MBTA: suffer a change error in teller's favor? report it.

[mattlistener.livejournal.com]

I just had a chat with a fellow in Davis Square who'd bought 4 tokens earlier today for $10, and gotten $4 in change ($1 short).

I wouldn't have thought anything of it, but he said he'd gotten the change in the form of two $1 bills and two $1 coins, which was sufficiently distracting that he didn't notice he'd been shorted until later.

It still could be an honest mistake, but the fact that the change was such an odd combination, which a) takes a bit of extra effort on the part of the teller to assemble, and b) made it harder to notice the error, makes me suspect a scam.

I encouraged him to report to the MBTA the time and place this occurred, and I encourage you to as well if it happens to you. If there is a trend to these reports the MBTA will catch the person.


For reference, below the cut are the "write to the top" contacts for each of the lines, where I hope such reports would aggregate.

Lisa Bono
MBTA Blue Line Chief
45 High Street, 10th Floor, Boston, MA 02110
By email: lbono@mbta.com
By phone: 617-222-5103

Maureen Shirkus
MBTA Red Line Chief
45 High Street, 10th Floor, Boston, MA 02110
By email: redline@mbta.com
By phone: 617-222-5704

Raymond Diggs
MBTA Orange Line Chief
45 High Street, 10th Floor, Boston, MA 02110
By email: rdiggs@mbta.com
By phone: 617-222-5844

Brian Dwyer
MBTA Green Line Chief
45 High Street, 10th Floor, Boston, MA 02110
By email: bdwyer@mbta.com
By phone: 617-222-5712

Comments

[animal-hat-gang.livejournal.com]

WILL YOUR FRIEND ALSO MENTION IN THE SCAM ALERT REPORT THAT HE DIDN'T BOTHER TO COUNT HIS CHANGE BEFORE HEADING OFF ON HIS MERRY WAY

AND WOULDN'T TWO BILLS AND TWO COINS BE PERCEIVED AS TWO-FIFTY ANYWAY AND THUS BE CAUSE FOR ALARM

[spatch]

Whoa now. I thought I revoked your license to use the word 'thus.'

[beowabbit]

Actually, the $2 in coins and $2 in bills might just be what the collector had in front of him/her, and the odd combination might have sufficiently distracted the collector to contribute to a mistake. But worth remembering in case it becomes a pattern, I suppose.

[four-thorns.livejournal.com]

agreed. i don't think it's that unusual to get odd combinations of change. the only time i felt like it was deliberately done was when i gave the old lady at davis $10, asked for 2 tokens, and got my change in the form of one $1 bill, several quarters, and A ROLL OF DIMES. and when i asked "a roll of dimes? really?" she screamed (and i do mean, screamed) "THAT'S ALL I HAVE!!!" when i could plainly see that it wasn't.

(i really wanted to go back the next day, ask for one token, and then crack open the roll of dimes in front of her and push them all into the change tray, but i restrained myself. instead i went back when a different person was working and explained what happened and asked if i could get bills in exchange for the roll of dimes, and the guy told me "we usually don't accept rolls of coins, but since it looks the same as ours, i guess i'll let you exchange it". yes, it looks the same as yours because IT IS one of yours, jackass.)