Consumers proclaim the OV-chip card as the blunder of the year

In an election for the best and worst product of 2009, the OV chip card won the Flater Award. The election is an initiative of the Consumer Association and is held in the context of World Consumer Day.

The public transport chip card received 27 percent of the vote and was therefore awarded first place in the top ten worst products. ProRail came second with 20 percent of the vote. A total of 16,000 consumers cast their vote.

It is not surprising that consumers are dissatisfied with the new ticket; in recent months there have been many problems with the chip card. Students in particular had a hard time. Initially, they had to start traveling with the card from January 1, but massive disruptions in the activation forced the NS to postpone this until March 16. On behalf of Trans Link Systems, the company behind the public transport chip card, manager Inge Krämer was present to receive the award.

In addition to flats, there was also a vote for toppers. It was done by an overwhelming majority Do Not Call Registry voted best product of the year. The register was launched on October 1, 2009 and offers the possibility to put your telephone number on a list of people who do not want to be called by telemarketers. Call centers are required by law to comply with this. With 65 percent of the vote, the registry left the number two, Windows 7, far behind. Microsoft’s latest operating system received 9 percent of the vote.