Ventra Customer Service Center

Not the best. My card was declared lost/​stolen on ⁶⁄₁ with a 30-​day pass on it. Didn’t get my replacement until ⁶⁄₁₃ (12 days not in use). I called, activated the new card, and asked about either extending the expiration date or adding a 7-​day pass to the card. They transferred me over to their «escalation team» or management and told me there’s not a single thing they can do. So if you lose your card either go straight to the office or expect shit service. Definitely not worth the 15 min I waited on the phone either. It’s too bad there isn’t another transit option in Chicago because this angry customer would switch in a heartbeat!

Ventra is the worst ever. They double charge your card and no cash refunds.

I can’t speak for the quality of service because the office closes at 4:30 in the afternoon, which I can only read as a brazen middle finger to any working person.
Furthermore, why on earth do these cards have expiration dates years in the future when they randomly stop working long before that time?

This is the worst possible payment system possible. They replaced a perfectly serviceable payment system for the CTA with one that is slower, more awkward, and less dependable. Nice work city policy makers!

Spoke with customer service regarding Ventra and they stated I would need to put money
on my card and that I would be able to us it on the Metra train or at the station. On a trip
to Chicago out of Libertyville the station stated they do no accept the Ventra card and
on the train they would not accept the card.
The people at Ventra said call RTA and they stated they could not help. All I asked
for is a refund to my credit card.
Just another way of screwing the public by Ventra.

There should be negative stars for this company. Absolutely horrific service and policies. After using my card this morning to get to work, I turned on my computer and started reading emails from over the weekend. I realize that I have one from Ventra saying that my autoload did not go through and that I need to change my payment source.
I call to see what the problem is, seeing that my credit card worked all weekend, I didn’t understand what the «source problem» was. They told me that sometimes there is a glitch in the system and asked if it was OK to try again — they did, and it worked! Thought I was in the clear until they let me know that I had a negative amount (-$ 2, so nothing huge in the scheme of things, but still a NEGATIVE balance) that I had to pay.
I asked that the charge be removed since I pay a hundred freaking bucks every single month for HOW many years, and the response that I get is that «email is available everywhere» and that I should have read my e-​mail before I got on the bus this morning. Are you KIDDING ME!!! Oh but the best part… I ask what the options are to pay it and she says that the charge is TOO LOW to be paid by credit card, so that I have to go to a train station and ADD MONEY TO MY CARD… THAT I PAY FOR EVERY MONTH…
I asked to speak with someone else who could help me and was put on hold for another 10 minutes waiting to hear back from them. Same person picks up the phone again to tell me that «it was actually because my card was declined»… so I ask to see an email with a screenshot of the card being declined since I’ve never had that card declined before and the expiration isn’t for another year and a half. She said that they were «not capable of that».
LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL.
So they want me to pay them… because their system screwed up… and pay for a ride on TOP of what I pay every month…
Absolutely the most fraudulent company and customer service I’ve ever had. Can’t believe the city allows for this type of treatment. There’s no other option either — total BS. Get rid of these money stealing jerks.

Found someone’s lost card on the street. Called the customer service number to report that it had been found. They gave me two options, mail back the card or destroy it (I destroyed it).
The operator would not take ANY information from the card to notify the card holder that it had been found. It’s not their policy. They rely on card holders to report missing cards. Had I lost my card, I would be relieved to be notified that it had been found and not used.
When asked if there was anything else, I mentioned that I intended to answer the post call survey. At that point she hung up on me.

