Now I can't top my Oyster card
 

Great. My husband and I each got Oyster cards last year and filled them
up on line. This year comes around and I want to fill up the cards (we
live in the US) and now a new bit of red tape in the system prevents me
from doing so, because my credit card doesn't come with a UK address. Of
course it doesn't. It didn't last year, either. I'm ****ed.

Now I have to get a visitor card.

Now I can't top my Oyster card
 

redcat wrote in news:T9mdnRvIK-
:

Great. My husband and I each got Oyster cards last year and filled them
up on line. This year comes around and I want to fill up the cards (we
live in the US) and now a new bit of red tape in the system prevents me
from doing so, because my credit card doesn't come with a UK address. Of
course it doesn't. It didn't last year, either. I'm ****ed.

Now I have to get a visitor card.

Or wait until you get to London and top up with cash?

Now I can't top my Oyster card
 

In article ,
(James Farrar) wrote:

redcat wrote in news:T9mdnRvIK-
:

Great. My husband and I each got Oyster cards last year and
filled them up on line. This year comes around and I want to fill
up the cards (we live in the US) and now a new bit of red tape in
the system prevents me from doing so, because my credit card
doesn't come with a UK address. Of course it doesn't. It didn't
last year, either. I'm ****ed.

Now I have to get a visitor card.

Or wait until you get to London and top up with cash?

Or with a credit card here, even?

--
Colin Rosenstiel

Now I can't top my Oyster card
 

On Apr 16, 8:20*am, wrote:

In article ,
(James Farrar) wrote:

redcat wrote:

Great. My husband and I each got Oyster cards last year and
filled them up on line. This year comes around and I want to fill
up the cards (we live in the US) and now a new bit of red tape in
the system prevents me from doing so, because my credit card
doesn't come with a UK address. Of course it doesn't. It didn't
last year, either. I'm ****ed.

Now I have to get a visitor card.

Or wait until you get to London and top up with cash?

Or with a credit card here, even?

Yes, that would work fine, and could be done at an Underground station
- either at the ticket office or one of the self-service ticket
machines.

Now I can't top my Oyster card
 

Mizter T wrote:
On Apr 16, 8:20 am, wrote:

In article ,
(James Farrar) wrote:

redcat wrote:
Great. My husband and I each got Oyster cards last year and
filled them up on line. This year comes around and I want to fill
up the cards (we live in the US) and now a new bit of red tape in
the system prevents me from doing so, because my credit card
doesn't come with a UK address. Of course it doesn't. It didn't
last year, either. I'm ****ed.
Now I have to get a visitor card.
Or wait until you get to London and top up with cash?
Or with a credit card here, even?

Yes, that would work fine, and could be done at an Underground station
- either at the ticket office or one of the self-service ticket
machines.


I can't top it with a cc here, because for some odd reason when I bought
it last year (here, as offered by LT/Visit Britain) it required a UK
postal code. So, I put one in and the top up worked fine.

Now they want the exact address my cc is associated with. OK. But I
cannot enter a US zip code into that field. It requires a UK one and
rejects anything else.

**Thanks for everyone's help. So, you say I can take my existing oyster
and put it into a machine at a station and add credit card or cash
payment to it? ** Is there a list of stations where this can be done, or
can it be done at any?

Thank again.

redcat

Now I can't top my Oyster card
 

redcat wrote in
:

I can't top it with a cc here, because for some odd reason when I
bought it last year (here, as offered by LT/Visit Britain) it required
a UK postal code. So, I put one in and the top up worked fine.

Now they want the exact address my cc is associated with. OK. But I
cannot enter a US zip code into that field. It requires a UK one and
rejects anything else.

Does it really check? I have solved the opposite problem, where in the
US some devices - especially gas/petrol stations - require a US zipcode.
I have found that entering 11111 works, even though my card is billed
to a UK address with a UK postcode (but they reject 00000).

So you might try entering any old UK address, eg 55 Broadway, London
SW1H 0BD or 4 Wentworth St, Portree, IV51 9EJ.

You can certainly top an Oyster up at most, maybe all, Underground
stations using a credit card, but I'm not certain that it will accept a
US card, which won't have an embedded chip like ours have. But the
machines were in use before we had chips and during the transitional
period when some had and some hadn't, so they may well still accept a
card with just a magstripe.

Peter

--
Peter Campbell Smith ~ London ~ pjcs00 (a) gmail.com

Now I can't top my Oyster card
 

On Apr 16, 2:01*am, redcat wrote:

Great. My husband and I each got Oyster cards last year and filled them
up on line. This year comes around and I want to fill up the cards (we
live in the US) and now a new bit of red tape in the system prevents me
from doing so, because my credit card doesn't come with a UK address. Of
course it doesn't. It didn't last year, either. I'm ****ed.

Try again when you are sober.

Now I can't top my Oyster card
 

Peter Campbell Smith wrote:
redcat wrote in
:

I can't top it with a cc here, because for some odd reason when I
bought it last year (here, as offered by LT/Visit Britain) it required
a UK postal code. So, I put one in and the top up worked fine.

Now they want the exact address my cc is associated with. OK. But I
cannot enter a US zip code into that field. It requires a UK one and
rejects anything else.

