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Last week a story seemingly of the "friend of a friend" urban legend variety started circulating, and at the center of it was an out-of-town 20-year-old and her iPod. The woman claimed Port Authority officers forced her to give up her iPod when the cab's credit card machine malfunctioned and she was unable to pay with plastic. Now, the NY Post has picked up on the story, shedding some new light on the passenger's unfare experience...and guys, it was just a Nano!
Natalie Lenhart, of Sacramento, Calif., said the $140 music player, full of "oldies" by The Beatles and James Taylor, was valued at more than $90 more than the final cab fare, with tip, that she racked up last month. The driver, Mohammed Islam, said he still has the iPod and wants to give it back in the presence of a Taxi and Limousine Commission official. Islam said he called 911 after Lenhart swiped her credit card 20 times at Kennedy Airport, and Port Authority officers responded.Turns out the problem was with Lenhart's credit card, not the cab's machine, and the TLC says the driver is innocent as he was forced to take the "payment" by the Port Authority officers. Islam told the paper, "I want to give it back, and I would like my fare." Meanwhile, the Port Authority has issued a statement saying that "this is against our policy if it happened as reported, and we will investigate and take appropriate action if it's found that someone didn't follow proper procedures."
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If it's a 3G nano, it's not worth much.
Yeah, a shitty used ipod filled with girlie tunes or cold hard cash? I'd just send her back her ipod and chalk this one up to ripening, nubile, but shamelessly dizzy adolescence.
I always thought you should be able to key in your CC numbers in the event that the card somehow was demagnetized or the swipe reader was busted.
The CC companies charge a higher fee for a punched-in transactions. The theory is that punch-in sales are more vulnerable to fraud, as there is a verification code encrypted in the magnetic stripe (similar to the CVV2 that you have to enter for internet purchases).
Most cabs have RFID readers ("Paypass" or "Xpresspay") in addition to magnetic stripe readers, and many cabs have more than one magnetic stripe reader (many have a reader built into the monitor and then a second reader mounted on the driver/passenger partition).
I use credit cards in cabs multiple times a week and in the couple years since the card readers became common, I've never had one fail to read my card. The only times I've been unable to use a card have been two cases where the touchscreens were broken and one case where the communications system seemed to be knocked out (it would read my card, but timed out while trying to authorize it).
As the girl is in California it's rather unrealistic for the driver to want to make the exchange in the presence of a TLC official. They should be able to do it my mail.
According to the Post article, "Lenhart said she transferred money into her credit account hours before, but her bank didn't process the transaction immediately."
That contradicts the original story, based on the email from her mother. The claim then was that she called her bank and was told that there was enough money in the account and the payment should go through.
This is why I always make an effort to keep some cash on me...
I'd hit that.
Repeatedly, and with relish.
The best part of the Post article:
Says the cab driver:
"What am I going to do with the iPod? There's no ear phones!"
Reminds me of the time I had a remote control with no batteries and couldn't watch TV.
Douches all around.
Douches all around.
Douches all around.
Douches all around.
The Edge says: "Douches all around." Just in case you hadn't heard.
It was like Groundhog Day for me.
I don't know which to hate more -- the new MT or how Gothamist broke it.
I thought it was Douches, who are many and around.
He doesn't want the ipod with the infidel music on it...
Sometimes wrapping a plastic bag or a small piece of paper (receipt paper will often work) over the credit card strip will allow the card to be read.
That's why I always keep a plastic bag tucked behind my ear.