Hi All

I would be grateful if someone could advise me on the course of action I
should take; here's the situation:

I am a student doing a full-time course at a college and have been using the
Oystercard for the past 3 months, and during the time have always taken the
monthly travelcard as this works out cheaper than buying single journeys.
Anyways, today while swiping in at Aldgate station, I got an error message
and went to customer service, they said that my card was cancelled and
simply took it away. They said that I should prove that I am a student and
should apply all over again. I showed them my student ID card from the
college, the NUS card, my notes, books everything that I had at the time,
and they said they couldn't help me...

Why should I apply all over again? How can they cancel my card just like
that for no valid reason? I had over 3 weeks of travel also left in the
card... This is absolutely ridiculous!

Should I call the bank and ask them to reverse the 50 odd I paid for the
monthly travel card? Has something like this happened to anyone else?

I would be grateful if someone could advise me on the course of action I
should take; here's the situation:

I am a student doing a full-time course at a college and have been using
the Oystercard for the past 3 months, and during the time have always
taken the monthly travelcard as this works out cheaper than buying single
journeys. Anyways, today while swiping in at Aldgate station, I got an
error message and went to customer service, they said that my card was
cancelled and simply took it away. They said that I should prove that I
am a student and should apply all over again. I showed them my student
ID card from the college, the NUS card, my notes, books everything that I
had at the time, and they said they couldn't help me...

Why should I apply all over again? How can they cancel my card just like
that for no valid reason? I had over 3 weeks of travel also left in the
card... This is absolutely ridiculous!

Should I call the bank and ask them to reverse the 50 odd I paid for the
monthly travel card? Has something like this happened to anyone else?

There is no way you should have your card taken off you. The student scheme
is designed so that even if you cease to be eligible for the discount (for
example if you drop out of college) you will keep the card and it will
continue to function but will only allow you to buy full price tickets.
Even in this case any ticket you have purchased with the discount will
continue to be valid. The only valid reason for your card to be taken off
you is if it was reported lost or stolen.

You should call the student oyster line on 0870 443 1045 and ask for a
replacement card to be sent to you with your existing ticket on it. Keep
tickets or receipts for any travel you have to pay for in the meantime and
claim a refund for it once your Oyster card arrives (I think the refund
will have to come from the regular Oyster helpline not the student one).

Joseph wrote:

snipStory about student oyster card being cancelled/snip

There is an article on "Ask Oyster" (see below). Would have posted a
link but there doesn't seem to be a static link for it.

1. It's worying that lost/stolen cards are only stopped every 9(?)
months or so rather than when they are reported.

2. The application for a student oystercard makes a point about the
card being valid once you leave university. It said the student
discount would automatically be removed and you could continue using
it. This new answer says the opposite. I'd ask for the £5 processing
fee back as you haven't got what you paid for

3. Nice of them to remove the card from you, presumably you will have
to give the serial number when you claim the discount

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

"
Question
Why has my Student Oyster photocard stopped working?

Answer
The Student Discount concession on your Student Oyster photocard only
remains valid while you are enrolled at the university, college or
school which you notified us of at the time you applied for your
photocard. If you are no longer enrolled, then the Student Discount
concession ceases to be valid, even if you have switched to another
London university, college or school.

TfL and the universities, colleges and schools who participate in the
Student Discount Travel scheme have recently completed a joint exercise
to determine which students are no longer studying.

If we have received confirmation from your university, college or
school that you are no longer enrolled, your discounted travel
concession has been withdrawn. Your Student Oyster photocard has been
stopped and it will no longer work.

Any Student Oyster photocards that have previously been reported to us
as lost, stolen or not working, or where we have issued a replacement
photocard after receiving a further application from you, have also
been stopped so they no longer work and cannot be used by dishonest
finders.

If you have been using a lost/stolen card in error or have continued to
use your photocard after leaving your college and now need to claim a
refund for the unexpired portion of your season ticket or pay as you go
balance, write to Oyster Ticketing and Refunds Office, 55 Broadway,
London SW1H 0BD. Please enclose your photocard when you do so.

If your Student Oyster photocard has stopped working and neither of the
above apply, please call 0845 330 9876 and select option 2.
"