Does it really check? I have solved the opposite problem, where in the
US some devices - especially gas/petrol stations - require a US zipcode.
I have found that entering 11111 works, even though my card is billed
to a UK address with a UK postcode (but they reject 00000).

So you might try entering any old UK address, eg 55 Broadway, London
SW1H 0BD or 4 Wentworth St, Portree, IV51 9EJ.

You can certainly top an Oyster up at most, maybe all, Underground
stations using a credit card, but I'm not certain that it will accept a
US card, which won't have an embedded chip like ours have. But the
machines were in use before we had chips and during the transitional
period when some had and some hadn't, so they may well still accept a
card with just a magstripe.

Peter


Oh, those darn chips. I had trouble with my lack of one last year at
some small out-of-town places. Hmmm. Thanks for the info!

Oh, BTW, yes, the on-line systems checks for the address and zip
associated with the card. It uses credit card verification services
(Verified by Visa, Verisign, etc.).

Cat

Now I can't top my Oyster card
 

Offramp wrote:
On Apr 16, 2:01 am, redcat wrote:

Great. My husband and I each got Oyster cards last year and filled them
up on line. This year comes around and I want to fill up the cards (we
live in the US) and now a new bit of red tape in the system prevents me
from doing so, because my credit card doesn't come with a UK address. Of
course it doesn't. It didn't last year, either. I'm ****ed.

Try again when you are sober.

LOL!

Now I can't top my Oyster card
 

On 16 Apr, 13:05, redcat wrote:
Mizter T wrote:
On Apr 16, 8:20 am, wrote:

In article ,
(James Farrar) wrote:

redcat wrote:
Great. My husband and I each got Oyster cards last year and
filled them up on line. This year comes around and I want to fill
up the cards (we live in the US) and now a new bit of red tape in
the system prevents me from doing so, because my credit card
doesn't come with a UK address. Of course it doesn't. It didn't
last year, either. I'm ****ed.
Now I have to get a visitor card.
Or wait until you get to London and top up with cash?
Or with a credit card here, even?

Yes, that would work fine, and could be done at an Underground station
- either at the ticket office or one of the self-service ticket
machines.

I can't top it with a cc here, because for some odd reason when I bought
it last year (here, as offered by LT/Visit Britain) it required a UK
postal code. So, I put one in and the top up worked fine.

Now they want the exact address my cc is associated with. OK. But I
cannot enter a US zip code into that field. It requires a UK one and
rejects anything else.


I got an oyster 2 years ago when in London.
I registered it with my Italian address, putting the postcode of the
hotel I usually stay when in London. Everything is working fine since
then, even the auto top-up activated on an AMEX issued in Italy...

Now I can't top my Oyster card
 

Kadath Dragon wrote:
On 16 Apr, 13:05, redcat wrote:
Mizter T wrote:
On Apr 16, 8:20 am, wrote:
In article ,
(James Farrar) wrote:
redcat wrote:
Great. My husband and I each got Oyster cards last year and
filled them up on line. This year comes around and I want to fill
up the cards (we live in the US) and now a new bit of red tape in
the system prevents me from doing so, because my credit card
doesn't come with a UK address. Of course it doesn't. It didn't
last year, either. I'm ****ed.
Now I have to get a visitor card.
Or wait until you get to London and top up with cash?
Or with a credit card here, even?
Yes, that would work fine, and could be done at an Underground station
- either at the ticket office or one of the self-service ticket
machines.
I can't top it with a cc here, because for some odd reason when I bought
it last year (here, as offered by LT/Visit Britain) it required a UK
postal code. So, I put one in and the top up worked fine.

Now they want the exact address my cc is associated with. OK. But I
cannot enter a US zip code into that field. It requires a UK one and
rejects anything else.


I got an oyster 2 years ago when in London.
I registered it with my Italian address, putting the postcode of the
hotel I usually stay when in London. Everything is working fine since
then, even the auto top-up activated on an AMEX issued in Italy...

I tried a UK postal code, too. But it didn't take. I will try a
different one, since it seems to have worked with you and with another
poster in reverse.

cat

Now I can't top my Oyster card
 

Kadath Dragon wrote:


I got an oyster 2 years ago when in London.
I registered it with my Italian address, putting the postcode of the
hotel I usually stay when in London. Everything is working fine since
then, even the auto top-up activated on an AMEX issued in Italy...

OK, I tried this way and that and I keep getting:

Sorry, we are unable to process your payment at this time. This may be
because:

* Your payment address is incorrect
* Your telephone number is incorrect or has not been specified
* Your payment card will not authorise this transaction

Please ensure the details on your online account match those on your
payment card statement.

If you are unable to identify an error in the payment details you have
submitted, please contact your card issuer.

Now I can't top my Oyster card
 

redcat wrote:
Kadath Dragon wrote:


I got an oyster 2 years ago when in London.
I registered it with my Italian address, putting the postcode of the
hotel I usually stay when in London. Everything is working fine since
then, even the auto top-up activated on an AMEX issued in Italy...

OK, I tried this way and that and I keep getting:

Sorry, we are unable to process your payment at this time. This may be
because:

* Your payment address is incorrect
* Your telephone number is incorrect or has not been specified
* Your payment card will not authorise this transaction

Please ensure the details on your online account match those on your
payment card statement.

If you are unable to identify an error in the payment details you have
submitted, please contact your card issuer.


