Dublin bike scheme

billyhead

Does anyone use this scheme and if so can someone clarify what the 150 euro payment is for. Do you pay this when you sign up and once the subscription ends its refunded to you but you lose it if you don't return a bike. Or do you have to pay this anyway and then the extra charge beyond 30 mins of usage?

petethedrummer

http://www.dublinbikes.ie/How-does-it-work/Frequently-Asked-Questions

/Subscriptions

How will my account be debited?

Subscription for the 3 Day Ticket costs €2, which is debited from your account at the end of the subscription period. The Long Term Hire Card costs €10 and is taken from your credit card, or your bank account by direct debit. Please note that VISA Electron and Laser Maestro debit cards are not accepted.

On subscription, you also authorise the provider to request a €150 guarantee from your account. This amount will not be debited unless the bike is not returned after a period of 24 hours.

skyhighflyer

You only pay the €150 if you don't return the bike. I'm not sure when the charge kicks in, i.e. whether it's after 48 hours or whatever.

mporter488

hey im doing a report on the dublin bike scheme. im new to the boards.ie thing. can anyone tell me what they think of the expansion and if there are certain qualities that are inaccessable about the scheme or things you would like to change?

Joeyde

Few bikes on the north side of the city would be handy..

Plastik

If you sign up for a yearly subscription and every time you use the bike is less than 30mins, then the only cost to you is €10.

tomasrojo

When your credit card expires, they debit your new card one euro and put it on your dublinbike account (I guess it's a security procedure). You don't lose the euro, but if you never go over half an hour you won't get the benefit of the euro.

Obviously, this is trivial.

Doctor Bob

tomasrojo wrote: »

When your credit card expires, they debit your new card one euro and put it on your dublinbike account (I guess it's a security procedure). You don't lose the euro, but if you never go over half an hour you won't get the benefit of the euro.

Obviously, this is trivial.

Run that by me again? I'm not sure I understand 'lose the euro'/'benefit of the euro'.

My CC recently expired. The only place that charged me for changing my information was DBs- €1. Not even PayPal had any charge (that I'm aware of). The DB site said it was a bank charge. If so, why is nobody else charging it?

Net result: my account is blocked until I pay to enter the information. It's not a big deal, as I've never used a DB in the 10 months I've had a card, so I may just leave it.

'Trivial'? Probably. But I've taken to my high horse for less.:)

(I just wish I could shake the feeling that I'm playing into Decaux's hands by allowing my account to expire!)

tomasrojo

Doctor Bob wrote: »

Run that by me again? I'm not sure I understand 'lose the euro'/'benefit of the euro'.

I just meant that the euro they deduct from your credit card and put in your dublinbikes account will never be drawn down if you never exceed half an hour on a dublinbike. So you've sort of lost a euro. Or, rather, your euro is in limbo.

Doctor Bob wrote: »

My CC recently expired. The only place that charged me for changing my information was DBs- €1. Not even PayPal had any charge (that I'm aware of). The DB site said it was a bank charge. If so, why is nobody else charging it?

This is what they said to me when I asked them what was going on:

Thank you for your email.

When customers update their credit card details, we advise them their credit card account will be debited by €1 on our website. This is done by a third party, INGENICO, the market leader in credit card security. The reason being is that they need to check that the credit card being used account is valid for our own security against the bikes.

To mirror this transaction, we credit your dublinbikes account by €1 so in effect you are not charged for doing this.
If you wish to speak to a member of staff please contact the call centre.
We hope you find this satisfactory and continue using the dublinbikes service.

Doctor Bob

Thanks for the clarification. I didn't realise the euro was added to one's account- this was not at all clear from their automated e-mails to date. Seems like a perverse way to do business.

Given how unlikely it is that I'll ever undertake a DB journey that would incur a charge, it would effectively be a cost to me were I ever to update my details.

In my defence, it's maybe not surprising that I had difficulty understanding the process, in light of Decaux's grasp of English:

The reason being is that they need to check that the credit card being used account is valid for our own security against the bikes.

seamus

Afaik, when your next renewal comes up, you'll only be charged €9 instead of €10 to account for the €1 credit in your account.

Doctor Bob

seamus wrote: »

Afaik, when your next renewal comes up, you'll only be charged €9 instead of €10 to account for the €1 credit in your account.

Interesting. So it wouldn't be necessary to undertake a 30+ minute journey to recoup the charge?

It's a pity this couldn't have been stated quite simply in the correspondence from Decaux.

seamus

Doctor Bob wrote: »

Interesting. So it wouldn't be necessary to undertake a 30+ minute journey to recoup the charge?

Actually can't confirm that, though my account does show that I was charged for changing my credit card, but my account balance is now zero. I would have to check my card statements from last year to see if I was charged €9 or €10 as invoices or account statements aren't available on the website.

That part of the website is very poor overall.

Stark

My account recently showed €9 debited after previously having €1 debited when I needed to change credit card.

tomasrojo

Seems fair enough. I'm generally what George Orwell called "cheese-paring", but I'm so well-disposed, I didn't really care.