Horrible, horrible, HORRIBLE «service». My card randomly stopped working like others stated have happened to them. I literally hopped off the bus to grab something to eat and then tried to get right back on and my card wouldn’t read or scan at all. This was within the span of just 30 minutes. I was livid because I had JUST put a 7 day pass on my card. So, I got kicked off of the bus and had to walk home.
When I got home, I called Ventra and told them what happened and I was told that I damaged my card. How? «I don’t know ma’am. Oh. I see you just used the card? Well that’s weird…» Yes, «weird». I asked if I could have a replacement card mailed to me and my pass transferred. They said they couldn’t do it and I would have to go to their main office. Where is that? «Downtown and between the hours of 8 — 4:30, Monday — Friday»…are you kidding me? How can anyone with a typical workday job come to an office that’s not even exactly downtown, take public transit WITH A PASS THAT DOESN’T WORK, stand in line for 1 838 482 729 hours and get back to work in a decent time? LOL…
Please.
This company is straight up trash. I feel bad for the rep I spoke with. She got annihilated and cussed out. I asked for the supervisor but their lame company doesn’t have any supervisory people during the weekend — another stupid thing. This is the third card I’ve had issues with! I refuse to buy passes now and just stick with small, monetary increments so I’m not out of $ 28 (+$ 5 for a new card) if it randomly «breaks» again. Mind you, I don’t place my Ventra card near credit or debit cards (my cards don’t have chips, either) or anything that can bend it and it still randomly broke.
I advise the people that work at the Ventra call center to find a new job, because I’m sure they get yelled at constantly for representing such a worthless company.

On Mar 1 2016 I called Ventra Customer Service and spoke to a rep giving the name «Jamila» and spelling it such.
I am shocked that this rep says the Suspension of my Ventra card (which Ventra Autoloaded on 2÷15÷2016 for 30 day use for $ 100) is because I double-​swiped on 2÷23÷2016. I told her I absolutely did not (as I know I did not ask to swipe in another person, as I traveled alone). She repeatedly insisted that I swiped in another person.
Besides being accused in strong terms of doing something I did not, I also find it disturbing that a customer whose bank account is regularly debited by Ventra Autoload every month, is suddenly accused on having $ 10.25 of unpaid balance on his account and suddenly cannot use his card.
This is bordering on fraud and needs to be corrected by Ventra.

METRA MOBILE VENTRA — you ruined my rainbow and sunshine!
I had to do hard reset on my phone over the weekend. (you will loose your ticket) sure it will show in your history that it was purchased. TRYING to call customer service all morning to get it to work because thats what it says!!! — 877 669 8368 — nobody is picking up– throwing me back to the main menu. logged in to my ventra online, they have some kind of option for device switch/​yada yada — dosnt work — :(so i printed my receipt, lets see if i can get monthly ticket back, somehow, I’m no way in hell spending another 187 dollars!!!
update: only way to fix it, if you did hard reset on your phone is to dial 1−877−669−8368
and hit the operator «0» — otherwise you end up nowhere
tell them «same phone» or new device and give them your old mobile device ID:
problem solved. changed to 3 stars. because you guys confused people.

I have had nothing but problems with Ventra.
First, the ongoing issue of the card being unreliable as hell. Expect to have to scan your card an average of 3 times if you’re getting on a bus. You might as well just use cash on the bus since it’d be faster.
Early after the system was implemented, I’m one of the many people who scanned their wallet that had a debit card with contactless payment in it. Instead of charging the fare to my unlimited Ventra pass, it was deducted from my bank account. Ventra was absolutely useless when I asked for help, and refused to refund the money.
Next, my passes never auto reload. The option is checked and I have a valid payment option in my account, but the pass expires and it proceeds to start deducting the money from my balance.
Lastly, and this has been happening only recently, but I have been unable to even purchase a pass! I go through the checkout process online and it charges my credit card (I can see the money deducted from my credit card’s online statement), but the pass is never added to my account. I’ve had to dispute the charge twice now because Ventra is simply stealing money from me.
I’m still not sure if most of these problems are due to greed or incompetence, but Ventra gives Comcast some competition when it comes to the worst company in America.

