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The point isn't what some website says. The point is that the machines are not working properly, and I have suffered (and wasted uncountable hours) as a result. The fact that neither Caltrain nor Translink has done '''anything''' to resolve this over a '''week later''' is absolutely unbelievable.|||Paul Borokhov|Sat, 26 May 2007 19:03:56 -0700}}
Funny thing was, she responded back immediately...with an out-of-office reply. lol. I heard back from her for real on Wednesday morning finally, with this amazingly insightful text:
{{quote|Please advise how and from where you obtained your TransLink card. Thisis apparently when you received the incorrect information concerning itsusage. You could not have received the card from Caltrain, since we nolonger were participating in the program at the time you obtained yourcard.
I am also not certain why you are requesting a refund. I assume that
Paul|||Wed, 30 May 2007 21:40:34 -0700}}
I've inserted the images that I attached into this section (click on them for full versions), so now everyone can see what I'm talking about.
It took them an entire week to come up with a response to that, and it wasn't that pretty...
{{quote|Thank you for your comments.
Only one card was tagged at the Palo Alto station during the afternoon
of May 19th. This card was purchased through the Web link at
http://www.translink.org.
Since you mention that a fare was deducted from you card that day, it
would appear that the above card may belong to you and that it was
obtained via the TransLink web site, where it clearly states on which
agencies the card is valid, Caltrain not being among them.
It is not clear why an attempt was made to pay a Caltrain fare with a
TransLink card, given that the cards are being sold for use only on the
specified agencies. Under these circumstances it should be irrelevant
whether the Caltrain card readers are turned on or off.
If you have any further comments concerning a possible refund, the
TransLink card or the card readers, please contact the TransLink
Customer Service Center at 1-877-878-8883|||Astrid Lindell, Caltrain Customer Relations Specialist|Thu, 7 Jun 2007 09:35:49 -0700}}
I also just realized that they gave up on trying to write my name correctly, lol. Here's what I sent back to her...
{{quote|Astrid,
This is the main point of contention I have with you. It is '''not''' irrelevant whether the readers are turned on or off. Websites, especially of public transit agencies, have been notoriously out of date and inaccurate. Just because the website doesn't explicitly state that the card is usable on Caltrain doesn't mean that your liability ends right there.
Again, I cannot understand what is so hard about getting this. The readers are on. Fare inspectors say that they are off. '''That is all that matters'''. The problem is not with what some website says; it is with the fact that there is a disconnect on the enforcement side between '''rules''' and '''reality'''.
How many times do I have to explain this before you guys finally get it? Can you tell me how hard it is to simply '''shut off power''' to the readers and be done with it?<br/>
Looks like I won't be using Caltrain for a while.
|||Paul|Thu, 7 Jun 2007 10:05:37 -0700}}
She responded fairly swiftly, and to the point. Namely,
{{quote|We have no further comments on this matter.|||Astrid Lindell, Caltrain Customer Relations Specialist|Thu, 7 Jun 2007 12:19:59 -0700}}
Cool.