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How to cancel your Ventra card when you move

When Marc Sherman and his wife moved from Bucktown to Seattle in the spring, he contacted Ventra customer service representatives to cancel their accounts and get a refund for the combined $43 remaining on their Ventra cards.

Sherman was told to send a utility bill to prove he and his wife were living out of state. Sherman provided the paperwork in early June and waited. And waited some more. Finally, after four months, Sherman received a check for the leftover Ventra card funds.

“If [Ventra is] going to charge a fee to those who don’t go through their cancellation process, I would expect this cancellation process to be a relatively smooth and well-thought-through operation. But alas …” Sherman, 39, told RedEye.

Sherman and his wife Cindy took advantage of a little-known opportunity that allows Ventra users who move out of state to cancel their account and seek a refund if they provide documentation that they have moved.

If riders don’t use the funds on their card on buses or trains for 18 continuous months, $5 is deducted per month until there is no more money in the account. The Ventra dormancy fee has been controversial among CTA riders, who call it an unfair deduction.

CTA spokeswoman Catherine Hosinski said Sherman’s case is an uncommon one. Most riders are told to spend down the balance on their accounts before they move. Still, the option to seek a refund exists.

Riders who submit eligible requests with proper documentation should receive refunds within four to six weeks, Hosinski said.

E-mails between Sherman and Ventra that Sherman provided RedEye show delays in paperwork review by the CTA. A Ventra customer service agent told Sherman she didn’t know how long the refund process would take.

Refunds can be issued for either the money in the transit account, any unused unlimited rides passes or a combination of the two with a maximum value of $300.

Riders who want to seek a refund have to either call Ventra customer service at 1-877-669-8368 or stop by the Ventra customer service center, 165 N. Jefferson St.

Riders must provide documentation of the new address, which includes a utility bill, copy of a tenant lease, auto or home insurance card with the new address pre-printed, recent property tax bill or vehicle registration form.

To be eligible for a refund, the account must have a minimum balance of $10. Refunds cannot be issued on pre-tax benefits.

Before CTA transitioned to Ventra, the agency did not issue refunds on its disposable magnetic stripe cards, used by about 75 percent of its ridership.

Riders with Chicago Card Plus, which functioned like Ventra accounts, could seek refunds for money on their account if they moved out of state or proved that they could no longer use CTA services.

The dormancy fee is new with Ventra. The CTA said it notifies riders who have registered Ventra cards three months in advance of their accounts reaching dormancy at 18 months.

The CTA slowed its transition to Ventra a year ago so Ventra vendor Cubic Transportation Systems could fix glitches the CTA said have been fixed. The CTA fully transitioned to Ventra in July.

Riders were allowed to transfer their balances from some magnetic-stripe cards and Chicago Cards to their Ventra cards through early September. More than 6,000 cards were mailed in, totaling more than $45,000.

“I am not disgruntled, bitter, or looking for retribution,” Sherman told RedEye about the refund process. “I’m mostly just amused and annoyed because I’ve followed the Ventra saga over the past few years.”