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Lied to by conductor - please help!

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seedlessgrape

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if your that worried about poeple using your card then simply dont take it with you and take out cash from the cashpoint, or remember your Y-P

So you're saying I shouldn't use my card if I'm worried about people taking the details? That defeats the object of having a card in the first place.

I mainly wanted to know if it was normal practice for a conductor to take my card without me being present for extended periods of time. The fact that he lied/was negligent/unsure about the refund issue and the fact that he charged me the wrong fine raises my suspicions further.

I'm thinking now that he could easily have cloned my card, he has all my details, including the security code on the back and my signature. Quite odd that conductors are allowed to do this, given all the publicity surrounding credit card fraud? I can't think of any other service where they're given so much unrestricted access to your card?

Anyway, guess I'll have to get the card cancelled to make sure.
 
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jon0844

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He cannot issue a fine, only a court can do that.

And what can he really do with the card? He has the card number and security number, but not the card holder address - or the security code that Visa and Mastercard will now ask if you buy something online. So not much use there.

He can clone the card and hope to use it somewhere that will swipe the magstrip, but he won't have the PIN for the chip - so not much use there either.

And if there was more than one card cloned that was authorised by the same person, then he will have many questions to answer.

Yes, there are other ways to defraud the card holder (and I won't go into detail here) but I think that's being rather paranoid. That said, you should have remembered that you are responsible for protecting the card and should have refused to let him walk off with it! You can't place all the blame on the conductor - you're the one liable at the end of the day. It's time to take some responsibility for your own actions!

I'm sure that if he tried to go into your pocket and steal your wallet, you'd have stopped him pretty sharpish.. so why let him take your card?
 

37401

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I do have a debit card, I would hate to have someone steal my details but if someone like a guard/TM took my card away I would trust they were doing nothing illegal with it.
 
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90019

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I said if your so paranoid about people using your card then dont use it, use cash, not everyone is a bloomin crook!

"I'm thinking now that he could easily have cloned my card" if he was the kind of person to do this he would not be a guard, simples, he cant take you in the cab so you can breath over his neck, its a sackable offence to let anyone in a cab without a valid pass and jobs like his aint easy to get hold of.

That has to be the most naïve statement I've heard for some time.

How do you know that kind of person isn't a guard? There are people commiting fraud all around you. You may even know someone who is. The problem is that it can be very difficult to spot.

You get criminals everywhere, doing all sorts of jobs, and you can't say that just because someone has a particular job they're not a crook. If you go through life thinking this, chances are, you're going to get a bit of a shock one day.


I do have a debit card, I would hate to have someone steal my details but if someone like a guard/TM took my card away I would trust they were doing nothing illegal with it.

Just because someone is in a position of authority doesn't mean that they're not a crook.

The reason the best criminals get away with what they do is that they're very good at lying and blending in. In some cases, they can do what they do simply because people, like you, trust them without actually knowing them, and let them do things like that without asking questions.

I think you'll change your tune pretty quickly if someone steals your details because you let them take your card away from you.
 

37401

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That has to be the most naïve statement I've heard for some time.

How do you know that kind of person isn't a guard? There are people commiting fraud all around you. You may even know someone who is. The problem is that it can be very difficult to spot.

You get criminals everywhere, doing all sorts of jobs, and you can't say that just because someone has a particular job they're not a crook. If you go through life thinking this, chances are, you're going to get a bit of a shock one day.

well dont TOC`s run background checks? yes looking back at my post it is a bit naïve but I trust people, not only that I always make sure I have my Railcard and ticket before I get on the train so Ill never need to hand the guard my card, but im not paranoid and not everyone is a crook that wants your money
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
I think you'll change your tune pretty quickly if someone steals your details because you let them take your card away from you.

I dont let people take my card as I always use chip and pin. if that fails and the person in the shop tells me they need to take it away ill simply say "whats wrong with scanning it", and ill never need to let a guard have my card becase (see my other post)

I am fully aware that people are commiting fraud everywhere and its not easy to spot but im not paranoid into thinking everone is out to get me.

I wont let someone take my card away but getting back to what i was on about (the OP standing over the guard) the guard cant let him in the cab, so in that case what can you do?
 
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Greenback

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1. I said if your so paranoid about people using your card then dont use it, use cash, not everyone is a bloomin crook!

2.You dont know for a fact he lied, could just be a human error or he could be new to the job and not know the full facts, hes only human we all make mistakes and get given wrong infomation

3."I'm thinking now that he could easily have cloned my card" if he was the kind of person to do this he would not be a guard, simples, he cant take you in the cab so you can breath over his neck, its a sackable offence to let anyone in a cab without a valid pass and jobs like his aint easy to get hold of.



