Man Refunds Expired EZ-Link Card After 2 Years, Claims He Lost $16 Balance To Admin Costs

Older EZ-Link Card Refunds Should Be Done Before Expiry Date

Update (18 Oct, 11.25am): EZ-Link has responded to the man’s complaint, clarifying that cards will lose $1/month in stored value, 2 years after expiry. This is due to maintenance costs for keeping an expired card’s account after 2 years in the system.

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A netizen posted a cautionary message directed at those still holding on to old-school EZ-Link cards issued in the early 2010s.

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You can read his post on Wednesday (16 Oct) here in full. We summarise his story after the jump.

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Netizen missed EZ-Link card refund date & lost $16 balance

The man details his experience in getting his own EZ-Link card refunded, only to realise it had expired 2 years ago and an admin fee was due.

The charge amounted to $1 per month after the expiry date. As a result, he claims he lost his EZ-Link card balance of $16.

Unhappy with the admin fee charge, he questions what service EZ-Link has provided to deduct $1/month, reasoning that a full refund should be provided.

Why is there a $1/month admin charge?

7 years ago, EZ-Link announced on 5 Jan 2012 that refunds of old EZ-Link cards could be done at 62 SingPost offices. Owners of old EZ-Link cards were also encouraged to get their refunds ASAP.

Cards that missed their refund date from Jan 2012 would be subject to a $1/month admin fee. The admin fee, according to EZ-Link, is “cumulative” and won’t be “pro-rated”.

This amount would be deducted from the stored value within the card.

Money collected would be channelled towards maintenance costs to support the system for refunds of old EZ-Link cards.

If the admin fee is equal to or exceeds the stored value of the EZ-Link card, cardholders will not receive a refund.

That’s why EZ-Link cardholders are encouraged to replace their expired cards within 2 years of the expiry dates.

EZ-Link cards have a shelf life of 5 years

Typically, an EZ-Link card lasts 5 years from the day of activation. There are currently 2 systems that allow for refunds, one for the old design, and the other for the new design.

Here’s how to tell if your card is the former. Flip the card to the back and check the number code printed carefully.

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An older design has a 9-digit code. While a new EZ-Link card model has 16-digits and logos printed on them.

9-digit EZ-link cards already have been phased out of the system.

Check if your card’s expiring ASAP

You can check on the status of your cards via these resources:

• EZ-Link Portal
• EZ-Link App – Google Play, Apple Store
• General Ticketing Machines
• Transitlink Ticket Offices in MRT/Bus Interchanges

For the portal, you’ll have to key in your EZ-Link card’s ID to retrieve the date of expiry.

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Best to double check if you’re unsure

Deferred refunds of EZ-Link cards that have expired are still available at all TransitLink Ticket Offices.

For cards expiring on 31 Dec 2019, owners are eligible for a $3 Looney Tunes card sold at a subsidised price at the same offices.

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Hopefully, all commuters with expiring EZ-Link cards will be able to avoid unnecessary admin fees during the refund process.

Have you refunded your expiring EZ-Link card and what was the process like for you? We’d love to hear from you in the comments.

Featured image adapted from Facebook.