Xplore Dundee has scrapped direct debits for monthly tickets after some customers received nearly a year’s free bus travel.
Passengers were previously able to pay £52 a month for an unlimited travel card.
However, an issue with the company’s direct debits meant payments were not taken out of some customers’ bank accounts for nearly a year.
The firm has now moved to scrap the monthly direct debit option for tickets, with the closest option now a four-weekly ticket on the app or from the travel shop.
One customer, who did not wish to be named, said payments had not been taken from his bank account since last summer.
Xplore Dundee direct debit payments ‘weren’t taken for months’
He told The Courier: “Payments were coming off fine then I noticed that the direct debits hadn’t come out my account since around June last year.
“When I spoke to Xplore they said there was an issue with taking the payments after someone left the company and they were trying to sort it with their bank, but said we should keep using our cards as normal.
“Months went by without any updates and without any payments being taken until my card stopped working at the weekend.
“The only thing they put out was a Facebook post telling us our smart cards might stop working and to contact them if they did.
“When I spoke to them again, they said they were no longer doing direct debits and that we now had to buy tickets using the app or paper tickets from the shop.”
In response to the Facebook post, other customers reported that their cards had suddenly stopped working without warning, with some concerned about being able to get to and from work as a result.
As of Tuesday afternoon, Xplore Dundee was still advertising the monthly direct debit option on its website, saying it offered passengers “best value” – but the firm says this is due to be removed.
The customer added: “They haven’t kept us updated and now the only option is a more expensive ticket.
Xplore Dundee direct debits scrapped due to ‘issues with legacy system’
“It also means you might have to pay twice in one pay run, rather than every month after you’ve been paid.
“Obviously no one is going to complain about getting free bus travel for several months but they should really have been more upfront with customers.”
A spokesperson from Xplore Dundee said: “We informed our customers last Friday that, due to some issues with the legacy National Express smartcard system, some cards may become unusable.
“The very few customers who are affected have been asked to visit our team at the Xplore Dundee Shop on Commercial Street so a replacement can be arranged for them.
“We have a range of travel passes available in more convenient and easy-to-use formats on our mobile app – as well as paying on board using contactless and cash – that the vast majority of customers now use.
Meanwhile, Xplore Dundee has announced plans to introduce more frequent buses on the 1, 5, 5a and 22 routes from May 27.
Conversation