Tried to register new RTA senior pass with Ventra– can not do this online as RTA instructions indicate. Spent ½ hour puzzling through the ventra site which I had been on many times with my full fare account.
MUST CALL ventra to get the RTA senior passes properly registered. Got terrific agent (Felicia). Took about 20 minutes for her to encode accounts for my wife and I.
Wanted to transfer $$ from old full fare ventra accounts to the new senior accounts. Had been told by RTA clerk at City Hall we MUST go to the Ventra office in downtown Chicago to transfer money from existing full fare ventra card to the new senior passes– but this clerk was able to do that– Put me on hold for about 5 minutes and after a few false starts managed it.
(Clerks in city hall presumably give out the wrong info hundreds of times a day that you need to go in person to the ventra office in person to transfer funds)
TIME ELAPSED TO DO THE FOLLOWING:
Figuring out ventra web site could not register the senior cards properly and calling was necessary.
Working with (the very good) agent to get the whole thng set up and successfully transferring money from old full fare ventra account to senior passes
Once in my new account getting false starts doing autoload on the new card (ventra does not make it clear that you must FIRST have a credit card registered BEFORE you can autoload. The autoload functionality takes you through to the very end and instead of informing that you must go somewhere else on the web site BEFORE the autoload will be fully accessible– just stops working. After about 6 tries I started to look around for somewhere else on the web site to go first– just guessed!
Elapsed time for entire process: 1.5 hours!!! But now I have a senior pass which allows me to use the CTA for… a dollar. 1970 prices (less in real ‘inflation adjusted’ value)

«It feels like I am at the DMV.» These were the words circling my brain as I made my third visit to the Customer Service Center. Let me summarize it very simply. Expect LONG lines and wait times and if you don’t see anyone in line during the time you go, bless your lucky stars. :) Today I visited to get a replacement Ventra card and there were three tellers working with customers and three people ahead of me. Depending on what you’re trying to do, you could spend 10 – 15 minutes once you reach the window. I’ve been fortunate to have good Ventra tellers who know what they were doing and moved at a fast pace. A lot of times its the customers who don’t have their sh** together that drags the line. What does that mean? Trust me once you go during a busy hour and you don’t see movement in the line, you’ll IMMEDIATELY know who is at fault. Realistically there should be double the amount of tellers but its the CTA, it’s Chicago, our politicians are corrupt and no noting of efficiency when it comes to running public services.
Just calm down, expect to wait and know exactly what you need done. It’s just like the DMV.

My Ventra card amazingly stopped working this past weekend. This is the second ventra card I’ve had that has done this. After speaking with a customer service rep, they told me that my choices were to have a new one mailed to me for 5.00 which would take around seven days, or I could visit their downton customer service office and they could test the card. I mentioned that I had purchased a spare card and asked if I could use this card and just have my monthly pre-​loaded pass moved onto my other card. The rep told me they couldn’t do that anywhere but at the customer service office. So I trucked down to that office over my lunch break, waited for almost 20 mins to be told that since I registered my extra card (which they reccomend), they couldnt transfer my monthly pass to another card and that I would have to pay another 5.00 few for a new card.
Additionally when I questioned how/​why my card was damaged — the rep told me it was probably my credit cards. I replied, I dont keep it anywhere near my credit cards. She then said that I should keep it in a plastic sleeve for protection, I replied I did. She said, hmm– I’ve never had any problems… Well this is my 2^nd card that has mysteriously deactivated while following their reccomendations. Clearly this isn’t a user error.

A fine example of your government at work.
This is an «I just got screwed» run organization with deceptive business practices in terms of lack of transparency and proper function of their website.
The website will not allow you to turn auto-​load off. The website will not allow you to remove payment options. It’s as though you are stuck to auto-​fund these schmucks into oblivion.
Check your credit card statements and dispute with your bank to get your monies back.

