Increase in people requesting their money back from expired OV chip cards

There was an increase in travelers requesting the money back from their expired OV chip card. This has come forth from an annual report by Translink, the company that issues the public transport cards. A Translink campaign meant to notify travelers on simple ways for them to request their money back has seemed to have had an effect.

Translink reported in their yearly report that over 13 million euros were left on expired public transport cards at the end of last year. This figure was 18 million euros a year before. Only the balance that was on OV chip cards that had been expired for longer than five years was counted.

According to the business, more than 15,000 people requested their money back via the online advertisement of the campaign “Whole of Holland checks.” Public transport companies had the option of supporting the campaign by advertising it on their buses, trams, or metro’s, or on their website.

Translink has said they will do everything they can to get the money back to the people who have an expired OV chip card. This is more challenging when it comes to anonymous cards, as the company does not know who is using the cards.

This was another reason that the company felt the campaign was needed. “We can see this as a successful, cost-efficient campaign which is good for the visibility of the possibilities to get your money back and for the wallets of public transport users,” the company wrote.

OV chip cards can be used for five years after the release date. The owners of the cards have five years after this to request their money back. If that does not happen within this time frame, then Translink can spend the money for the benefit of the traveler. The company invested 11.4 million euros of the money last year.

Most of this money was invested into OVpay, which allows people to check in and out on public transport using their bank cards. The company also invested in simplifying the procedure for claiming back unused balances and has invested money in improving customer service.