Commuters are advised to check the expiry date of their EZ-Link cards regularly to prevent losing the stored value in their cards.

A statement by EZ-Link stated that expired EZ-Link cards will lose S$1 monthly from the stored value of the cards two years after it has expired, according to The Straits Times.

This was in response to a Facebook post on Oct. 16 by former opposition politician Teo Soh Lung, who warned the public that expired EZ-Link cards would lose S$1 monthly, if users forget to transfer the outstanding value to a new card before expiry.

Teo claimed that Ez-Link was cheating commuters

Teo made the Facebook post on Oct. 16, where she cited her experience of losing S$16 of value in an EZ-Link card that expired two years ago.

She added that this was a case of EZ-Link cheating commuters, and that it was "easy money for them".

Teo questioned the need to deduct S$1 every month, and said that EZ-Link should "refund every single cent".

She then ended off her post by calling for a public transport boycott on Sunday, Oct. 20.

However, EZ-Link clarified that the deduction will not start immediately, but two years after the expiry of a card.

The travel card issuer added that "there is a cost to maintaining a card that has expired after two years in the system".

"We encourage cardholders to replace their expired cards within two years from the date of expiry," its spokesman said.

Public outraged at the deductions

Members of the public were generally not pleased with the deductions made for expired EZ-Link cards.

Some questioned the necessity for a maintenance cost, given that expired cards are not being used.

Others pointed out that commuters have to pay for the card in the first place, so punishing commuters for expired cards may be punitive.

There were also comments on the refund process, which is rather complicated compared to simply topping up the card.

To obtain a refund for expired cards, commuters have to submit a refund request form to a TransitLink ticket office.

Members of the public also called for a better way to inform commuters of the card's expiry date.

Currently, commuters can check their card's expiry at various locations, including ticketing machines in MRT stations, the EZ-Link mobile app and the EZ-Link website.

One particular commenter even questioned how much stored value has been lost since the EZ-Link system began, given how many people do not seem to be aware that their stored balance would dwindle two years after the card's expiry.

Top image from Teo Soh Lung's Facebook.