Friendly Leap Card Agents (where to buy or top-up a leapcard)

robd · 13-12-2011 2:13pm #1

This is coming up a lot now so think we need a separate thread.
If people could post places where they successfully bought or topped up a leapcard. Not all agents are up to speed on the system yet so some just refuse to deal with sale.

Please don't debate the leapcard or post issues here. There's a separate thread for that.
A sticky would be nice.

http://forum.railusers.ie confirmed these as working last week

railusers.ie wrote:

Station House, Dundrum Luas Stop
Reynolds, Abbey St
Stanleys, Abbey St
Students Union Shop, Trinity College
Easons, Heuston Station

Centra, Ranelagh
Centra, Marine Rd Dun Laoghaire

Mace, South Circular Rd Rear of James Hospital

Londis, St Stephen's Green
Londis, 2-3 College Green
Londis, Westmoreland Street

Spar, Fairview. SilverLiningOK reported refusal.
Spar, Swords
Spar, Tallaght Cross

SilverLiningOK · 13-12-2011 2:27pm

Spar at Philipsburgh Avenue in Marino don't have them yet.

BenShermin · 13-12-2011 3:04pm

Londis on Ballyfermot Road have them for sale.

Centra on Ballyfermot Road successfully processed a top up for me this afternoon.

In both cases staff said I was the first customer.

holidaysong · 13-12-2011 3:50pm

Spar, Lower Grafton Street.

SilverLiningOK · 13-12-2011 4:01pm

Spar, Fairview from above list refused to sell me one, saying they didn't know how to top it up.

Got one from C & T Supermaket, Philipsburgh Ave, Marino - who were completely up to speed.

robd · 13-12-2011 4:09pm

SilverLiningOK wrote: »

Spar, Fairview from above list refused to sell me one, saying they didn't know how to top it up.

Cheers. Struck them out.

blubloblu · 13-12-2011 6:01pm

Maguires, bottom of Grafton Street.

littlejp · 13-12-2011 6:19pm

I got one in Fresh on Wexford/Camden St.
They weren't fully sure how it worked. Took a few minutes but they figured it out.

Moyet · 13-12-2011 9:43pm

I tried in Londis on New street yesterday and they couldn't figure out how to work it the machine so i left empty handed.

sgt.bilko · 13-12-2011 11:06pm

Saw someone getting one earlier today in Jeffs londis in Palmerstown.

Judging by earlier comments about agents unsure about procedure, the fella in this shop seemed to know what to do.

Flukey · 13-12-2011 11:28pm

I picked up my online top-up on Monday in Centra on Parnell Street, near the top of Moore Street.

blubloblu · 14-12-2011 12:07am

I'd say this list will also be dependent on who happens to be on the till when you go.

calex71 · 14-12-2011 9:54pm

Topped mine up successfully just there in Centra opposite Marlay Pk on Grange Road, no problems chap seemed to know what he was doing.

Victor · 16-12-2011 8:40am

This is an approximate list of locations, based on the Payzone website on Wednesday.

robd · 16-12-2011 9:59am

Victor wrote: »

This is an approximate list of locations, based on the Payzone website on Wednesday.

Unfortunately most of these agents aren't yet issuing Leap Cards for a variety of reasons. Machine not connected, LEAP cards locked away somewhere or not arrived and the main one, staff not trained how to do it.

I'm hoping to get a list of shops posted here, where people have been successful.

SilverLiningOK · 16-12-2011 10:53am

robd wrote: »

Unfortunately most of these agents aren't yet issuing Leap Cards for a variety of reasons. Machine not connected, LEAP cards locked away somewhere or not arrived and the main one, staff not trained how to do it.

I'm hoping to get a list of shops posted here, where people have been successful.

Agree. So far I can only trust one of my local shops, which doesn't open the extended hours of other "convenience" stores. The Leap is still a bit of a rarity in it's first week. The shops would want to get their act together before the bus fares go up, then there will be a rush on Leap. It's not the staff's fault from talking to some. The cards were just dropped off and no training on how to top up.

Even the Payzone list show that there areas of the city centre that have little coverage of top-up/purchase locations. For this to be a success, it has to easy available and buying credit needs to be straightforward.

We need feedback here on the successes with agents.

coylemj · 17-12-2011 12:12am

Clearly the 'training' that went on with Payzone agents was as comprehensive as it was with Dublin Bus drivers i.e. non-existent.

I was one of the 500 people who got Leap Cards in advance of it's general availability to the general public. The literature which came with my card said to check www.payzone.ie to see which Payzone agents could handle Leap Cards. I checked the website and it said that a local newsagent could do Leap topup so off I went and asked for a €10 topup.

Despite dealing with a very intelligent young lady, she was adamant that the shop was not yet doing Leap and she (politely) refused my request for a topup. When I e-mailed the folk at Leap for a comment, they then gave me a list of just nine merchants in the whole of Dublin county (Swords to Dundrum) who could do Leap topup. Clearly this was a complete contradiction of the information I was given when I got the card.

