I wonder if I could get the group's opinion on a rather unnerving Oyster
problem I had yesterday?

I was using Oyster PAYG and I'd made several other bus and tube journeys
during the day. I travelled on the Bakerloo from Piccadilly Circus to
Wembley Central, getting to Wembley at about 1650, and went to collect my
bag from a hotel near the stadium. I then needed to get back to central
London so I caught Chiltern to Marylebone, touching back in at Wembley
Stadium at about 1710.

While I was on Chiltern, I got ticket-checked by an RPI, who swiped my
Oyster with one of those hand-held readers, and the light went red. So he
started to charge me a £20 penalty fare. Luckily he was a reasonable chap
and he listened to my protestation that I'd definitely touched in at Wembley
Stadium, and checked his reader again, which apparently said I'd last
touched *out* at 1712 - which I think is the time I touched *in* at Wembley
Stadium.

At Marylebone he took me to the gateline and went to check 'the computer'
which apparently showed I'd made a journey from Piccadilly Circus to Wembley
Stadium. So he refunded my credit card for the PF, and all was well. He let
me out of the gateline at Marylebone using his staff pass, without me
touching out again, so I was worried that I'd have some weird unresolved
journey, but my card seemed to work OK to do Baker Street to KXSP.
Annoyingly I didn't have time to check a tube station ticket machine to see
what my journey history said for myself, and I can't get it on my Oyster
online account as I haven't activated auto top-up.

I have no complaints at all with the gripper - he was very polite
throughout, and I'm writing to Chiltern to compliment him. Whst does confuse
me is why his reader came up with a red light? I'm presuming the Oyster
thought I was doing an out-of-station interchange Wembley Central - Stadium,
but why didn't it think I'd be continuing my journey? I know Piccadilly
Circus - Marylebone via Wembley would be a silly journey, but surely going
the other way on Chiltern, something like Piccadilly Circus to one of the
Sudburys via Wembley would be sensible?

Anyone have any ideas?

I'm guessing this sort of problem is going to become all the more frequent
when PAYG is (eventually) rolled out across National Rail...

James