Great Western Coffee Shop

So there I was purchasing a ^3.50 ticket yesterday. I inserted my cashcard into the machine and was asked to input my journey requirement and PIN number.

I was then asked to remove my card. Except the card never came out and the machine displayed out of service.

This happened yesterday on a Friday evening at 5:45 so assistance took some time.
As the ticket agent tried to release the card I missed approx 3 trains so my journey was extended by 40 minutes.

The card never came back out. Its probably still stuck in there. I had to cancel the card even though the bloke said the engineer would probably get it out today. The card could have just spluttered back out at anytime.

I was quite affable about the experience as s*** happens. the card was slightly bent but was accepted in cashpoints and at Chip n Pin facilities. 10 minutes previously.

I also had to come into work late this morning as I could only afford a bus as opposed to the train. Overtime as well. Ho hum

Fortunately my bank is open till 4:30pm on a Saturday (I finish work at 1:30) but if it wasn't I would be A VERY UNHAPPY BUNNY.

Why couldn't my card be released after the ticket machine ate my card up via human intervention?

As my cousin says, who works with smart cards. never trust electronics.

But you were lucky you were at manned station so could get someone to look at the machine.