A few days after the Leap Card became generally available, I went into another local shop with a Payzone logo on the door. This time one of the more experienced shop assistants dealt with my request for a topup and when doing so she called over two of her colleagues to show them what she was doing. Obviously this was part of the 'extensive' training that we've come to expect from the €58,000,000 that's been spent on the project.

Victor · 17-12-2011 6:52pm

I used Spar Kenilworth today. Cashier didn't have a clue what I was ttalking about, but wanted to buy one himself.

While he was learning on the go, he was able to top it up.

ScouseMouse · 17-12-2011 8:15pm

Victor wrote: »

I used Spar Kenilworth today. Cashier didn't have a clue what I was ttalking about, but wanted to buy one himself.

While he was learning on the go, he was able to top it up.

MY TRAINING was me interogating the delivery man who arrived with the cards, added to what I read on boards. :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

Not very good !

BenShermin · 17-12-2011 11:21pm

No problem today topping up in Spar on Ballyfermot Road.

Ballyfermot seems like the centre of the Leap Card movement

Random · 18-12-2011 2:31am

i went into one of the tom stanleys in the blanchardstown shopping centre to topup. the lady knew exactly what i wanted. no issues.

Posy · 18-12-2011 9:40pm

I bought and topped up a Leap card on Dame Street in Londis this week and it was grand.

Better experience than when I tried to get one in Temple Bar Centra a few days ago!
Me: "Do you sell bus tickets?"
Cashier: "Yes we do."
Me (foolishly optimistic) "Grand. Do you have the Leap cards, those bus tickets you can top-up?"
Him (surly): "What? NO!" :mad:

GerardKeating · 18-12-2011 10:25pm

Victor wrote: »

This is an approximate list of locations, based on the Payzone website on Wednesday.

Why is the first one on the list in Kerry?

L1011 · 18-12-2011 10:28pm

GerardKeating wrote: »

Why is the first one on the list in Kerry?

Kerry x2 and Carbury in Kildare which don't have Leap services...

Victor · 18-12-2011 11:06pm

I have no idea why there are Kerry-based agents ahead of Dublin-based agents. They are first in that list as it is sorted alphabetically.

dublinman1990 · 19-12-2011 1:32am

Why don't payzone do not display places like Dundrum, Ballybrack, Clontarf or even Tallaght to buy a leapcard yet?

I am using Google Chrome now and they are still not there.

I think this payzone list is an absolute joke at the minute not showing every main location in Dublin.:mad:

Victor · 19-12-2011 1:36am

I think it may be down to making sure all the equipment is fitted, the software installed and the cards delivered.

Certainly the ~263 listed doesn't come near the 400+ claimed.

markpb · 19-12-2011 10:46am

dublinman1990 wrote: »

Why don't payzone do not display places like Dundrum, Ballybrack, Clontarf or even Tallaght to buy a leapcard yet?

Dundrum is listed under Dublin 14 for some reason. I presume that shops in the other areas will be added soon.

LXFlyer · 19-12-2011 11:02am

Perhaps because Dundrum is in Dublin 14?

markpb · 19-12-2011 11:10am

lxflyer wrote: »

Perhaps because Dundrum is in Dublin 14?

Someone should tell Dundrum Town Centre that they're using the wrong postcode then. An Post should also be notified because they deliver all my post to Dundrum, D16 without any of the Wrong Postcode warning labels that they're so fond of

LXFlyer · 19-12-2011 11:29am

Well Dundrum Village itself is in Dublin 14. That's where the shop is.

Like Rathfarnham, the greater Dundrum area has addresses in both Dublin 14 and Dublin 16.

markpb · 19-12-2011 11:42am

lxflyer wrote: »

Well Dundrum Village itself is in Dublin 14. That's where the shop is.

Ah, that makes sense, thanks.

coylemj · 19-12-2011 7:46pm

You shouldn't need to name the suburb in a mailing address, the street and postal district by themselves will get the letter to you and remove that type of confusion.

In certain parts of Dublin it's a snobbery thing, for example most people who live in Sandymount (D4) insist on including that as a line in their address for fear anyone might think that they live in Irishtown or Ringsend (also D4).

Getting back on topic, Pattersons on Foxrock Ave, D18 have topped me up and sold me a new Leap card with added credit, different shop assistant each time.

compsys · 21-12-2011 10:51pm

I may be missing something but I got my leap card in the post today. I ordered it online and paid for €20 credit and it arrived in the post 3 days letter. All pretty reasonable and efficient I though. But then I started reading up about topping up 'online'.

It seems that once you top up 'online' you have to then collect the top up somewhere? Does this not seem like the most ridiculous thing ever? Surely this defeats the purpose of topping up 'online' Please someone tell me I've read this completely wrong!?

Also, I think the €5 charge for the card is a joke. It should be free. They say the card is refundable but sure when are you gonna hand the card back in to get a refund!?

markpb · 21-12-2011 11:04pm

compsys wrote: »

It seems that once you top up 'online' you have to then collect the top up somewhere? Does this not seem like the most ridiculous thing ever? Surely this defeats the purpose of topping up 'online' Please someone tell me I've read this completely wrong!?