I’ve had to call Ventra customer service twice in the past couple weeks.
The first time was to ask about the best way for me to get 7 day passes being a non resident and the second was to activate my 2 new Ventra cards.
My concern is that since the price has gone up for «fare tickets» out of O’Hare to 5 dollars I wasn’t sure that I’d be allowed to leave O’Hare with only purchasing a 7 day pass on a new card. The first time I called the CS rep said I could and suggested the best way to do just what I wanted to do.
Her suggestion was as follows:
–Use the Ventra vending machine for a NEW Ventra Card
–Start with adding VALUE (not a pass)
–insert payment of 28 dollars (a new Ventra card will cost 5 making the value 23 on the card)
–repeat this process for my second card (for my wife)
–call Ventra Customer service to activate both cards and gain 5 dollars back on each card bringing the value back to 28 dollars while they activate both cards with 7 day passes
The first time I called it was about a 15 minute wait to get the above information.
The second time I called is when I actually had my new Ventra cards in my hand and I was at the pay phone right by the CTA O’Hare Blue station. I had to wait about 15 minutes again to speak to an agent but she was able to help me right away after I gave her the numbers of both my new Ventra cards where she registered each into the system, refunded back 5 dollars on each card and then activated each card with a 7 day pass.
The entire process to call and get the cards activated the second time was about 20 minutes but that includes another 15 minute wait time.
The process is quick to perform over the phone but the wait time has been about 15 minutes each time I’ve called which isn’t that bad but isn’t great either.
Regardless the recommendation and the method to activate the passes is not bad. I won’t have to do this again since this was a first time registration and I’ll be able to transfer any balance in the future (if any) to a new card if necessary.
I didn’t have any problems using the Ventra cards during my entire visit to Chicago at any station or on any bus. The system seems to work well at the point of payments and is pretty efficient while ensuring full and proper payment by all riders.
The only way this customer service could improve from my standpoint is to shorten wait times on the phone if possible but besides that I had a very positive experience both times I contacted Ventra.

I had a very pleasant experience at this facility. I went on my lunch break (there hours of operation aren’t that great but meh) to get a new U-​Pass after I stupidly punching a hole in it so I could attach it with my work ID. The lady that helped me was very nice and was able to give me a 7 day pass plus a letter to bring to my school so I could get a new one. I was in and out within 10 minutes. I wish I got the name of the lady that helped me (Joanna?). She also let me know where I could get pouches for my U-​Pass so I don’t have to put holes in it and let me know not to carry it on the same holder as my work ID.
Seriously though Ventra; you should consider maybe making holes on top. It seemed like a very convenient idea.

I will add my voice to the chorus of woes.
The short, short version: Having moved out of Chicago in 2011, I let my Chicago Card linger in my wallet. I admittedly ignored all Ventra notices, since I no longer lived in Chicago and assumed I didn’t need to do anything, since I no longer used the account. When I received a Ventra card in the mail, I finally called customer service to ask, and was told that, since the balance on the card (a whopping $ 13.75) was over $ 10, I could apply for a refund. Great. I duly filled out the paperwork, supplied a copy of my old lease, proof of current address, etc.
That was December. I received my refund check in May. Yes, it took five months. For $ 13.75. From the time it was finally approved, it took 3 – 6 weeks (their oft-​cited figure) — or rather, exactly 6 weeks — for the check to be cut, and it was in my mailbox two days later. Why the holdup? I have no earthly idea. I was repeatedly stonewalled via email, and was only told about the approval after calling and waiting while the representative checked the activity on my account with a manager. This, because a Ventra representative in the first place suggested requesting a refund. If they wanted to keep my money, why didn’t they just say so?
So Ventra, you suck, and you’re just one of many reasons I’m not ever moving back to Chicago.

Why the *beep* do you have to charge me $ 5 to use the freaking Ventra card and then make me bendover backwards to get the money back?
I failed the «ID test» now I have to fax documents with proof of ID to you just to get my money back.
Customer service sucks!
Why because they don’t want to give you a refund.
Ventra is a Royal pain in the a$$$$$!

You want extra stress in your life?
Just get a ventra card…
Been trying to add money to my account for the past MONTH via the online portal and it keeps saying «we are sorry we are unable to process your transaction»
i’m sorry you suck ventra.
remind me why I don’t have a car again…