DC metro usage

[Anonymous]

Ok, so each year I give my new AP a smarttrip card, and I register it to my account. I load it with some fare to cover the first several trips.

I just logged on to my WMATA account because of a problem with my own account and decided to look at AP's card use (I've actually never looked before. . . ). It appears that the AP has some kind of system whereby he is not paying fare. The usage transaction is a series of entries that look like this: entry/exit inverted, cancelled transaction, forced entry, and the balance never changes. (Mine says entry and exit and deducts fare from the balance every time).

Is this a thing APs teach each other? Maybe a trick from his home country? What would you do about it?

[Anonymous]

How long has he been here? If he arrived recently, maybe he just didn't know how to use it? Otherwise, I've never heard of anyone doing this.

[Anonymous]

Since September

[Anonymous]

You could just tell him that this is illegal. Also, if he uses metro when he is on duty and to go to the classes, he needs to be reimbursed for those trips, but he has to actually use the card!

[Anonymous]

OP again. I guess nobody has heard of this happening. Maybe my AP is just a dishonest, fare evader and didn't pick up tips from other APs. I guess I hope that's true.

I did speak to Metro and Metro police who confirmed that it looks like what we thought it did: fraud. It actually makes no difference in how the situation plays out for us because we had already decided to rematch a few days ago before I saw these records, based on another serious dishonesty, preceded by a series of other problems, some serious and some minor. This news just confirmed my decision again, as previously I had agonized and kept trying to make it work and had given second chance after second chance.

I only looked at the account to see what the balance was in order to decide whether to ask for the card back on his exit and if we would owe him $ on the balance if we did. If I were looking at the use regularly, I would have seen this months ago because the fare evasion has been regularly occurring since October. Should I have looked sooner? Am I glad I didn't? I don't know. Dishonest au pairs take such a toll on a family. Ugh.

I guess I just offer this board a cautionary tale. . . or more probably just a vent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP again. I guess nobody has heard of this happening. Maybe my AP is just a dishonest, fare evader and didn't pick up tips from other APs. I guess I hope that's true.

I did speak to Metro and Metro police who confirmed that it looks like what we thought it did: fraud. It actually makes no difference in how the situation plays out for us because we had already decided to rematch a few days ago before I saw these records, based on another serious dishonesty, preceded by a series of other problems, some serious and some minor. This news just confirmed my decision again, as previously I had agonized and kept trying to make it work and had given second chance after second chance.

I only looked at the account to see what the balance was in order to decide whether to ask for the card back on his exit and if we would owe him $ on the balance if we did. If I were looking at the use regularly, I would have seen this months ago because the fare evasion has been regularly occurring since October. Should I have looked sooner? Am I glad I didn't? I don't know. Dishonest au pairs take such a toll on a family. Ugh.

I guess I just offer this board a cautionary tale. . . or more probably just a vent.

Sorry OP. That sucks.

Is he from an country where there isn't a metro or it's on the honor system (like Germany)?