My "Final Answer":

I tried it every which way, using a London address, using an AmEx, and I
get the same message (as above).

The Oyster is tighter than Fort Knox :-)

Thanks for everyone's help!

cat

Now I can't top my Oyster card
 

On Apr 16, 12:36*pm, redcat wrote:
Peter Campbell Smith wrote:
You can certainly top an Oyster up at most, maybe all, Underground
stations using a credit card, but I'm not certain that it will accept a
US card, which won't have an embedded chip like ours have. *But the
machines were in use before we had chips and during the transitional
period when some had and some hadn't, so they may well still accept a
card with just a magstripe.

I don't think you should have a problem using any credit card at any
London Underground station - I'm not entirely sure about whether the
machines will accept chip-less cards, but the ticket office certainly
should. You can find ticket office opening times at
http://journeyplanner.tfl.gov.uk/im/SI-T.html and
http://tinyurl.com/tubeticket lists the cards accepted for ticket
purchases.


Oh, those darn chips. I had trouble with my lack of one last year at
some small out-of-town places. Hmmm. Thanks for the info!

While most UK-issued cards have a chip in them, merchants are still
allowed to accept cards with magnetic stripes only - as this page
explains: http://www.chipandpin.co.uk/business...ents/2005.html

Now I can't top my Oyster card
 

Martin Deutsch wrote:
On Apr 16, 12:36 pm, redcat wrote:
Peter Campbell Smith wrote:
You can certainly top an Oyster up at most, maybe all, Underground
stations using a credit card, but I'm not certain that it will accept a
US card, which won't have an embedded chip like ours have. But the
machines were in use before we had chips and during the transitional
period when some had and some hadn't, so they may well still accept a
card with just a magstripe.

I don't think you should have a problem using any credit card at any
London Underground station - I'm not entirely sure about whether the
machines will accept chip-less cards, but the ticket office certainly
should. You can find ticket office opening times at
http://journeyplanner.tfl.gov.uk/im/SI-T.html and
http://tinyurl.com/tubeticket lists the cards accepted for ticket
purchases.


Oh, those darn chips. I had trouble with my lack of one last year at
some small out-of-town places. Hmmm. Thanks for the info!

While most UK-issued cards have a chip in them, merchants are still
allowed to accept cards with magnetic stripes only - as this page
explains: http://www.chipandpin.co.uk/business...ents/2005.html

Thank you for those. The interactive map is very good. And I am somewhat
comforted by the chip information. But it says they've stopped upgrading
the page 3 years ago. Hopefully, it still holds that card machines
recognize the overseas magstrip/card and will allow me to sign.

I wish we could resort to thumb prints.

cat

Now I can't top my Oyster card
 

"redcat" wrote in message
m...
Martin Deutsch wrote:
On Apr 16, 12:36 pm, redcat wrote:
Peter Campbell Smith wrote:
You can certainly top an Oyster up at most, maybe all, Underground
stations using a credit card, but I'm not certain that it will accept a
US card, which won't have an embedded chip like ours have. But the
machines were in use before we had chips and during the transitional
period when some had and some hadn't, so they may well still accept a
card with just a magstripe.

I don't think you should have a problem using any credit card at any
London Underground station - I'm not entirely sure about whether the
machines will accept chip-less cards, but the ticket office certainly
should. You can find ticket office opening times at
http://journeyplanner.tfl.gov.uk/im/SI-T.html and
http://tinyurl.com/tubeticket lists the cards accepted for ticket
purchases.


Oh, those darn chips. I had trouble with my lack of one last year at
some small out-of-town places. Hmmm. Thanks for the info!

While most UK-issued cards have a chip in them, merchants are still
allowed to accept cards with magnetic stripes only - as this page
explains: http://www.chipandpin.co.uk/business...ents/2005.html

Thank you for those. The interactive map is very good. And I am somewhat
comforted by the chip information. But it says they've stopped upgrading
the page 3 years ago. Hopefully, it still holds that card machines
recognize the overseas magstrip/card and will allow me to sign.

I wish we could resort to thumb prints.

cat

When chip and pin was being introduced one of my local retailers said to me
here in the UK "I won't be able to accept anything except chip and pin from
14th February". "Really I said, what are you going to do if some comes in
with a chip and sign card" (they do exist for some disabled people). He
looked a little perplexed. "and", I continued "are you telling me that if
someone from outside the UK comes in with a chipless card tries to use it
you are going to refuse their business?". Next time I saw him he said that
he had phoned his acquirer and asked the questions I had posed and now had a
different view. Trouble is too many people are too parochial - he at least
was prepared to investigate and change his position.

I've just been in New Zealand where I got totally confused. I have a chip
and pin card. They would swipe it and the machine would usually say
something to the effect of "insert the chip". They did that and then
sometimes it would ask for my pin and others print something for me to sign.
On the odd occasion when it didn't tell them to insert the chip it would
usually print for me to sign but occasionally it would ask for my pin! The
local system seems to be no chip plus pin. On the one occasion when
someone couldn't grasp the chip and pin idea I asked them nicely to phone
their authorisation centre and after a bit of "don't know how to do that"
they did, got an explanation and accepted the card.

If there are any problems I always ask the retailer to call the acquirer to
ascertain the answer - works every time.

