^

I've had to send a card back to them a few times, and have had my card eaten several times as well (so I wouldn't have the card #). Did the machine at least give you an error receipt when it happened with what you tried to do, the machine ID, etc?

While I never trust the timeline (20 days?), I've never had a problem getting back a replacement MetroCard. Never even bothered calling them.

I have to believe that the eaten MetroCards are probably stored for further investigation like the situation you ran into (except, maybe in the case of the machine taking the card when it asks you if you want to exchange it for a new one - when the old one is about to expire).

I assume they match up the report you mailed in with the cards the machine collected (or even a report from the machine) and look to see what happened.

Oh, and I think every single letter is signed by the Director of MetroCard Customer Claims.