My bank card has been hijacked and now only works on trains and buses – people think I’m crazy… I can’t buy milk or bread
An angry commuter says his bank card has been ‘hijacked’ and now only works on trains and buses.
David Pilditch’s map went haywire thanks to a weird technical glitch that he claims was caused by a device used by Transport for employees in London (TfL).
1
The Barclays It appears that the debit card has now been “reprogrammed” to only work on the city transport network.
TfL is confident its technology is not capable of restricting cards in such a way and has advised Mr Pilditch to speak to his bank.
The 59-year-old freelance journalist was told to present his card to staff at New Cross Gate station in south-east London when he returned home from work last Thursday.
He says a worker instructed him to hold the card against a portable machine, confirming he had paid his fare.
But keep going next one door to Sainsbury’she discovered that his card no longer worked when he tried to make a contactless payment, and then again when he inserted his card into the machine.
The father-of-two told the newspaper, Mr Pilditch MailOnline: “Every time I try to explain what happened, it sounds like I’ve abandoned my senses.
“The fact is that my bank card is useless and doesn’t work anywhere – except on TFL machines.
“I’m now in a situation where I could ride around London all day on tubes, trains and buses and they can take payments away from me, but I can’t buy a pint of milk or bread.
“I can’t pay for anything else or even access my bank account.”
Mr Pilditch has complained to the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan and TfL – but says he has not heard from either.
He returned to the station and attempted to explain the situation to the supervisor, but said he was “not the least bit interested in hearing my concerns.”
That evening he contacted his bank, which he said was “unable to provide an explanation”.
Mr Pilditch attempted to use the card to make a trip through London’s overground airport the next morning and said it was successful.
He claims he also made successful trips around the capital in the following days, although the card continues to be rejected everywhere else.
He even says he can’t access his online banking because the card no longer works on his Barclays PINsentry card reader.
A TfL spokesperson told the Sun: “We have no ability to block or restrict tickets outside of our pay as you go system and therefore the ticket owner should speak to their ticket provider about this matter.”