Now I can't top my Oyster card
 

I wish we could resort to thumb prints.


So muggers have an incentive to run off with my thumb as well as my
card? No thanks!



--
Robin

Now I can't top my Oyster card
 

On 16 Apr, 16:33, "Graham Harrison"
wrote:

I've just been in New Zealand where I got totally confused. * I have a chip
and pin card. * They would swipe it and the machine would usually say
something to the effect of "insert the chip". * They did that and then
sometimes it would ask for my pin and others print something for me to sign.
On the odd occasion when it didn't tell them to insert the chip it would
usually print for me to sign but occasionally it would ask for my pin! * The
local system seems to be no chip plus pin. * On the one occasion when
someone couldn't grasp the chip and pin idea I asked them nicely to phone
their authorisation centre and after a bit of "don't know how to do that"
they did, got an explanation and accepted the card.

If there are any problems I always ask the retailer to call the acquirer to
ascertain the answer - works every time.

I have some chip cards and some swipe cards, but in Italy the
transition to chip & pin has not even started. So when I come to the
UK and I give my chip card, most retailers give me automatically the
pinpad...but then the machine prints out the slip to be signed :-)

Now I can't top my Oyster card
 

Graham Harrison wrote:

"redcat" wrote in message
m...
Martin Deutsch wrote:
On Apr 16, 12:36 pm, redcat wrote:
Peter Campbell Smith wrote:
You can certainly top an Oyster up at most, maybe all, Underground
stations using a credit card, but I'm not certain that it will
accept a
US card, which won't have an embedded chip like ours have. But the
machines were in use before we had chips and during the transitional
period when some had and some hadn't, so they may well still accept a
card with just a magstripe.

I don't think you should have a problem using any credit card at any
London Underground station - I'm not entirely sure about whether the
machines will accept chip-less cards, but the ticket office certainly
should. You can find ticket office opening times at
http://journeyplanner.tfl.gov.uk/im/SI-T.html and
http://tinyurl.com/tubeticket lists the cards accepted for ticket
purchases.


Oh, those darn chips. I had trouble with my lack of one last year at
some small out-of-town places. Hmmm. Thanks for the info!

While most UK-issued cards have a chip in them, merchants are still
allowed to accept cards with magnetic stripes only - as this page
explains: http://www.chipandpin.co.uk/business...ents/2005.html

Thank you for those. The interactive map is very good. And I am
somewhat comforted by the chip information. But it says they've
stopped upgrading the page 3 years ago. Hopefully, it still holds that
card machines recognize the overseas magstrip/card and will allow me
to sign.

I wish we could resort to thumb prints.

cat

When chip and pin was being introduced one of my local retailers said to
me here in the UK "I won't be able to accept anything except chip and
pin from 14th February". "Really I said, what are you going to do if
some comes in with a chip and sign card" (they do exist for some
disabled people). He looked a little perplexed. "and", I continued
"are you telling me that if someone from outside the UK comes in with a
chipless card tries to use it you are going to refuse their
business?". Next time I saw him he said that he had phoned his
acquirer and asked the questions I had posed and now had a different
view. Trouble is too many people are too parochial - he at least was
prepared to investigate and change his position.

I've just been in New Zealand where I got totally confused. I have a
chip and pin card. They would swipe it and the machine would usually
say something to the effect of "insert the chip". They did that and
then sometimes it would ask for my pin and others print something for me
to sign. On the odd occasion when it didn't tell them to insert the chip
it would usually print for me to sign but occasionally it would ask for
my pin! The local system seems to be no chip plus pin. On the one
occasion when someone couldn't grasp the chip and pin idea I asked them
nicely to phone their authorisation centre and after a bit of "don't
know how to do that" they did, got an explanation and accepted the card.

If there are any problems I always ask the retailer to call the acquirer
to ascertain the answer - works every time.

You're absolutely right about the provincial part. It was in N. Wales
where the merchant refused my card. So, they were left with no sale. I
guess what it is was that we were dealing with clerks who were worried
about the boss's wrath if they made an executive decision on their own.

I have no chip; and I have no pin. Over here pins are only used for
debit cards, not credit cards.

Credit cards are such a boon to visitors who otherwise would need to
carry wads of cash. It's silly that places don't know how to deal with
foreign, chipless cards. I imagine when I'm back in those same places
this year, those shops will no longer be there. Just a feeling.

cat

Now I can't top my Oyster card
 

neverwas wrote:
I wish we could resort to thumb prints.


So muggers have an incentive to run off with my thumb as well as my
card? No thanks!



So, anyone carry ice could be perceived to be a mugger!

Now I can't top my Oyster card
 

Kadath Dragon wrote:
On 16 Apr, 16:33, "Graham Harrison"
wrote:

I've just been in New Zealand where I got totally confused. I have a chip
and pin card. They would swipe it and the machine would usually say
something to the effect of "insert the chip". They did that and then
sometimes it would ask for my pin and others print something for me to sign.
On the odd occasion when it didn't tell them to insert the chip it would
usually print for me to sign but occasionally it would ask for my pin! The
local system seems to be no chip plus pin. On the one occasion when
someone couldn't grasp the chip and pin idea I asked them nicely to phone
their authorisation centre and after a bit of "don't know how to do that"
they did, got an explanation and accepted the card.

