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MONEY

Thousands of Stockholm commuters overcharged – how to know if you’re owed a refund

Stockholm commuters have been refunded almost one million kronor in the past few years, after discovering they were accidentally overcharged.

Published: 23 January 2024 11:58 CET
people walking through the turnstiles at T-centralen in Stockholm
Have you accidentally paid for your Stockholm metro journey twice? Photo: Veronica Johansson/SvD/TT

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.

Member comments

  1. 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.

  2. Phil: Ah, of course! We’ve changed to 42 kronor. My bad. Thank you for spotting!

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For members

ECONOMY

What Taylor Swift’s Stockholm gigs tell us about the Swedish economy

Taylor Swift's visit to Stockholm is expected to boost the capital's economy with international fans grabbing a 'bargain' thanks to the low Swedish krona, despite the fact that hotel rooms are almost 300 percent more expensive than normal.

Published: 17 May 2024 15:17 CEST
Updated: 18 May 2024 08:35 CEST
What Taylor Swift's Stockholm gigs tell us about the Swedish economy

The weak Swedish currency, the krona, means tickets for Swift’s three Stockholm dates are more affordable than elsewhere for many foreigners.

Fans around the world seem to have heeded Swift’s lyric “Grab your passport and my hand”, with “Swifties” from 130 countries flocking to Stockholm. Many queued through the night outside the Stockholm arena before the US star’s first concert on Friday.

“In total we will see approximately 150,000 people attending the concerts in Stockholm. Of them, 120,000 will be traveling to Stockholm,” Stockholm Chamber of Commerce chief economist Carl Bergkvist told AFP.

“They will be spending approximately half a billion Swedish kronor ($46 million) during their stay here in Stockholm,” he said.

That is money dished out on hotels, meals, shopping and transport, among other things, but not concert tickets or flights, Bergkvist said.

After opening her European tour in Paris last weekend, Swift’s Stockholm shows are her only dates in the Nordic region.

The Visit Stockholm tourism agency was also in on the hype, with its webpage on Friday proudly declaring “Welcome to Swiftholm”.

But last-minute tourists will struggle to find a hotel room in the city.

“We have approximately 40,000 rooms in Stockholm – 80,000 beds – and 120,000 people coming here. So we will be out of hotel rooms and we see a price spike of approximately 295 percent,” Bergkvist said.

“As soon as these three concerts were announced, there was immediately a surge in demand,” Åsa Lilja, commercial director at hotel chain Ligula Hospitality Group, told AFP.

“This also led to a rise in prices,” she said.

Swift-flation?

Sweden has only recently managed to bring down recent years’ stubbornly high inflation.

Economists have expressed fears that the Swift craze could send Swedish consumer prices rising again, as they did when pop diva Beyoncé opened her European tour in Stockholm last May.

“There’s a risk that prices will rise for hotel and restaurant visits, the concert tickets and everything that goes along with” the show, Danske Bank economist Michael Grahn wrote in a note.

However, “the price pressure would have to be even stronger than (the Beyoncé effect in May) last year to be reflected in the inflation figures”.

Swedish central bank governor Erik Thedeen even took the influx of foreign Swifties as a sign that the Swedish “krona was fundamentally undervalued”.

“It’s clearly a bargain to come to Stockholm,” he said.

Meanwhile, fans seemed ready to spend whatever it takes to see Swift perform.

“I spent around 7,500 kronor ($697) in total for three tickets. I think it’s worth it,” said Filippa, a 21-year-old Swedish fan queuing up early Friday for the evening’s concert.

 
 
 
 
 
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