Hi guys. I’m a university student in Canada. Our local bus company issues small stickers which attack to the university student ID card and can be used as bus passes during the school year. So today I tried to use the pass only to be informed that it expired. Okay, fine, I can deal with that. However, then the bus driver confiscated the card and wouldn’t give it back. I screamed ‘property rights’ (not literaly) but she said the card was the property of the bus company since the sticker was on it. Now, this obviously can’t be the case, because the university would NEVER give up its property rights to student ID cards. They’re too important. They’re like the Social Insurance/Social Security cards of higher learning institutions. So she was obviously wrong on this point. But the real question is, even if the card wasn’t the companies property, do they have any right to confiscate it? What legal issues are involved? What common sense issues are involved? Any discussion on this question would be appreciated.
BTW, to top things off, when I called the bus companies customer service and told them what happened they so kindly informed me that i had comitted Transportation Fraud. Way to treat your customers like criminals. Have these people never heard of accidently using an expired coupon?
…although, she did trick me into handing it over to her. The bus driver never said she was going to confiscate the card. She asked ‘to see the card’, so I showed it to her behind the clear plastic sleeve in my wallet, then she told me to take it out and give it to her, at which point I did and she just stuck it in her pocket. Needless to say I was fuming. The cards cost $30.00 each and also acts as my pass to the school gym and library card.
My guess is that the driver took it thinking it was a bus company card (or just not thinking) and that you should be able to get it back if you claim it. I might have been a bit more insistent at the time and even threatened to call police.
Thanks for the response Sailor. I told her that the card was my property, and she said that with the sticker on it, it was theirs - she also got a good look at the card. So I’m pretty sure she knew what she was taking. I did think of making more of a fuss or calling the police, but I was technically also doing something wrong. Trying to board a bus with an expired pass. Now, I didn’t KNOW it was expired, but as I understand it, ignorance is no excuse. Right?
Did you get the bus driver’s name? Bus number? Time of day? Route? Any witnesses?
Nope, not the third degree but the more objective information you bring to your “case,” the greater the chance everything will resolve itself in due course.
OTOH, is it possible that “students” do this sort of thing on a regular basis and the bus [ company | driver ] is merely reacting to something that occurs quite frequently to them?
How old is the expiration? Last week? Last month? How often do you use the card? Everyone can make an honest mistake, but if the sticker expired last month and you’ve ridden the buss with other drivers since then, your “honest mistake” really is deception and the driver merely stopped further occurrences right then and there.
I wouldn’t worry at all. Just try to get it back by talking to a supervisor and, if that doesn’t work, then report it to the University and demand another one without having to pay for it.
Hey duckster
I got the bus number and time. I’ll present them with that information but I’m sure they’ll already know.
Students, probably do try and beat the system a lot. However, I have a hard time believing they would have confiscated the card of a little old lady. And that’s part of the problem.
The card expired April 30th. And yes, I’ve used the bus many times since then. However, I don’ tthink that makes it deception. I had NO IDEA the card expired. I’ve never lived in the city during the summer so I’ve never had to use the card during summer months before. I think I rightly assumed that the card would be valid as long as I was registered at the school. I keep the card behind plastic and i’ve memorized my student number, so it never comes out of my wallet. So although the expiration date is printed on the sticker, I’ve never read it. Now of course, ignorance is not an excuse. And you’re right, it was the bus drivers duty to prevent further occurences… but the appropriate course of action would have been for her to take the STICKER (which was the companies property) and not the CARD (which was not their property).
I’ll likely do just what you proscribed. If they do agree to give the card back, I’m also thinking of asking for a written letter of apology specifically for treating me like a criminal instead of a customer. What do you think?
If I were the bus company guy I’d agree to write you a letter of apology provided you wrote me a letter admitting you had been using the card after it was expired.
What are you going to do with the letter? Frame it?
Don’t push it (unless the guy is a prick and you wnt to make a point). Some battles are best not fought.
call an ambulance chaser lawyer…i think that you might get some bucks…
they took property which wasn’t theirs
secondly, they accused you of a felony
thirdly, they are patently showing bad faith while they still have someone else’s property…receiving stolen goods? conspiracy?
