Oyster automatic refunds

[lightbulb]

Hello all,

Mike's Oyster and National Rail website quotes the notional caps for Zones 1-4 (with a railcard discount) as £5.30 and Zones 1 -6 as £5.90. I take this as indicating that if I travel from Zone 4 to Zone 1 twice a week, I should be entitled to an automatic refund of 80p per day (the off-peak cap being £6.10) and from Zones 5 or 6 to Zone 1, a refund of £1.85 (cap £7.75).

On emailing TfL to inquire why I had not received any automatic refunds, they replied:

"Looking at your journey history your journeys are mostly made within zones 1-4. To be eligible for the automated refunds, your journeys need to be made in zone 4-6."

This seems to contradict the information on Mike's website. Can anyone clarify which zones qualify for the refund?

 

[bb21]

On emailing TfL to inquire why I had not received any automatic refunds, they replied:

"Looking at your journey history your journeys are mostly made within zones 1-4. To be eligible for the automated refunds, your journeys need to be made in zone 4-6."

This seems to contradict the information on Mike's website. Can anyone clarify which zones qualify for the refund?

If it were a condition of refund that travel was not within Zone 1 at all, then they are not making it clear in any publicity.

What a load of tosh!

 

[MikeWh]

Hello all,

Mike's Oyster and National Rail website quotes the notional caps for Zones 1-4 (with a railcard discount) as £5.30 and Zones 1 -6 as £5.90. I take this as indicating that if I travel from Zone 4 to Zone 1 twice a week, I should be entitled to an automatic refund of 80p per day (the off-peak cap being £6.10) and from Zones 5 or 6 to Zone 1, a refund of £1.85 (cap £7.75).

On emailing TfL to inquire why I had not received any automatic refunds, they replied:

"Looking at your journey history your journeys are mostly made within zones 1-4. To be eligible for the automated refunds, your journeys need to be made in zone 4-6."

This seems to contradict the information on Mike's website. Can anyone clarify which zones qualify for the refund?

Did you actually reach the cap on the days that you travelled? Was all travel after 0930? Can you quote the relevant journey history so I can see what the problem might be. You can either post here, or on my site, where I notice that the same query has been made.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

If it were a condition of refund that travel was not within Zone 1 at all, then they are not making it clear in any publicity.

What a load of tosh!

The only cases I'm aware of where refunds have been made have included zone 1 travel. I wonder if they've missed the fact that a railcard was recorded.

 

[lightbulb]

These two days are typical of the journeys I make each week:

Thursday, 30 April 2015 £6.10 daily total
00:15 Bus journey, route H32The fare for this journey was capped as you reached the daily charging limit for the zones used £0.00 £5.35
23:37 Bus journey, route 427The fare for this journey was capped as you reached the daily charging limit for the zones used £0.00 £5.35
22:09 - 23:25 Peckham Rye [National Rail] to Ealing BroadwayThe fare for this journey was capped as you reached the daily charging limit for the zones used £0.00 £5.35
23:25 Touch out, Ealing Broadway +£3.45 £5.35
23:02 Touch in, Shepherd's Bush (Central line) £3.45 £1.90
22:58 Touch out, Shepherd's Bush [London Overground] +£3.45 £5.35
22:34 Touched pink card reader, Clapham Junction [National Rail] £0.00 £1.90
22:09 Touch in, Peckham Rye [National Rail] £3.45 £1.90


22:02 Bus journey, route P12The fare for this journey was capped as you reached the daily charging limit for the zones used £0.65 £5.35
19:18 Bus journey, route 78 £1.50 £6.00
17:18 - 18:14 Pontoon Dock DLR to Peckham Rye [National Rail] £1.15 £7.50
18:14 Touch out, Peckham Rye [National Rail] +£3.85 £7.50
17:41 Touch in, Shadwell [London Overground] £3.85 £3.65
17:40 Touch out, Shadwell DLR +£3.85 £7.50
17:18 Touch in, Pontoon Dock DLR £5.00 £3.65


