The Chainlink

OK - it's Friday (TGIF btw) and I am going to unload a M_A_J_O_R VENTra...I got my card in the mail; followed the instuctions to activate it (very poor btw) and received a message that 'my card is already activated' (wtf). OK - I'll play along. I do not know the access code (never set it up - do-h); cannot log in to retrieve it (two strikes for you), so I call the "toll free" number (what a joke); and to speak with someone about it I am told

(with a very cheery female voice (oh spare me honey) "your wait time will be approximately 26 minutes". yeah right. like I have NOTHING better to do than sit on hold

and listen to this nauseating music (good thing I collect barf bags from southwest airlines (now THERE is a company with awesome customer service btw - can you say capitalism with a KAPITAL SEE?????). VENTRA darling - you get a BIG FAT F- in my grade book. I am flushing this lovely little card down the toilet. Oh wait - i will use my handy dandy "pick puncher" and make some nice guitar picks out of you; it was nice knowing you. and why do I hate the CTA ??? let me count the ways. When I get even a B+ from my customers I have to meet with them to see what ever I can do to change that grade to an A+.

 

OK - I feel SO much better now...TGIF

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FYI.  Ventra just sent me a reminder email noting that I had not yet activated my card, and the reminder email also contained the activation code I needed to activate it.  Not sure they do that for everyone, but as a last resort a similar email may eventually be sent to you once they notice your card hasn't been activated yet.

 
h' 1.0 said:

Many thanks. Nothing found.

BruceBikes said:

Subject: Convenience is coming!

From: updates@ventrachicago.com


h' 1.0 said:

I also first assumed it was junk of some sort....

I wonder if I can ask for help here-- would you or someone be willing to look at your e-mail and tell me what  the subject line was (verbatim) so I can search for it?

Thx. 


That's pretty much my plan as well, which is I'm sure why they sent me a reminder email after not activating the card after having it for more than a month.  


Daniel G said:

I've given up on activating, since now that people have their e-mails, ventrachicago has been slammed. Am going back to the smart strategy of not activating until I am absolutely forced to. Dreaming of being one of like twenty people whose CCP cards get grandfathered in somehow, and commuters in the year 2030 think I'm some sort of government agent for using one.

You and many many others don't yet have their cards. I finally got mine last Saturday. Several other people I know got theirs this week, and lots of folks are still waiting.

Jeff Schneider said:

Are people only now receiving the cards?  I got the email on Sept. 4 promising a card within 7-10 days...but still don't have it.

The envelope looks like this.



Michelle Stenzel said:

First you have to make sure you don't accidentally throw away your card, which arrives in a generic envelope that looks like junk mail, from a bank that no one has ever heard of. (The only reason it caught my eye is because it had a double V on it that looked exactly like the Divvy logo.) Then you have to make sure you read all your e-mail from Ventra, even if it seems like an annoying PR note you can delete, because one of them contains your User ID and password. Then you have to read all the written instructions v-e-r-y carefully because there are pitfalls planted in numerous steps. After much frustration, I was able to activate my card and even charge new funds to it with my employer-issued transit benefits card. However, I haven't actually used the Ventra card yet, and I'm a little scared to try. Let's hope the weather holds up until all the kinks are worked out.

My problem has more to do with the touchless technology. I was told by a CTA employee (who was VERY well meaning) to load money onto my credit card to avoid paying $5 for a Ventra card I was going to get in the mail. (I misplaced my CCP during the stretch they were no longer issuing replacements but before I received my Ventra card).

I loaded $10 (which was charged to my card in full that night). Instead of my subsequent rides deducting from that credit, they each charged individually! So for 4 trips I paid $20.50 (I was mysteriously charged for $3 for two of the trips—I didn’t transfer!). That should have cost $9 for all four trips. 

 

I have yet to activate one of the 4 Ventra cards I have so far received. I have tried calling Ventra but simply don’t have an hour to wait on the phone to speak with someone. Their email “contact us” page only lets you type 150 characters in the message section. Not very helpful. 

Your experience sounds kind of like this: http://articles.redeyechicago.com/2013-09-13/news/42047841_1_ventra...

M G said:

My problem has more to do with the touchless technology. I was told by a CTA employee (who was VERY well meaning) to load money onto my credit card to avoid paying $5 for a Ventra card I was going to get in the mail. (I misplaced my CCP during the stretch they were no longer issuing replacements but before I received my Ventra card).

I loaded $10 (which was charged to my card in full that night). Instead of my subsequent rides deducting from that credit, they each charged individually! So for 4 trips I paid $20.50 (I was mysteriously charged for $3 for two of the trips—I didn’t transfer!). That should have cost $9 for all four trips. 

 

I have yet to activate one of the 4 Ventra cards I have so far received. I have tried calling Ventra but simply don’t have an hour to wait on the phone to speak with someone. Their email “contact us” page only lets you type 150 characters in the message section. Not very helpful. 

Why is anyone getting this stupid card when supossidly you can use any credit card with the RF simble on it. Has anyone done this yet? I havent because i rarely take transit. I am kind of pissed about the dollar increase for just a single ride though.

Judging from this story in the Trib, folks visiting for the marathon are having tons of fun with it.

I skipped the Chicago card plus transfer, just ordered a card online. Never activated it- just tried it on a bus and it worked... I assume it reloads itself, so far so good. My friend couldn't figure out how to activate it either, so I told her to pull the sticker of and tap it, it worked. I don't think they need to be activated unless you want to use them as a debit card?
Check out this article. http://bit.ly/GV2tWE

"Now, he has a new Ventra card. When checking his account covering the last couple weeks, he discovered that he'd been charged twice for a single ride. But more interestingly, he found that on September 26, within a span of 70 seconds, he was billed six times for calling the CTA customer call center - a total of $8.50. Not a lot of money, but Kenger's phone log shows no record of those calls, and even if he did make them, you are not to be charged for making calls to the customer service center."

It is recommended to check your ventra account religiously because there might be "ghost charges" in your account. Also, if you call customer service they plan to charge you for calling, this will be automatically deducted out of your account.
Yikes. Thank you for the heads up!

Banshee: 5-7mi said:
Check out this article. http://bit.ly/GV2tWE

"Now, he has a new Ventra card. When checking his account covering the last couple weeks, he discovered that he'd been charged twice for a single ride. But more interestingly, he found that on September 26, within a span of 70 seconds, he was billed six times for calling the CTA customer call center - a total of $8.50. Not a lot of money, but Kenger's phone log shows no record of those calls, and even if he did make them, you are not to be charged for making calls to the customer service center."

It is recommended to check your ventra account religiously because there might be "ghost charges" in your account. Also, if you call customer service they plan to charge you for calling, this will be automatically deducted out of your account.

So it is not linked to any account you have? So you ride for free? How would it re-charge the credit if you never activated it.

KayCee said:

I skipped the Chicago card plus transfer, just ordered a card online. Never activated it- just tried it on a bus and it worked... I assume it reloads itself, so far so good. My friend couldn't figure out how to activate it either, so I told her to pull the sticker of and tap it, it worked. I don't think they need to be activated unless you want to use them as a debit card?

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