When you tag on, the system has approximately 350 milliseconds to check your card, check for a ticket, validate the ticket or deduct cash before opening a gate or beeping to let you know. That's not enough time for an online transaction so, like every other city that uses smartcards, the transaction is offline. There's no contact with the backoffice so the tickets and purse balance are only held on the card.

For this reason, there's no technical way to update your card without collecting the update somewhere. (TfL have a reverse auto-topup for PAYG on buses that gets around this problem, I assume it'll be introduced to Dublin sometime.)

I think the €5 charge for the card is a joke. It should be free. They say the card is refundable but sure when are you gonna hand the card back in to get a refund!?

The €5 is there because when you tag on on Dart or Luas, the maximum fare us deducted and then the difference refunded when you tag off. If you're making a €2 journey, have a €2 balance but the max fare is €5, you'll need €3 of that deposit to be able to tag on.

robd · 21-12-2011 11:08pm

compsys wrote: »

It seems that once you top up 'online' you have to then collect the top up somewhere? Does this not seem like the most ridiculous thing ever? Surely this defeats the purpose of topping up 'online' Please someone tell me I've read this completely wrong!?

The card stores the credit internally not online. That's what a smart card means. It has to work on buses with no online connection.

Thus to get the credit you have to use a Luas or Irish Rail turnstyle and credit is applied. Other way is to go to a Payzone Outlet.

I agree it sounds silly, but when you understand how a smart card works as I just explained it makes sense.

Also, I believe from a post a few pages back that online topup has actually been disabled for the moment due to problems with it.

compsys · 21-12-2011 11:17pm

Ah I see. Obviously I read it wrong/misunderstood. Cheers for the clarification!

Lapin · 28-12-2011 1:59am

Hi,
Anyone here know if I can buy a Leap Card at the airport ?

coylemj · 28-12-2011 2:05am

Lapin wrote: »

Hi,
Anyone here know if I can buy a Leap Card at the airport ?

From the www.leapcard.ie website...

Spar T1 Arrivals

Wrights Food Fayre in The Atrium Car Park

Voipjunkie · 29-12-2011 12:49am

I got a leapcard in Venda on upper Clanbrassil St. Topped up no problems very easy.

Victor · 01-01-2012 10:03am

About 325 sites now listed. As to whether they are active is another matter.

Mr Simpson · 01-01-2012 5:05pm

coylemj wrote: »

Spar T1 Arrivals

That should be T2 arrivals I think. Also the newsagents in Jervis SC beside the Luas stop topped up my card with no problems.

ethernet · 03-01-2012 4:02pm

No problem whatsoever topping up in the Spar in Phibsborough.

Mr Simpson · 05-01-2012 2:20pm

Just to add to my previous post, I hadn't realised there is also a Spar in T1 now, so you can top up in T1, T2 and the car park atrium in Dublin Airport

Bumblebee Man · 06-01-2012 6:14pm

Working in a shop myself and received no training on this. Knew we stocked them and new what the cards were about though. When first asked for one i just went to the payzone machine and "learned by doing". For the first couple of weeks I ended up showing my co-workers including one manager how to work it.:rolleyes:

Niles · 07-01-2012 9:35pm

Got mine today in the Gala (Think it's called Little Gem?) on Abbey St. Seemed quite straightforward.

supernoob · 09-01-2012 11:11pm

Just got one in the Centra in Rialto, the chap behind the counter said it was a fiver credit and a fiver deposit and I can get that back if I hand the card in.

So does this mean there's now an argument for putting those luas style top up machines at bus stops ?

bk · 10-01-2012 12:42am

supernoob wrote: »

So does this mean there's now an argument for putting those luas style top up machines at bus stops ?

Yes, at least at some key, busy locations like O'Connell St, Dublin Airport, etc.

jamiecake · 11-01-2012 11:32am

does anyone know if they are going to automate their online top up for bus users? i do not see the logic behind topping up online, waiting 24/48 hrs only then, having to go into a store to collect.. its not convenient having to go into a store all the time to top up.. its easier to just buy bus tickets or pay using coins as before... :mad:

wonders of this service in 2012 is beyond me.. do they not want to move forward?

bk · 11-01-2012 3:25pm

jamiecake wrote: »

does anyone know if they are going to automate their online top up for bus users?

They will eventually have an auot-topup service that should work on buses.

This is where you enter your bank details online, activate the card once at a shop luas or dart station and then every time you balance drops below x amount, it applies y credit to your card, deducting the money from your account automatically, even on the bus.

This is the facility most people are probably looking for.

n97 mini · 11-01-2012 3:34pm

bk wrote: »

They will eventually have an auot-topup service that should work on buses.

As it's a purse, and buses are off-line, is it ever going to be possible to do this?

I can understand it working at train/Luas/shop machines, as they're all on-line and connected to the grid, and can tell the card to up their balance by x when they see the balance go up at the back-end.

Friendly Leap Card Agents (where to buy or top-up a leapcard)

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