I do have a debit card, I would hate to have someone steal my details but if someone like a guard/TM took my card away I would trust they were doing nothing illegal with it.

1. He's not being paranoid, he is now worried as a result of the false information he received. He did, rather naively in my opinion, let theconductor walk away with his card for an extended period of time, and is now concerned about the POSSIBILITY of having his details misused. I doubt he has been defrauded, but if he reported the occurence to his card issuer, I expect they would issue a new card 'just in case'.

2. Agreed, no one can tell if it was a deliberate lie. Howver we know that, for whatever reason, the conductor did not act corectly in either the fare he charged or the information given. If it is a mistke, due to poor training, then th cmpany need to be aware of it so that he can be informed of the correct actions and procedures.

3. I don't agree. There are numerous well documented cases where people have deliberately got a job that puts them in a position to cmmit fraud. For example, criminals have applied for and got jobs with Royal Mail in order to steal cards. Their intent was not to follow a career, but to obtain card details for the benefit of a gang. I do think it's unlikely that the conductor might be part of a criminal gang, but it cannot be ruled out completely. It is also simply not good practice to allow someone to walk of with your card, especially for 30+minutes.

Finally, please be more careful, one day your trust may be misplaced, as fraudsters rely on people not suspecting that they may be up to no good. Sometimes it's only the fact that they look smart andhave something that looks like a name badge that convinces peopl to part with their cards
 

37401

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It is also simply not good practice to allow someone to walk of with your card, especially for 30+minutes.

30+ mins is abit too long, didnt know that one but going back on what I said cancel it just to be on the safe side.

I (personally) dont trust anyone with my card but ive never put myself in a position for someone to take my card away.
 

Greenback

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Excellent, neither would I, probably because I watch too much TV! I hope the OP won't after this either!
 

ikorodu

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As I see it, the inspector either misled the OP about refunds on purpose (in which case he lied) or he gave what he thought was the right information (in which case he is badly trained and/or incompetent).

The fact the OP was also incorrectly charged lends weight to the idea that the inspector was badly trained and/or incompetent.

As for taking the card out of sight of the owner, this was done either because the inspector was badly trained and/or incompetent (as surely training for those who handle cards should include the need to keep the card in sight of the owner) or because the inspector intended to get the card details for fraud.

Given the above I'd suggest that the inspector was incompetent.

ikorodu
 

blacknight

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Having read through theposts on this issue why go on a witch hunt for the guard concerned by giving date & time of service, free free to cancel your card with the bank if you feel you must but first lets look at facts:
You forgot your YP railcard & guard excessed your ticket to the sum of 15 quid in doing this the guard did you a favour as as been said in earlier posts he could have charged you the full open single for the journey Birmingham to Cardiff. Which would have not only left you out of pocket for the weekend but assuming you couldnot get your railcard sent to you for your return journey you would then face the possibility of being charged another full open single fare for journey Cardiff to Birmingham as you would not have a valid ticket.
2x anytime single-refund of your saver minus any admin charge would leave you out of pocket so put this down to experience & repeat I must not forget my railcard.
For if this guard is disciplined for his actions he may not be so forgiving next time.
 

LondonLarry

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As I see it, the inspector either misled the OP about refunds on purpose (in which case he lied) or he gave what he thought was the right information (in which case he is badly trained and/or incompetent).

The fact the OP was also incorrectly charged lends weight to the idea that the inspector was badly trained and/or incompetent.

The guard may have done it because "that's what he's always done" and issuing an excess rather than charging the full single fare as "good customer service" has saved the OP £24. I wouldn't grumble about that aspect of the OP!
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
So you're saying I shouldn't use my card if I'm worried about people taking the details? That defeats the object of having a card in the first place.

Having a card is convenient for both customer and vendor. You don't have to worry about carrying large somes of cash from an ATM and they don't have to worry about storing and banking it.

Cards aren't completely safe. You can get chip and PIN terminals that will copy card details, and a conveniently placed CCTV camera can record you typing your PIN in.
 

ChrisMcFall

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7 Dec 2008
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Well, to authorise a credit/debit card, you don't actually need to read anything out at all. It's all doable by using the keypad on your mobile phone!!! Very odd!!!

It happened to me at work a few weeks ago, the first time i'd ever seen it.

I messed up the first attempt with the automated system, got put through to a real person, got asked "Customer present?", then had to read out all the detials etc, and was given a code to type into my side of the card terminal..
shouldnt take 30 minutes!
 
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