It was supposed to be a celebration.
Marc Maleson’s granddaughter was turning 21, and there would be a big family gathering at a New York City restaurant on Nov. 29.
Maleson, 78, his wife Elizabeth, and three others would take NJ Transit from Princeton Junction for the festivities.
The Robbinsville man decided to buy the train tickets on Nov. 25.
“I downloaded and installed the NJ Transit app for the first time,” Maleson said. “After putting in all of the information along with credit card information, I noticed that a mistake was made and the departing station was listed as Bloomfield, not Princeton Junction.”
Bloomfield, which is about 50 miles away, wouldn’t do. He immediately called NJ Transit to ask it to cancel the order, which cost $70.70 for five tickets.
“They said they couldn’t do that, but there were two options for me,” the Robbinsville man said.
He could board the train at Princeton Junction and ask to pay the conductor the extra fare for the longer distance, or he could purchase new tickets and then use the NJ Transit app to request the refund.
“I asked the representative which option she thought was best, and she said the second one,” Maleson said.
So he purchased a new round of tickets — four adult round trips and one round trip for his youngest granddaughter, 12 — this time departing from Princeton Junction.
The cost was $169.
Then he used the app to request the first round of tickets be canceled and refunded.
The message he received was a disappointment.
“Unfortunately, one-way and round-trip tickets are not refundable and cannot be extended or exchanged,” the message said, and referred Maleson to its website.
Indeed, a big change to NJ Transit ticket policy — aimed at cutting costs for the cash-strapped agency — infuriated commuters last year.
As of July 1, 2024, most ticket types would expire after 30 days, when previously they never expired. Refunds would be available only for monthly bus passes, monthly or weekly rail passes and certain unused 10-trip ticket packages.
The change in ticket policy should have saved NJ Transit $25 million.
But there was a huge outcry among commuters who had unused paper tickets and digital tickets in the app. They said they’d never be able to use all their tickets within the new 30-day expiration timeframe, and they demanded a change.
Initially, NJ Transit said there would be no refunds. But it changed its mind after the uproar — costing it $23.3 million in refunds and credits.
So much for those big savings.
But under the policy, there would be no refund for Maleson’s tickets.
“Thinking this is just absurd, I called NJ Transit customer service again the next day. The representative basically told me I was SOL,” he said. “I asked to speak to a supervisor. The supervisor didn’t help either.
“It’s not just the $70.70. It’s the principle of the thing. This is a ridiculous policy.”
Maleson asked Bamboozled for help.
We asked NJ Transit to review his experience.
Certainly, we get it. A policy is a policy. Fine. But this wasn’t a rider who was trying to finagle money back because an expiration date was drawing near. It’s a guy who made an innocent error using the app for the first time.
Should there be room for a common sense refund?
The next day, Maleson received an email from NJ Transit.
“I have revisited the case and I have requested a refund for the tickets purchased in error in the amount of $70.70,” the representative said, adding it could take up to 10 days for the refund to show on his credit card.
The representative did not say why the change of heart.
We asked NJ Transit to explain.
“This never should have gotten to this point,” said Anthony Greco, senior vice president of communications and customer experience for NJ Transit.
He said while NJ Transit has a refund policy, “there are always circumstances where exceptions should be made.”
“It was clear Mr. Maleson made an error. The issue should have been resolved at the initial point of contact and a refund should not have been denied,” Greco said, adding that staff has been “reinstructed” about exceptions. “We don’t punish customers for making an error in their purchase.”
Maleson was happy with the outcome.
“NJ Transit is actually going to retrain their folks, and you got them to refund my money,” Maleson said. “I couldn’t have asked for anything better.”
Thank you to NJ Transit for making things right for this customer.
