Complaint puts event card rival under scrutiny
Concertgoer Chris O’Loughlin felt so ripped off by the Wayver payment card he complained to the Commerce Commission.
O’Loughlin had to pay $3 to buy a Wayver card so he could get drinks at January’s Toto concert in Tauranga, but was astounded to find it was just the first of a number of charges.
Three top-ups later, he was also nearly $4 worse off thanks to credit card and eftpos top-up fees, as well as having to endure what he called ‘‘double queuing’’, both to top the card up and then again at the bar to buy drinks.
And then there was a fee to get a refund of his unspent money.
The single-use events payment cards, or wristbands with payment chips, made headlines when some people at Marlon Williams’ Auckland concert were angered at being forced to spend $3 to buy cards from Wayver rival Awop, rather than being able to use eftpos or cash.
Awop did change its terms and conditions this week, removing what appeared to be an unfair contract clause that purported to allow it to handle disputed transactions ‘‘as it sees fit’’.
The Awop and Wayver payment systems were developed to help event organisers by ending cash use (and therefore thefts of cash by itinerant staff), speeding up transactions, and letting event organisers track what subcontractors such as bar and stall operators, who pay commission on their sales, were turning over.
Both Wayver and Awop were working on systems upgrades to try to remove double-queuing, by allowing users to load their cards using their mobiles.
O’Loughlin said he saw no information about the cost of topups, or the $2 to $3 cost of applying online for a Wayver refund.
‘‘Consumers are being inconvenienced and ripped off,’’ O’Loughlin said.
Wayver chief executive Justin De Lille said queues would be longer without the payment systems, but said insufficient staffing could lead to long queues.
‘‘You can get ... a doubling-up of cost and time for consumers, which is obviously terrible.’’
Both Awop and Wayver were working on automating refunds.
De Lille hinted that Wayver could be planning on letting people with Wayver accounts transfer unspent money to subsequent events at which Wayver was used.