Stockholm public transport operator SL has paid back in total 978,146 kronor to commuters since it introduced its new payment system in 2021, reports Swedish daily Dagens Nyheter (DN).
The new system means that buying a paper ticket or having an SL travel card is no longer necessary. Instead, it is possible to buy a ticket by swiping your credit or debit card at the turnstiles before entering the metro platform or bus, the same way you would swipe a travel card.
But the problem is that a lot of passengers swipe their entire wallet, containing their SL travel card, without realising that the system then also registers their payment card in the same wallet – and as a result they end up paying for their journey twice.
More than 5,700 people have received money back from SL, according to DN, out of more than 8,700 who have lodged complaints.
Most people discover the extra withdrawals relatively quickly, and get only small sums of money back, or presumably don’t bother chasing the money up at all. The highest single refund went to a pensioner on Södermalm, who received 10,022 kronor, writes DN.
SL warns on its website that there’s a risk of getting charged twice if swiping a wallet that contains both an SL card and a payment card, and that you should always remove your SL card from your wallet to swipe it.
I think I’ve been charged twice – what should I do?
First, check your bank statement. Any payments you’ve made by swiping your payment card (Visa, Mastercard or American Express) should appear as payments to “SL”.
A single ticket costs 42 kronor, but all journeys you make in one day are bundled together and charged on the same day.
If you think you’ve been wrongly charged, you should contact SL’s customer service. If they agree you’ve been overcharged, you will get your money back.
If they don’t agree, it’s possible in theory to take the dispute to court. For small claims (worth less than 28,650 kronor in 2024 – known as förenklat tvistemål in Swedish), you have to pay a 900 kronor fee to the court which the opposing party has to cover if you win.
This may however not be worth your time and money, so it’s a good idea to try to first resolve it amicably with SL, by for example showing evidence such as your bank statements.
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Re Stockholm public transport fares : A normal single adult ticket costs 42 sek , not 26 sek as you have stated in your article on SL overcharges . A reduced fare for pensioners , full time students etc does cost 26 sek , but requires pre registration of your credit card or travel card to get that price .
You can also get a reduced price ticket if you buy it on the SL app.
Phil: Ah, of course! We’ve changed to 42 kronor. My bad. Thank you for spotting!