Oyster Cards and buying credit online

[AntoniC]

On the 8th May I bought £10 credit for my PAYG Oyster Card as I was visiting London for the period 12th - 14th May (I had £4.00 credit left on the card from my last trip to London in May 2011).

I nominated Euston as my home station

I have the email from TFL confirming my purchase.

I used my Oyster to travel Euston to Canary Wharf (to get to my hotel) and then Canary Wharf to Tower Hill.

When I then tried to go Tower Hill to Lambeth North I was told there was no credit and I would need to put another £10 on, which I did but was annoyed about this (and the very helpful guy in the Ticket Office gave me a print out showing that there was no £10 credit that I bought on the 8th May.

My questions are :
1) Can I get the £10 credited back to my bank account as I am not sure if I will visit again within the next 2 years ?
2) What evidence do I need to provide ? (Will my email and a scan of the print out suffice ?).
3) Is it an easy process to complete ?

Thanks for all your help in advance guys its most appreciated !

 

[radamfi]

1) Can I get the £10 credited back to my bank account as I am not sure if I will visit again within the next 2 years ?

If the topup is not collected within a certain amount of time then the topup is automatically cancelled and you get an automatic refund.

 

[RJ]

On the 8th May I bought £10 credit for my PAYG Oyster Card as I was visiting London for the period 12th - 14th May (I had £4.00 credit left on the card from my last trip to London in May 2011).

I nominated Euston as my home station

I have the email from TFL confirming my purchase.

I used my Oyster to travel Euston to Canary Wharf (to get to my hotel) and then Canary Wharf to Tower Hill.

When I then tried to go Tower Hill to Lambeth North I was told there was no credit and I would need to put another £10 on, which I did but was annoyed about this (and the very helpful guy in the Ticket Office gave me a print out showing that there was no £10 credit that I bought on the 8th May.

My questions are :
1) Can I get the £10 credited back to my bank account as I am not sure if I will visit again within the next 2 years ?
2) What evidence do I need to provide ? (Will my email and a scan of the print out suffice ?).
3) Is it an easy process to complete ?

Thanks for all your help in advance guys its most appreciated !

Hi,

Could you confirm whether you selected Euston LU, or Euston NR as your nominated pickup point?

They do have the power to cancel any uncollected prepay credit and return the funds to the card paid with - it may be worth speaking to someone at the Oyster helpline.

 

[clagmonster]

When did you make the online transaction and when did you touch in at Euston? I believe that you need to top up by 23:00 the day before you touch in to collect the top up when the transaction is done online.

If it goes uncollected for 14 days, it will be refunded to your purchasing bank card.

 

[AntoniC]

Hi,

Could you confirm whether you selected Euston LU, or Euston NR as your nominated pickup point?

They do have the power to cancel any uncollected prepay credit and return the funds to the card paid with - it may be worth speaking to someone at the Oyster helpline.

Thanks for the prompt response !

I dont know as all my email confirms is the order, and I have just tried calling the Oyster helpline and due to maintenance work the office is closed.

I will try again tomorrow.

Once again thanks for the help.

 

[island]

Most likely is you picked the wrong Euston!

 

[AntoniC]

Thanks for all your help guys, I really appreciate it !.

I will update you tomorrow when I get to speak to TFL.

 

[GadgetMan]

Thanks for all your help guys, I really appreciate it !.

I will update you tomorrow when I get to speak to TFL.

No need to speak to anyone, the money will be automatically refunded if not collected onto ur oyster card within around 10 days of purchase. I'm sure the email normally mentions it.

If you do not add your Travelcard to your Oyster card within 2 days after the chosen start date, or your pay as you go credit within 9 days of the order date, your order will be cancelled and automatically refunded.

 

[AntoniC]

No need to speak to anyone, the money will be automatically refunded if not collected onto ur oyster card within around 10 days of purchase. I'm sure the email normally mentions it.

Gadgetman your a genius !

Having read the email again it does indeed state that it will be refunded automatically after 9 days, so the money will be refunded on Thursday.

Thank you for your help.

 

[GadgetMan]

Gadgetman your a genius !

Having read the email again it does indeed state that it will be refunded automatically after 9 days, so the money will be refunded on Thursday.

Thank you for your help.

No worries. Remember it can take your bank another couple of days to process it into your account.

TFL will send you an email to advise you of the refund.

 

[andykn]

It happened to me once, topped up on line, had to nominate one of my local tube stations and, as luck would have it, used one of the other ones for the next two weeks.

Refund did come through in due course.

 

[AntoniC]

Most likely is you picked the wrong Euston!

Your right !

Got an email from TfL this morning advising me I hadnt picked up my £10 at Euston (National Rail).

Just got to wait for the money to be credited back to my bank account.

Once again guys, thanks for all of your help it was much appreciated !.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Your right !

Got an email from TfL this morning advising me I hadnt picked up my £10 at Euston (National Rail).

Just got to wait for the money to be credited back to my bank account.

Once again guys, thanks for all of your help it was much appreciated !.

Money was repaid to my bank account this morning - well done to TfL for resolving my error !.

 

[SussexMan]

Can anyone explain the logic in having to nominate a station to activate the top-up? Just haven't quite worked out how it helps. I find a bit frustrating as I am an irregular user and sometimes don't know whether it will be London Bridge or Victoria that I'll go to. Why can't you just "load some money" on it?

 

[MikeWh]

Can anyone explain the logic in having to nominate a station to activate the top-up? Just haven't quite worked out how it helps. I find a bit frustrating as I am an irregular user and sometimes don't know whether it will be London Bridge or Victoria that I'll go to.

The system has to send the topup instruction to the local server at the station you nominate. At the time of touch in or out there is no direct communication with the central Oyster system.

Why can't you just "load some money" on it?

You can. Go to a ticket machine and use cash or cards. It'll even give you a receipt if you use cards.

 

[Daz28]

The system has to send the topup instruction to the local server at the station you nominate. At the time of touch in or out there is no direct communication with the central Oyster system.

If you have auto-topup, it will pick up your credit at any station. The system is clearly capable of not needing to nominate a station, but they have designed it as mandatory for a reason. I guess they think it makes it more secure, but I don't really see how.

 

[Brucey]

If you have auto-topup, it will pick up your credit at any station. The system is clearly capable of not needing to nominate a station, but they have designed it as mandatory for a reason. I guess they think it makes it more secure, but I don't really see how.

The auto-topup happens offline. The balance is stored on the card. When you touch onto a reader and it detects your balance is below the threshold, it automatically adds £20 (or whatever amount) to your Oyster card. Your bank card is NOT charged yet. When the local system updates with the Oyster central system, your bank card is then charged.

This is why it is possible to auto-topup on a bus but not nominate a bus to collect a pre-paid topup.

 

[button_boxer]

Auto top up is simply a rule that says if credit is below X when this card is touched, add £Y extra credit. This doesn't require any real time interaction with the central system as it's a simple local decision for the reader and the results can be reconciled at the end of the day.

A one-off top up is different, because it is, well, one off. The reader needs to know not only that the top-up is available for this card but also that it hasn't already been applied. If it had to check this with a central database (rather than just the local DB for that station) it would introduce an unacceptable delay and interrupt the free flow of passengers through the gate. One extra second per touch doesn't sound like much but it adds up quickly when you're dealing with the kind of volumes the tube has to handle.