If there are any problems I always ask the retailer to call the acquirer to
ascertain the answer - works every time.

I have some chip cards and some swipe cards, but in Italy the
transition to chip & pin has not even started. So when I come to the
UK and I give my chip card, most retailers give me automatically the
pinpad...but then the machine prints out the slip to be signed :-)

ha-ha!

Now I can't top my Oyster card
 

On Apr 16, 2:16*pm, redcat wrote:
Martin Deutsch wrote:

Oh, those darn chips. I had trouble with my lack of one last year at
some small out-of-town places. Hmmm. Thanks for the info!

While most UK-issued cards have a chip in them, merchants are still
allowed to accept cards with magnetic stripes only - as this page
explains:http://www.chipandpin.co.uk/business...ents/2005.html

Thank you for those. The interactive map is very good. And I am somewhat
comforted by the chip information. But it says they've stopped upgrading
the page 3 years ago. Hopefully, it still holds that card machines
recognize the overseas magstrip/card and will allow me to sign.

This (current) page on the Visa site has tips on what to do if you
have problems:
http://usa.visa.com/personal/using_v...avel_tips.html

Now I can't top my Oyster card
 

On Apr 16, 2:16*pm, redcat wrote:
Martin Deutsch wrote:

Oh, those darn chips. I had trouble with my lack of one last year at
some small out-of-town places. Hmmm. Thanks for the info!

While most UK-issued cards have a chip in them, merchants are still
allowed to accept cards with magnetic stripes only - as this page
explains:http://www.chipandpin.co.uk/business...ents/2005.html

Thank you for those. The interactive map is very good. And I am somewhat
comforted by the chip information. But it says they've stopped upgrading
the page 3 years ago. Hopefully, it still holds that card machines
recognize the overseas magstrip/card and will allow me to sign.

This (current) page on the Visa site has tips on what to do if you
have problems:
http://usa.visa.com/personal/using_v...avel_tips.html

Now I can't top my Oyster card
 

Martin Deutsch wrote:
recognize the overseas magstrip/card and will allow me to sign.

This (current) page on the Visa site has tips on what to do if you
have problems:
http://usa.visa.com/personal/using_v...avel_tips.html

Oh, thanks so much! I'm going to print out some appropriate passages to
carry.

Maybe this time next year LT/Oyster Card will have figured out how to
take my money on-line ;-)

Cat

Now I can't top my Oyster card
 

"Graham Harrison" wrote in message
...

"redcat" wrote in message
m...
Martin Deutsch wrote:
On Apr 16, 12:36 pm, redcat wrote:
Peter Campbell Smith wrote:
You can certainly top an Oyster up at most, maybe all, Underground
stations using a credit card, but I'm not certain that it will accept
a
US card, which won't have an embedded chip like ours have. But the
machines were in use before we had chips and during the transitional
period when some had and some hadn't, so they may well still accept a
card with just a magstripe.

I don't think you should have a problem using any credit card at any
London Underground station - I'm not entirely sure about whether the
machines will accept chip-less cards, but the ticket office certainly
should. You can find ticket office opening times at
http://journeyplanner.tfl.gov.uk/im/SI-T.html and
http://tinyurl.com/tubeticket lists the cards accepted for ticket
purchases.


Oh, those darn chips. I had trouble with my lack of one last year at
some small out-of-town places. Hmmm. Thanks for the info!

While most UK-issued cards have a chip in them, merchants are still
allowed to accept cards with magnetic stripes only - as this page
explains: http://www.chipandpin.co.uk/business...ents/2005.html

Thank you for those. The interactive map is very good. And I am somewhat
comforted by the chip information. But it says they've stopped upgrading
the page 3 years ago. Hopefully, it still holds that card machines
recognize the overseas magstrip/card and will allow me to sign.

I wish we could resort to thumb prints.

cat

When chip and pin was being introduced one of my local retailers said to
me here in the UK "I won't be able to accept anything except chip and pin
from 14th February". "Really I said, what are you going to do if some
comes in with a chip and sign card" (they do exist for some disabled
people). He looked a little perplexed. "and", I continued "are you
telling me that if someone from outside the UK comes in with a chipless
card tries to use it you are going to refuse their business?". Next time
I saw him he said that he had phoned his acquirer and asked the questions
I had posed and now had a different view. Trouble is too many people are
too parochial - he at least was prepared to investigate and change his
position.

I've just been in New Zealand where I got totally confused. I have a
chip and pin card. They would swipe it and the machine would usually say
something to the effect of "insert the chip". They did that and then
sometimes it would ask for my pin and others print something for me to
sign.


I've just come back from SA and about 6 times out of 10 was asked to enter
my pin in the machine. But the assistant still printed off the copy receipt
and asked me to sign as well - every time!

tim

Now I can't top my Oyster card
 

On Apr 16, 12:05*pm, redcat wrote:

Mizter T wrote:

On Apr 16, 8:20 am, wrote:

In article ,
(James Farrar) wrote:

[snip]

Or wait until you get to London and top up with cash?

Or with a credit card here, even?

Yes, that would work fine, and could be done at an Underground station
- either at the ticket office or one of the self-service ticket
machines.