11:33 Topped up, +£5.00 £9.60
11:09 Topped up, Paddington (Bakerloo, Circle/District and H&C) +£3.00 £4.60
11:08 Pay as you go balance adjusted, Paddington (Bakerloo, Circle/District and H&C) £0.00 £1.60
10:41 - 12:23 Southall [National Rail] to Pontoon Dock DLR £2.80 £8.65
12:23 Touch out, Pontoon Dock DLR +£0.65 £8.65
11:50 Touch in, Bank £1.60 £8.00
11:45 Touch out, Bank +£1.60 £9.60
11:38 Touch in, Waterloo [London Underground / National Rail] £1.60 £8.00
11:30 Touch out, Waterloo (Jubilee line entrance) +£1.60 £4.60
11:09 Touch in, Paddington (Bakerloo, Circle/District and H&C) £1.60 £3.00
11:04 Touch out, Paddington [National Rail] +£1.60 £1.60
10:41 Touch in, Southall [National Rail] £3.45 £0.00


Wednesday, 29 April 2015 £7.75 daily total
23:22 Bus journey, route 105The fare for this journey was capped as you reached the daily charging limit for the zones used £0.00 £3.45
22:03 - 23:21 Elstree and Borehamwood [National Rail] to Southall [National Rail]The fare for this journey was capped as you reached the daily charging limit for the zones used £0.00 £3.45
23:21 Touch out, Southall [National Rail] +£3.45 £3.45
22:50 Touch in, Paddington [National Rail] £3.45 £0.00
22:49 Touch out, Paddington (Bakerloo, Circle/District and H&C) +£3.45 £3.45
22:30 Touch in, West Hampstead [London Underground] £3.45 £0.00
22:28 Touch out, West Hampstead Thameslink [National Rail] +£3.45 £3.45
22:03 Touch in, Elstree and Borehamwood [National Rail] £3.45 £0.00


20:52 Bus journey, route 107The fare for this journey was capped as you reached the daily charging limit for the zones used £0.00 £3.45
20:11 - 20:51 Westminster to Elstree and Borehamwood [National Rail]The fare for this journey was capped as you reached the daily charging limit for the zones used £1.65 £3.45
20:51 Touch out, Elstree and Borehamwood [National Rail] +£1.80 £3.45
20:35 Touch in, West Hampstead Thameslink [National Rail] £3.45 £1.65
20:33 Touch out, West Hampstead [London Underground] +£3.45 £5.10
20:11 Touch in, Westminster £3.45 £1.65


19:57 - 20:01 St James's Park to WestminsterThe fare for this journey was capped as you reached the daily charging limit for the zones used £0.00 £5.10
20:01 Touch out, Westminster +£3.45 £5.10
19:57 Touch in, St James's Park £3.45 £1.65


17:22 - 18:12 Ealing Broadway to St James's ParkThe fare for this journey was capped as you reached the daily charging limit for the zones used £0.70 £5.10
18:12 Touch out, St James's Park +£4.30 £5.10
17:46 Touch in, Paddington (Bakerloo, Circle/District and H&C) £4.30 £0.80
17:44 Touch out, Paddington [National Rail] +£4.30 £5.10
17:22 Touch in, Ealing Broadway £5.00 £0.80


16:15 - 16:34 Southall [National Rail] to Ealing Broadway £1.15 £5.80
16:34 Touch out, Ealing Broadway +£3.85 £5.80
16:15 Touch in, Southall [National Rail] £5.00 £1.95


16:04 Bus journey, route 105The fare for this journey was capped as you reached the daily charging limit for the zones used £0.00 £6.95
15:35 Bus journey, route E5The fare for this journey was capped as you reached the daily charging limit for the zones used £0.00 £6.95
14:48 Bus journey, route 207The fare for this journey was capped as you reached the daily charging limit for the zones used £0.00 £6.95
14:24 Bus journey, route 607The fare for this journey was capped as you reached the daily charging limit for the zones used £1.25 £6.95
13:08 Bus journey, route 607 £1.50 £8.20
12:47 Bus journey, route 195 £1.50 £9.70

 

[MikeWh]

OK, that's quite a bit of travel involved on those days. The charging all seems to tally with a zone 1-6 cap on one day and a zone 1-4 cap the next. This is my first alarm bell - do they expect the zones used to be the same on each day? There's nothing that says they have to be, but it might be confusing the automatic process. As for when they replied to your email, I reckon that they've not realised you've got a railcard attached. You'll have to bounce it back to them asking them to look again and highlighting the railcard.

In the meantime I'll try and seek clarification about what happens if the zones used are different, but both valid for the refund.