Thursday, April 19, 2012

Resolution of Lost/Stolen/Damaged Card Fee Issue

The process and fee for a card that has been lost/stolen and is not paid for within 24 hours of the time the report is made is now posted on the TSA TWIC FAQ website. This information was originally posted in February 2012 and has recently been bolded and underlined. (See below.) Some of us who are familiar with the TWIC program were fairly certain that we had not seen this information on the website. There are still several places in which it is stated that the fee for lost/stolen cards is $60.
The feel will be $60 unless a TWIC holder finds himself in the predicament in which he must make the report of the missing card and cannot at that time pay for the replacement card and won't be able to pay for the replacement card within 24 hours. An example of this would be if you are in a foreign country and your wallet is stolen. Off go all your cards: credit, driver's license, TWIC. You're on the other side of the world from an enrollment center. You can't walk into one within 24 hours with a money order for $60 to pay for a replacement card. If you are a conscientious individual and report the TWIC immediately and then pay for it a week later when you get back to the U. S., you will be charged the full $129.75 and undergo the full enrollment process. If you wait til you get home and you can visit the enrollment center with the money order, or wait til you get your replacement credit cards to make the report over the phone, credit card in hand to pay for the replacement card, the fee will be $60.
Remember, we are talking here about a person who has purchased their own TWIC, like an independent trucker. If I work for a company that bought my TWIC, I can get credit card info over the phone to use to pay for the replacement card. Basically this policy applies to someone who finds himself with a lost/stolen/damaged TWIC and either does not want or is unable to have access to a credit card or physical access to an enrollment center within 24 hours of making the report to TSA about the lost/stolen/damaged card. I'm not sure this is a large universe of people.
There are several issues that arose from my continued ranting about this lost/stolen/damaged fee. First of all, I want to report that I received excellent and prompt response from both TSA and the Coast Guard to my questions. Second, I think we all need to be concerned about accuracy of details on the TSA TWIC website. It would help if TSA dates all changes and notifies the community about updates to the website. It would also be helpful if TSA would maintain a best practice/lessons learned page. (I maintain a TWIC Best Practices Community on the restricted side of Homeport but it is underutilized, to put it kindly.)



Replacement Card Process
  • How can I request a replacement card?
    • We can process lost/stolen or damaged cards with a Visa® or Master Card® credit card over the phone via the TWIC Help Desk at 1-866-DHS-TWIC ( 1-866-347-8942 ). Lost/stolen/damaged replacement cards are $60.00. If you report your card lost/stolen or damaged to the Help Desk, they will initiate the replacement and email you a payment receipt with the payment confirmation number immediately upon confirmation. If you do not have access to email, it is recommended that you still go to your nearest enrollment center to report your card lost/stolen and purchase your replacement TWIC in order to secure your receipt. Whether you visit an enrollment center or contact the TWIC Help Desk, please ensure that you are given a receipt for payment (in person or via email) as well as a ticket number, which is a record of your transaction.
      Note: An individual requesting a replacement card must request the replacement during the initial call to report the card lost or stolen OR must request the replacement card in-person at any enrollment center the same day. An individual who requests a replacement card at any time after the initial report of a lost/stolen card must repeat the enrollment process and pay $129.75 for the new card.

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Major Change in Policy, Lost/Stolen/Damaged TWIC's

Yesterday I contacted the TSA TWIC HelpDesk and asked the responding person directly what the fee was if a person reported a lost/stolen/damaged TWIC. I was informed that the fee was $60 if the person reported within 24 hours, $129.75 if the person reported after 24 hours. I was further advised that TSA is in the process of upgrading its website to reflect this change.

Monday, April 2, 2012

Possible Major Change in Policy, Lost/Stolen/Inoperable TWIC's

We were advised by security personnel in the New Orleans area that persons who reported lost/ stolen/inoperable TWICs and who waited more than 24 hours to make the report were charged the full $129.75 enrollment fee, not the $60.00 as posted on the TSA TWIC website. This report was given to us by a very reputable source. We are attempting to get a written confirmation on this via the Helpdesk but as many readers will be able to confirm, the Helpdesk is largely inoperable itself as the new contract process gears up.