Cheap Therapy

Today I took my SmartRider card in to be replaced because it was no longer letting me swipe onto/off the bus. So I headed into the CBD (conveniently all the InfoChoice booths where you can get your card replaced are in the city).
I handed over my card and was told that it was cracked down the middle, and it would be $10 to replace. I’d previously looked at the card and couldn’t see any crack, but that was what they claimed.
I suggested that as claimed on the Transperth website the $10 fee is only to replace cards that are (and I quote) “misused”. So I’m not sure how I misused it if I only used it to swipe on and off public transport. The woman behind the counter claimed that they didn’t absorb the cost of replacement cards. I pointed out that other access cards I’ve had for longer still seem to be working quite fine. She suggested that some people bend the card against the reader. I wish I’d said it’s probably because the readers are so crappy at recognising the card from any distance.
She also said I needed to ring up and transfer the autopay to the new card. When I rang up they said the autopay had already been transferred to the new card!
I suggested that as part of the control group mine is one of the older cards out there, I suspect that they’re going to be replacing quite a few of them in the not too distant future. But if they’re going to charge everyone $10 to replace the cards there’s probably not much incentive to get more robust cards, they could probably spin a profit.
So, if you’ve had your card replaced for free after it failed during normal use, please let me know in the comments. They may just be charging everyone $10 on the grounds they “misused” the card.