Are you a student? Do you use the OneCard? Are you a parent paying for your child’s education and meals? Well, if you apply to any of the above, then read on.
As a recent alumnus of Towson University, I wanted to warn all that use the OneCard: Take all your money out of your accounts before you graduate or transfer, especially your dining points.
Why? Because Towson will acquire those pennies and dollars once you’re gone.
Living more than 2,000 miles away, I obviously no longer attend Towson and cannot get a Chick-fil-A sandwich in the dining hall at my leisure. So I decided to look at my OneCard account on the Internet to see if there was any additional money buried in my account.
Needless to say, I was surprised when I discovered roughly $100 in my account.
I thought of the many ways I could use that money, but determined I’d do what any proud alumnus would do – buy apparel to represent my alma mater.
But there was a problem. Of my $100, about $20 was frozen in my dining points account. In case you didn’t know, that money is stuck there unless used on food. Sure, it states that in their “terms of use” form, yet, in a round about, unclear way.
So I contacted the auxiliary services kindly asking if they could transfer my dining points/money into my retail account, so that I could in turn represent the University proudly.
To my dismay, I was given blunt, short answers that all revolved around the key words: non-transferable and non-refundable.
I am glad I paid thousands of dollars for tuition to get my education.Not to mention, hundreds more on things like parking passes, books, apparel, and yes, food on-campus.
But to now have my $20 frozen in abyss is outrageous. I should be refunded my measly amount of money.
Maybe they failed to comprehend that my $20 was going to be dumped directly into the University’s savings account after I bought a hooded sweatshirt. Or maybe they don’t care because in time, somewhere in small print, that money will just become theirs anyways.
Who knows, but what I do know is that my $20 will most likely make them money as it sits collecting interest in their bank account.
With that, I did read an exception on their Web site. There is an omission for those who “officially withdraw” from the University for “medical/health reasons.”
Well, I’m “sick” of the University stealing my money. I’ve decided to withdraw my school spirit and not purchase any apparel or donate money to the school until I get my money back.
Beware of the dining hall money scam at Towson, students. Dine carefully and make sure to either blow all your dining funds before departing Towson or start buying dinner off-campus to avoid having your own money stolen from your pockets.
Keep your own money, avoid the OneCard
Published: Sunday, October 25, 2009
Updated: Sunday, October 25, 2009
2 comments
TU Student
It is a scam! Why does the school just get to have our money if we don't use it!!?
TU Alumni
Get real. It's not a "scam". Everyone knows if you do not use all you meal money, it's gone. Why do you think students flock to the den and the glen to stock up on stuff at the end of the week before they "lose" that money. Not to mention it is all very clearly explained when you sign up for meal and retail money. It's not a "scam", sounds like more of a life lesson to me, read the terms and conditions.
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