I can't top it with a cc here, because for some odd reason when I bought
it last year (here, as offered by LT/Visit Britain) it required a UK
postal code. So, I put one in and the top up worked fine.

I'm curious at to specifically who you bought it from and how?
VisitBritainDirect only sell "Visitor Oyster cards" (that obviously
branded as such on the card) which are all unregistered, so it doesn't
sound as though it was them. TfL meanwhile only send Oyster cards
purchased from their online shop to UK addresses. Did you buy it from
an Underground station's ticket office, from a TfL Information Centre
or from a newsagents at all then?


Now they want the exact address my cc is associated with. OK. But I
cannot enter a US zip code into that field. It requires a UK one and
rejects anything else.

Unfortunately this is a fairly standard anti-fraud measure. Merchants
can easily run a check on UK-issued credit/debit cards using address
verification systems - it would seem that hooking up to similar
overseas systems is a somewhat harder task.

The Oyster PAYG system is an obvious potential target for fraud so TfL
have evidently decided to take the cautious path here.


**Thanks for everyone's help. So, you say I can take my existing oyster
and put it into a machine at a station and add credit card or cash
payment to it? ** Is there a list of stations where this can be done, or
can it be done at any?

As others have said, it's possible that the ticket machines won't like
credit/debit cards that don't have a chip (i.e. are magnetic stripe
only), but I don't know for certain what the situation is here.
However you'll definitely be able to use a magstripe-only credit card
at an Underground station ticket office to top up your Oyster PAYG
balance, i.e. over the counter.

Incidentally, there are ticket machines at all Underground stations
which are capable of topping up Oyster cards (indeed there are few if
any 'non-Oyster' ticket machines still around) - the 'big' ticket
machines take notes and coins (and give change) as well as taking
cards, whilst the smaller ones either take credit/debit cards only or
take cards and coins but don't give any change. There is at least one
'big' ticket machine at each station I think (definitely anywhere that
you'll conceivably end up going to).

Note that if you're arriving at Heathrow terminals 1, 2 or 3 I'd
recommend that you go to the TfL Travel Information Centre which is
directly opposite the entrance to the Underground station instead of
going to the station's own ticket office which can be pretty busy -
the Information Centre can sell you Oyster PAYG top-ups (and you can
pay however you'd like to) as well as provide you with other travel
information.

Now I can't top my Oyster card
 

redcat wrote:
My "Final Answer":

I tried it every which way, using a London address, using an AmEx, and I
get the same message (as above).

"For next time", the address verification only checks the postcode and house
number (if any). So there may be something you can put in that will cause
your card issuer's system to say Yes! to the merchant's system. Might be
worth asking them, if they have anyone who can answer this question.

Theo

Now I can't top my Oyster card
 

In article ,
(tim.....) wrote:

I've just come back from SA and about 6 times out of 10 was asked
to enter my pin in the machine. But the assistant still printed
off the copy receipt and asked me to sign as well - every time!

I've just come back from Germany. Despite most if not all card readers I
used having PIN pads I don't think I was asked for a PIN once. The railway
ticket machine just read the card and gave me my ticket with no further
authorisation at all, just like the mag stripe only Shere machines at
Cambridge until a few years ago.

--
Colin Rosenstiel

Now I can't top my Oyster card
 

In article
,
(Mizter T) wrote:

the 'big' ticket machines take notes and coins (and give change)

None of the ones I've seen give change for Oyster top-up other than for
multiples of £5 or £10. I think card top-up is similarly limited to such
multiples.

Since I almost invariably need a receipt for the value of the journey I am
making I either have to have exact change or go to a ticket window.

--
Colin Rosenstiel

Now I can't top my Oyster card
 

On Apr 16, 9:14*pm, wrote:
In article
,

(Mizter T) wrote:
the 'big' ticket machines take notes and coins (and give change)

None of the ones I've seen give change for Oyster top-up other than for
multiples of £5 or £10. I think card top-up is similarly limited to such
multiples.

Since I almost invariably need a receipt for the value of the journey I am
making I either have to have exact change or go to a ticket window.

And the cruellest trick is that it offers "other amount" as if as an
alternative to multiples of £5, and then takes your whole tenner
before asking how much.

Now I can't top my Oyster card
 

redcat wrote:
Maybe this time next year LT/Oyster Card will have figured out how to
take my money on-line ;-)

The issue here is one of Transport for London trying its best to reduce
its liability for credit card fraud.

Visa and Mastercard both put extremely strict requirements for how to
accept card payments online. I know, because I've been involved in the
merchant side of things.

Since the large majority of legitimate online oyster card top-ups come
from cards issued by UK banks, it's probably in TfL's interest to do
their own bit of credit scoring of each transaction, and a foreign
issued card might not by itself raise alarm bells, but a foreign issued
card that can't have an address validation performed might be rejected.
Visa's Address Validation Scheme, which most online retailers use to
limit their liability to fraud, should work with both UK postcodes and
US zipcodes. Likewise, the CVV2 check (number on the signature strip)
should work with US issued cards in exactly the same way as European
cards. They may also use the IP address to attempt to geolocate the user.

My suggestion is that if TfL's website isn't accepting valid card
details with valid address validation, and valid CVV2 details online,
then top up at either the ticket machine, or ticket office when you land
in London. It only takes you a minute or two; probably less time than it
took to post to usenet about it.

