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[email protected] · October 11th 06, 04:39 PM posted to uk.transport.london

wrote:
wrote:
Sometimes that might be handy. But i'm online now, and I might receive
a reminder to top up my travelcard (4 days before it expires), so it's
more convenient to quickly log onto the Oyster site and transfer some
funds than it is to remember to queue up some time before I actually
need to. I'm going to check and see if these rumours of
"validators" are true and that I can simply swipe my card without
opening a gate - that would seem to be the best solution.

The validators you mention exist, they are remote and often placed by
manual gates (the big glass gates for luggage etc). They're usually
inside the gate, so you'd have to ask a member of staff to let you in
to touch on it.

It won't be a problem for you with a season ticket, but for people
using pre-pay on Oyster and no season ticket, they'd start a journey by
doing this, and end up paying at least a minimum fare, with an
incomplete journey to sort out at the ticket office (thus they might as
well have just queued up in the first place).

Its one of the restrictions of Oyster unfortunately.

I have just experienced this last problem myself!

I added on £10 credit to my pay-as-you go card earlier this week at
Fulham BRoadway (the station I had nominated) but made no journey from
that station - and have now discovered that £1 has bee deducted from
my card!

This is outrageous. I have now queued at another station to try and
sort this out, only to be told that my card is showing an "error" and
they can't refund the £1 even though they KNOW that I made no journey
to that value, but suggested I ring the helpline. I have done so, and
am awaiting a reply (at number 30 in the queue as I write this!) from
them.

When I asked how else I could have credited my card the station
assistant at Bow Road today said that I'd best queue at the station
ticket office when I want to credit pay as you go! Just the very thing
I am trying to avoid (as others have stated)!

What a bloody ridiculous system. Why, if the system shows that I have
not "touched out" at any station, does it not refund the £1 initially
debited automatically, say after 2 hours?

Marc.

I have now spoken to a most helpful assistant at the Oyster helpline,
who has agreed to make a £1 refund to my credit card.

For the future, he has suggested the only way around the problem is to
go for auto-top-up, which allows buses to top-up the card (which is the
only time I use Pay as you go anyway).

He also asked for the name of this discussion group, so T.f.L. may well
be watching us on this forum! Let's hope they sit up and take note of
the obvious improvements that could be made.

Marc.

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