$25 put on Chicago Card at CTA kiosk never posts to account

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Updated: March 7, 2012 9:45AM

Dear Fixer: Late last year, I signed up through my employer for a Visa debit card to be used, pre-tax, for payment on my CTA Chicago Card. My monthly pre-tax transportation allowance is $65.

Since the kiosks at the train station can only put a max of $25 per day on the card, I have to make three transactions per month for $25, $25 and $15.

The money goes on the debit card on the 21st of each month. On Dec. 22, I put $25 on the Chicago Card. The next day, I stopped at the same kiosk at the Chicago/State stop and put on another $25. I put the remaining $15 on it on Dec. 27.

At that point, I realized that the transaction on Dec. 23 never went on my Chicago Card.

I called my bank, and they were able to provide to me the approval code and the transaction ID number, which proved that the money left my account.

The bank tells me to contact the CTA. I have called the CTA on numerous occasions, only to be told they have no record of the transaction and I should get in touch with my bank. This is a classic back-and-forth with my money lost in a black hole. Can you help, please?

Jack Stern, Evanston

Dear Jack: If a retailer’s website can lose a purchase and an ATM can “eat” a cash deposit — things that can and do happen — we figured why couldn’t a CTA kiosk misplace a $25 debit?

Turns out, it can. After we took this to Catherine Hosinski, media relations pro at the transit agency, the money people at the CTA were able to get to the bottom of this. Using the transaction information you provided, they found that your money had indeed gone to the CTA but somehow had never been applied to your Chicago Card.

They’ve offered their sincere apologies and will give you a $27 fare card — which includes an extra $2 for your trouble.

Forty bucks of nothing

Dear Fixer: I signed up for mobile broadband service with Cricket Communications in 2009. The service was month-to-month with pre-payment required.

On or around Nov. 26, 2010, I discovered my service wasn’t working. I went online and made a payment of $40.50 — but the service was still out.

I called Cricket’s customer service, and the representative said if an account is inactive, it is automatically canceled. I explained that I had just paid $40.50. She said I would have to sign up for a new account — but she could not apply the money to the new account.

I asked her to refund it to my credit card, but she said I would have to contact my credit card company about that.

Wanting to restore my Internet service, I signed up for a new account and was charged another $40. I then contacted my credit card company. They said Cricket would have to refund the money.

I was told to go to a Cricket store to get my refund. I went there in March 2011. The store employee said the refund would appear on my credit card in four to six weeks. It never came.

I closed my Cricket account in May. I tried to call customer service about my refund, but I could not get through without an active account.

Last September, I gave it one more try at a different Cricket store. I showed the manager my documentation, and he said my credit card would be refunded and that Cricket would call me.

I never got a call. The manager said he looked into my account and there was a note saying I was refunded the money but the transaction did not go through.

Virginia Yu, Mount Prospect

Dear Virginia: We admire your tenacity. This yearlong problem finally got fixed with a two-pronged attack — we went to Cricket’s PR department while you emailed their CEO and board. You soon got an explanation and an apology. Apparently, they did try to correct this back in August, but they were attempting to credit an account that no longer existed. They’ve now agreed to cut a check for the full amount. Let us know when you get it.