--
Simon Hewison

Now I can't top my Oyster card
 

In article
,
(MIG) wrote:

On Apr 16, 9:14*pm, wrote:
In article
,

(Mizter T) wrote:
the 'big' ticket machines take notes and coins (and give change)

None of the ones I've seen give change for Oyster top-up other than
for multiples of £5 or £10. I think card top-up is similarly limited
to such multiples.

Since I almost invariably need a receipt for the value of the journey
I am making I either have to have exact change or go to a ticket
window.

And the cruellest trick is that it offers "other amount" as if as an
alternative to multiples of £5, and then takes your whole tenner
before asking how much.

I thought it was now clearly "Exact money only"?

--
Colin Rosenstiel

Now I can't top my Oyster card
 

On Apr 16, 10:33*pm, wrote:
In article
,





(MIG) wrote:
On Apr 16, 9:14*pm, wrote:
In article
,

(Mizter T) wrote:
the 'big' ticket machines take notes and coins (and give change)

None of the ones I've seen give change for Oyster top-up other than
for multiples of £5 or £10. I think card top-up is similarly limited
to such multiples.

Since I almost invariably need a receipt for the value of the journey
I am making I either have to have exact change or go to a ticket
window.

And the cruellest trick is that it offers "other amount" as if as an
alternative to multiples of £5, and then takes your whole tenner
before asking how much.

I thought it was now clearly "Exact money only"?

--
Colin Rosenstiel-

You'd think that would relate to a previously specified amount, but it
decides that the exact amount is whatever you happen to feed in.

Actually I guessed what it might do and didn't care, but it's not
consistent with other ticketing facilities where you specify what you
want before paying.

It's a bit analogous feeding in money to a normal ticket machine
before it decides where you can get a ticket to for exactly that
price.

Now I can't top my Oyster card
 

tim..... wrote:

I've just come back from SA and about 6 times out of 10 was asked to enter
my pin in the machine. But the assistant still printed off the copy receipt
and asked me to sign as well - every time!

tim


Belt and suspenders. Or maybe urban guerrilla thief-cathing? I wish the
banks/cc companies would get their acts together and make it easy for
the customers. I don't mind signing, or these days even showing my
driver's license. But I'm awfully unhappy when I take my merchandise to
the desk and attempt to *pay* only to be treated like a credit card thief.

Cat

Now I can't top my Oyster card
 

Simon Hewison wrote:
redcat wrote:
Maybe this time next year LT/Oyster Card will have figured out how to
take my money on-line ;-)

The issue here is one of Transport for London trying its best to reduce
its liability for credit card fraud.

Visa and Mastercard both put extremely strict requirements for how to
accept card payments online. I know, because I've been involved in the
merchant side of things.

Since the large majority of legitimate online oyster card top-ups come
from cards issued by UK banks, it's probably in TfL's interest to do
their own bit of credit scoring of each transaction, and a foreign
issued card might not by itself raise alarm bells, but a foreign issued
card that can't have an address validation performed might be rejected.
Visa's Address Validation Scheme, which most online retailers use to
limit their liability to fraud, should work with both UK postcodes and
US zipcodes. Likewise, the CVV2 check (number on the signature strip)
should work with US issued cards in exactly the same way as European
cards. They may also use the IP address to attempt to geolocate the user.

My suggestion is that if TfL's website isn't accepting valid card
details with valid address validation, and valid CVV2 details online,
then top up at either the ticket machine, or ticket office when you land
in London. It only takes you a minute or two; probably less time than it
took to post to usenet about it.


Yes, I will use the machine. But where I take the underground from the
station is always jam-packed. the windows and the machines have queues.
Last year I just breezed in with my pre-loaded oyster.

I didn't mind spending time on usenet :-) Everyone was nice and helpful
and I got good info.

But re the business about credit scoring -- I buy stuff from, say,
Amazon UK and never have a problem; from other UK sites as well, big and
small. I never have a problem.

Cat

Now I can't top my Oyster card
 

"tim....." wrote in message
...

"Graham Harrison" wrote in
message ...

"redcat" wrote in message
m...
Martin Deutsch wrote:
On Apr 16, 12:36 pm, redcat wrote:
Peter Campbell Smith wrote:
You can certainly top an Oyster up at most, maybe all, Underground
stations using a credit card, but I'm not certain that it will accept
a
US card, which won't have an embedded chip like ours have. But the
machines were in use before we had chips and during the transitional
period when some had and some hadn't, so they may well still accept a
card with just a magstripe.

I don't think you should have a problem using any credit card at any
London Underground station - I'm not entirely sure about whether the
machines will accept chip-less cards, but the ticket office certainly
should. You can find ticket office opening times at
http://journeyplanner.tfl.gov.uk/im/SI-T.html and
http://tinyurl.com/tubeticket lists the cards accepted for ticket
purchases.


Oh, those darn chips. I had trouble with my lack of one last year at
some small out-of-town places. Hmmm. Thanks for the info!

While most UK-issued cards have a chip in them, merchants are still
allowed to accept cards with magnetic stripes only - as this page
explains: http://www.chipandpin.co.uk/business...ents/2005.html

Thank you for those. The interactive map is very good. And I am somewhat
comforted by the chip information. But it says they've stopped upgrading
the page 3 years ago. Hopefully, it still holds that card machines
recognize the overseas magstrip/card and will allow me to sign.

