Ferry passengers charged wrong fare after system ‘glitch’

The problem affected the Bressay ferry service. Photo: SIC.

A glitch in the ticketing system has seen some inter-island ferry passengers charged the wrong rate.

The SIC’s ferries team has advised passengers to check their receipt to ensure they have been charged correctly.

Problems arose recently when the ticket machines experienced difficulty connecting to the wifi on the Bressay service, leading to multiple transactions being processed at the same time.

“Occasionally, and especially on such a busy route, the incorrect rate is charged, but if we’re contacted we do of course provide a refund,” the SIC added in a statement.

“Passengers should always check their receipt when travelling, as they would with any other transaction.”

Ferry staff recently discussed the issue with Bressay Community Council.

The community council said it had been notified of a number of instances when multiple transactions had been applied to passengers’ bank accounts at the same time and the wrong fare was charged on the ferry.

“Ferry management informed us there was a glitch with the download  system some time ago which caused this and has now been rectified,” it said.

“Mistakes can happen, especially with the number of passengers we have crossing, and their advice is always to get and check your receipt at the time of issue when it is simple to rectify.”

Changes were introduced to the ferry booking system last year, which brought an end to invoices being issued for accounts set up during the pandemic.

Passengers were advised to make payments on board using cash or contactless card machines.

Multi-journey tickets were also available to purchase online or from selected outlets.

The changes followed criticism from auditors who found serious deficiencies with the system, particularly the use of account cards, which they warned had led to a loss of income for the council.