Ventra frustrations (Chicago: home, buy, salary)

[marothisu]

Have you guys checked your spam folders to see if the email may have gone there instead? I thought I didn't receive it either by the way, but in Gmail I looked for "Ventra" and discovered they sent it to me.

[pidgeon92]

I'd have completely forgotten about the original Ventra email I received a few months ago, but I did a search in my email and there it was. I'd have sworn I'd never received it.

This is not to say that it shouldn't be easy to get this info later; it absolutely should be. But it never hurts to search.

[chicagobear]

I found out that cards received by mail are already registered (why are they not more clear about this)? Do I have to do something to transfer my Chicago Card Plus balance over or do they do it automatically? I can't get over how confusing their website is.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by chicagobear

I found out that cards received by mail are already registered (why are they not more clear about this)? Do I have to do something to transfer my Chicago Card Plus balance over or do they do it automatically? I can't get over how confusing their website is.

If it was tied to your Chicago Card, then once you activate your ventra card, the balance should transfer over automatically. That's what mine did at least.

[thegrid]

not in spam folder, unfortunately. I'll be calling in when I have 30 mins to spare tomorrow.

good info here: Ventra Balance Transfer Events Exclude Chicago Card Plus | Streetsblog Chicago

[chicagobear]

Originally Posted by marothisu

If it was tied to your Chicago Card, then once you activate your ventra card, the balance should transfer over automatically. That's what mine did at least.

How long is it taking for balances to be transferred over? I saw something about 15 minutes but it has been about 20 hours so far and no transfer. I've called the customer service line but keep getting thrown off.

[Chi-town Native]

This is the blue ribbon winner in the Fail department to date:

CTA rider receives more than 100 Ventra cards - RedEye Chicago

[thegrid]

waited on hold for 40 mins and then it was disconnected. called back and followed the prompt to have them call me back. of course, no one ever called me back.

and yes, it's true. the phone number is 1.877.NOW.VENTRA. But that's too many numbers/letters. It's actually 1.877.NOW.VENT

LOL.

[Ace Rothstein]

Every time I log into Facebook now I see a new Ventra rant, it is quite entertaining.

[Freefall18]

Saw somebody post this on twitter; "Ventra works by sensing motion and capturing the card's image. Swoop, then "pose" your card. Once you do this, it works every time."