only for the main account which is under my name.

      • brad1-8tsi on 06/05/2021 - 19:36

        I'd suggest you start from scratch. Get all the new cards under a single account. You should then get a single statement for either the account itemising each card or multiple individual statements.

        • bozbargain on 06/05/2021 - 19:42

          Good idea but that doesn’t solve my fear that there is a card used by someone else still linked to my credit card by not to my Opal account.

          • brad1-8tsi on 06/05/2021 - 19:54

            @bozbargain: Get a debit card and link all the Opals to that. Anything still sucking on the tit have the CC company block it.

            It must be nice to have so much money that you can let it get to this point.

            • bozbargain on 06/05/2021 - 20:09

              @brad1-8tsi: You’re funny but not helpful. Credit card or debit card makes zero difference. This is the first month that I’ve seen more Opal deductions than what makes sense. But it’s also been school holidays etc - I just wished Opal would pass on some sort of ID when they deduct money from you, eg card name or Opal card number even, as a reference number.

              • Melencir on 06/05/2021 - 20:32

                @bozbargain: You can manage the risk of unauthorised spending on the debit card simply by limiting the amount of funds available though.

                May be better to speak to your bank and ask about declining all Opal charges, and unlink the ones that you know about, then start clean.

                If the credit card statements do not provide info on which card took the funds, you may need to spend a bit of time to reconcile your card statement and Opal statements, if it's possible and the timestamps are close. And if multiple cards are not being topped up at the same time.

                Opal fares got a bit more expensive. ☹️

                • bozbargain on 06/05/2021 - 20:37
                  +1

                  @Melencir: Thanks. We’re all infrequent Opal users and I check my cc statements carefully so the risk is limited. I was just surprised by how difficult it is to reconcile charges and the Opal cards they belong to. Having a single credit card used across multiple Opal accounts by multiple people is probably adding to the confusion. I don’t think the time stamps of the card transactions are accurate - they tend to come out a day or so after the actual auto-top-up.

              • brad1-8tsi on 06/05/2021 - 22:10

                @bozbargain: Wasn't trying to be funny. DC or CC - your choice

          • Transient on 06/05/2021 - 22:38
            +1

            @bozbargain: If you have another credit /debit card, migrate all the opal cards to that. That way you can tell if someone is still linked to your credit card and topping up.

            • bozbargain on 07/05/2021 - 07:14
              +1

              @Transient: Yes, I have since worked out that all transactions are legit but this is a great suggestion!

  • djones145 on 06/05/2021 - 20:45

    cancel credit card
    start again
    do it properly

    • bozbargain on 06/05/2021 - 21:24

      Do what properly exactly? Setting it up again will still end up with 2 Opal accounts (for the adults), multiple Opal cards (as explained before) and 1 credit card. I’ve come to the conclusion that all transactions from the past 30 days indeed match up but it wasn’t a quick process, mainly because the card charges don’t match the Opal top-up times (sometimes 1-3 days later). I still think Opal should be able to provide a clear statement of charges of cards linked to a certain cc, just like other direct debit providers do as well (instead of just emailing individual statements of separate Opal cards) - I may give them a call tomorrow.

      • djones145 on 07/05/2021 - 09:00

        u have 14 cards
        how many cards do you need
        create a new opal
        auto link it,
        set up notifications
        have different top up amounts for different people (10, 20, 40, 60)
        then you kinda know who is spamming and might have lost their cards
        get them to pay themselves!
        get two or 3 credit cards to link

        many different options

  • sahh on 06/05/2021 - 22:44
    +4

    Change the top up amounts for each card, then you know which one is getting topped up.

    • bozbargain on 07/05/2021 - 07:15

      Great idea, this is going to be very handy indeed. Thanks.

Login or Join to leave a comment
Login Join