It's fast. And it's convenient. But our investigation found sometimes using your MBTA Charlie Card for one trip, will get you charged twice! If you catch it, we found you can get a refund, but most riders have no idea.
Dave, MBTA Rider
"I was surprised that it had been happening!"
Dave says when he tapped his Charlie card–the doors didn't open–and the message said see gate agent. Knowing his card was fully loaded, Dave tapped it again, and then the gate opened properly. But e instantly noticed–too much money was taken off his card..
Dave, MBTA Rider
"It charged me the first time, even though the gate didn't open. It charged me a second time when it did open."
One ride, two fares. And T officials confirmed, that could happen.
Hank
"He was charged twice, why?"
Joe Pesaturo, MBTA
"It could have been a malfunction, or could have been a misread of the card, a couple of things could have occurred."
The T calls the three year old Charlie card a huge success. Nine out of ten riders use them to hurry through to their trains and buses. A microchip in the card makes them work, but officials admit if you don't tap it square on, like this, and then try it again your double tap may result in a double fare.
If you're not watching this screen, you might never know.
Hank
"Might it be that someone doesn't realize this is happening?"
Joe Pesaturo, MBTA
"Of course that's possible."
The T says complaints about this are rare, but it was easy for us to find riders who say they've been double charged.
T rider
"That's happened a few times."
T rider
"Once a week."
But when it happened to Dave, he asked the T to run his current Charlie Card's serial number to see if it had happened before. And sure enough, it had.
Dave, MBTA Rider
"It was a little bit irritating, yeah."
How often does it happen? Big picture, T officials insist it's impossible to calculate from computer records because when riders share a card with a pal who uses it within seconds, it might look like a double tap. But if you suspect your individual card has incorrectly been charged twice, that, they can check.
And that may mean money in your pocket! Dave got a full refund for his unfair fairs, but wonders how many of his fellow commuters are paying double.
Dave, MBTA Rider
"I think it can be corrected."
If you think you've been improperly charged, let us know! If you want to contact the MBTA for your possible refund: http://www.mbta.com/customer_support/feedback/
(Copyright (c) 2010 Sunbeam Television Corp. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)