I wish we could resort to thumb prints.

cat

When chip and pin was being introduced one of my local retailers said to
me here in the UK "I won't be able to accept anything except chip and pin
from 14th February". "Really I said, what are you going to do if some
comes in with a chip and sign card" (they do exist for some disabled
people). He looked a little perplexed. "and", I continued "are you
telling me that if someone from outside the UK comes in with a chipless
card tries to use it you are going to refuse their business?". Next
time I saw him he said that he had phoned his acquirer and asked the
questions I had posed and now had a different view. Trouble is too many
people are too parochial - he at least was prepared to investigate and
change his position.

I've just been in New Zealand where I got totally confused. I have a
chip and pin card. They would swipe it and the machine would usually
say something to the effect of "insert the chip". They did that and
then sometimes it would ask for my pin and others print something for me
to sign.


I've just come back from SA and about 6 times out of 10 was asked to enter
my pin in the machine. But the assistant still printed off the copy
receipt and asked me to sign as well - every time!

tim



Yup - got that in Hong Kong, and I had somewhere else in the past (can't
remember where). I'm less sanguine about it than you seem to be. I
always question it but, in the end, I do sign.

Now I can't top my Oyster card
 

On 16 Apr, 14:16, redcat wrote:
n.

Now I can't top my Oyster card
 

On Apr 18, 10:48*pm, Joxroach wrote:

On 16 Apr, 14:16, redcat wrote:

I wish we could resort to thumb prints.

You Can:

Have a look at this clip from the BBC's Look North

http://news.bbc.co.uk/player/nol/new...7045300/704539...

Unfortunately that news report is utterly misleading, as it suggests
that thumbs prints could be used in place of a PIN at the point of
purchase - in actual fact the 'system' is all about applications for
credit as can be seen on the gent's website:
http://www.freeidprotection.co.uk/

Now I can't top my Oyster card
 

"Graham Harrison" wrote in message
...

"tim....." wrote in message
...

"Graham Harrison" wrote in
message ...

"redcat" wrote in message
m...
Martin Deutsch wrote:
On Apr 16, 12:36 pm, redcat wrote:
Peter Campbell Smith wrote:
You can certainly top an Oyster up at most, maybe all, Underground
stations using a credit card, but I'm not certain that it will
accept a
US card, which won't have an embedded chip like ours have. But the
machines were in use before we had chips and during the transitional
period when some had and some hadn't, so they may well still accept
a
card with just a magstripe.

I don't think you should have a problem using any credit card at any
London Underground station - I'm not entirely sure about whether the
machines will accept chip-less cards, but the ticket office certainly
should. You can find ticket office opening times at
http://journeyplanner.tfl.gov.uk/im/SI-T.html and
http://tinyurl.com/tubeticket lists the cards accepted for ticket
purchases.


Oh, those darn chips. I had trouble with my lack of one last year at
some small out-of-town places. Hmmm. Thanks for the info!

While most UK-issued cards have a chip in them, merchants are still
allowed to accept cards with magnetic stripes only - as this page
explains: http://www.chipandpin.co.uk/business...ents/2005.html

Thank you for those. The interactive map is very good. And I am
somewhat comforted by the chip information. But it says they've stopped
upgrading the page 3 years ago. Hopefully, it still holds that card
machines recognize the overseas magstrip/card and will allow me to
sign.

I wish we could resort to thumb prints.

cat

When chip and pin was being introduced one of my local retailers said to
me here in the UK "I won't be able to accept anything except chip and
pin from 14th February". "Really I said, what are you going to do if
some comes in with a chip and sign card" (they do exist for some
disabled people). He looked a little perplexed. "and", I continued
"are you telling me that if someone from outside the UK comes in with a
chipless card tries to use it you are going to refuse their business?".
Next time I saw him he said that he had phoned his acquirer and asked
the questions I had posed and now had a different view. Trouble is too
many people are too parochial - he at least was prepared to investigate
and change his position.

I've just been in New Zealand where I got totally confused. I have a
chip and pin card. They would swipe it and the machine would usually
say something to the effect of "insert the chip". They did that and
then sometimes it would ask for my pin and others print something for me
to sign.


I've just come back from SA and about 6 times out of 10 was asked to
enter my pin in the machine. But the assistant still printed off the
copy receipt and asked me to sign as well - every time!

tim



Yup - got that in Hong Kong, and I had somewhere else in the past (can't
remember where). I'm less sanguine about it than you seem to be. I
always question it but, in the end, I do sign.

where did I say I objected?

tim

Now I can't top my Oyster card
 

In message
, at
14:48:59 on Sat, 18 Apr 2009, Joxroach remarked:
I wish we could resort to thumb prints.

cat- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

You Can:


Have a look at this clip from the BBC's Look North

http://news.bbc.co.uk/player/nol/new...00/7045390.stm

I think that story conflates two ideas. On is the "Thumbsecurity" scheme
http://www.thumbsupsecurity.com/, the other is the more recent idea that
if applying for extended credit (like buying a sofa) you should mark
your Experian record with a note that says "only accept applications for
credit if the thumbprint matches".

http://www.eastscotlandfraudforum.or...protection.asp
--
Roland Perry