If you don’t cancel your €49 NS unlimited summer train pass before it expires, brace yourself, because it’ll automatically renew at €127.95 a month.
According to Rover, the Dutch consumer organisation for public transport passengers, “subscriptions expiring after August 1 will be automatically renewed at more than double the rate”.
The organisation expects “a financial blow” for customers who haven’t read the deal’s fine print, and calls on the NS to provide travellers with more information.
Here’s what’s going on.
From €49 to €127.95 in a mere month
The Nederland Dal Vrij summer deal has been a genuine hit, with more than a quarter of a million people snapping up unlimited off-peak travel for €49 a month.
That bargain price was funded by a €118 million contribution from the government, meant to keep trains affordable while fuel prices soared.
However, there’s one glaring catch for customers: the deal officially runs until August 31, but any subscription that ends on or after August 1 quietly rolls over into a full-price NS Flex Dal Vrij subscription… at a whopping €127.95 a month.
Consumer rights organisations point out “double standards”
Needless to say, Rover director Daan Zieren isn’t impressed by how NS has handled the issue, and he’s called out a bit of a double standard.
“Existing customers who have been travelling faithfully during off-peak hours for years with a regular Dal Vrij subscription were not automatically switched by NS to the cheaper rate of €49,” he points out. “But conversely, NS will soon be able to automatically switch travellers to the more expensive variant. That is applying double standards.”
He’s also keen to stress this isn’t some commercial NS offer, but a government scheme with millions set aside to make train travel cheaper.
“It is a government initiative in which millions have been allocated to make train travel more affordable,” Zieren says. “It is ironic that travellers are now being exposed to the risk of unintended expenses.”
So, how can you avoid an unexpected full-price fare?
The good news is that you’re in control, as long as you act in time.
Check your renewal date and cancel or downgrade before it flips to full price. If you like hassle-free direct debits, you can switch your subscription to NS Flex Basis for €0 a month, or move to a different NS product.
NS does say on its own subscription page that it warns you before the switch, and that over-65s renew at a lower €59.95. Still, Rover wants NS to go all out with reminders, whether that’s personal emails, app notifications, or anything else that gets the message across.
Did you grab the €49 summer pass, and are you planning to switch to a different subscription? Share your experience in the comments below.
