Oyster card payment

[Myklebust]

I appreciate that there are a number of topics on Oyster cards, but none which target the overseas visitor to London.
I live in Norway and was planning to come to the U k in october to visit family, also to spend a couple of days in London. An Oyster card seemed a good idea as i had already had one on a previous visit.From our experience this time i think that there is a conspiracy to deter people from abroad.
I applied on line for a card, card denied, tryed our joint account, also remember that these are both Cards on a U K bank, that card also denied, tried my wifes card , denied.
Contact " Travel Britain" who I was trying to book through as th govt. site would not allow me to purchase two cards without paying postage twice, it gets worse. " Travel Britain" site could only come up with ,try another card!!.
So sent stroppy E mail with phone number. Well the first bit of brightness, a real voice. I am told, and this is true, that because I lived in another country i could not buy a card with my U K Visa !!!. I did wonder if this was some sort of Joke line. Even after i had informed the voice , believe it or not, it was possible to buy anything anywhere in the world with a visa, but he was not to be detererd from his task. Now so I asked, if that was the case , how about if we used our Norwegian Visa, We were in Norway and using a Norwegian card, You guessed it , NO, we could not use a Norwegian card to buy from a U K site, and this is " TRAVEL BRITAIN" or " VISIT BRITAIN". well eventually after he had phoned Norway 3 times and spent some 30mins on the phone, he told us that he could take a block of the cards for 15 mins to allow us to purchase.
I am still reeling from this treatment, where do places like this get thier staff from and who has given them this sort of information.

 

[maniacmartin]

Forget all this faff of buying online. When you get to the UK, just buy it at the station with cash or a credit card. It's quick and easy, with no forms to fill in.

 

[route:oxford]

I appreciate that there are a number of topics on Oyster cards, but none which target the overseas visitor to London.
I live in Norway and was planning to come to the U k in october to visit family, also to spend a couple of days in London. An Oyster card seemed a good idea as i had already had one on a previous visit.From our experience this time i think that there is a conspiracy to deter people from abroad.
I applied on line for a card, card denied, tryed our joint account, also remember that these are both Cards on a U K bank, that card also denied, tried my wifes card , denied.
Contact " Travel Britain" who I was trying to book through as th govt. site would not allow me to purchase two cards without paying postage twice, it gets worse. " Travel Britain" site could only come up with ,try another card!!.
So sent stroppy E mail with phone number. Well the first bit of brightness, a real voice. I am told, and this is true, that because I lived in another country i could not buy a card with my U K Visa !!!. I did wonder if this was some sort of Joke line. Even after i had informed the voice , believe it or not, it was possible to buy anything anywhere in the world with a visa, but he was not to be detererd from his task. Now so I asked, if that was the case , how about if we used our Norwegian Visa, We were in Norway and using a Norwegian card, You guessed it , NO, we could not use a Norwegian card to buy from a U K site, and this is " TRAVEL BRITAIN" or " VISIT BRITAIN". well eventually after he had phoned Norway 3 times and spent some 30mins on the phone, he told us that he could take a block of the cards for 15 mins to allow us to purchase.
I am still reeling from this treatment, where do places like this get thier staff from and who has given them this sort of information.

Make a formal complaint.

Firstly to Visa Europe as it sounds like a breach of acceptance rules.
Secondly to your MSP as it probably breaches some freedom of trade rules.

 

[island]

The cards are only sent to the cardholder's billing address; if you put in a Norwegian address for your UK card then it would fail the address verification and get declined.

The Norwegian card should have been accepted, but as maniacmartin suggests, buying on arrival is far less hassle.

 

[Chrisgr31]

I wonder if the issue is caused by a mis-match on addresses and other security issues. I suspect that to have a UK visa card you need to have a UK address, and they can probably only send Oyster cards to the registered Visa card address.

Not sure why you cant buy it using a foreign card though although again I suspect its a security issue.

 

[IanXC]

Secondly to your MSP as it probably breaches some freedom of trade rules.

Member of the Scottish Parliament?! Presuming you intended MEP - which Norway don't have as they are an EEA member state but not EU member. As I understand it the relevant Norwegian Government department would need to complaint to the Commission over such an issue.

I suspect that to have a UK visa card you need to have a UK address, and they can probably only send Oyster cards to the registered Visa card address.

The address for an account has no impact on whether any kind of card can be issued (unless of course the applicant lives in a country subject to sanctions such as Iran or Syria). The restriction would seem to be with the retailer of the Oyster cards.

 

[Myklebust]

Member of the Scottish Parliament?! Presuming you intended MEP - which Norway don't have as they are an EEA member state but not EU member. As I understand it the relevant Norwegian Government department would need to complaint to the Commission over such an issue.



The address for an account has no impact on whether any kind of card can be issued (unless of course the applicant lives in a country subject to sanctions such as Iran or Syria). The restriction would seem to be with the retailer of the Oyster cards.

Thank you, that is what I think. Also consider that I had bought one the prvious year with my U K card , No Problem , I even E mailed a copy of it, but still got the same answer.

 

[Be3G]

TfL have their own visitor shop for supplying Oyster cards to persons across the globe. Even paper travelcards can be purchased too.

 

[tsr]

TfL have their own visitor shop for supplying Oyster cards to persons across the globe. Even paper travelcards can be purchased too.

For the benefit of the OP and to clarify...

As far as I know, all Visitor Oyster Cards have an attached charge of £3.00 per card, which is non-refundable, and in colloquial terms a purchase. Normal Oyster Cards require a refundable £5.00 deposit. This is aside from any credit loaded.

That £3.00 can take you quite a long way Off-Peak so you may as well keep it, and get your refundable non-Visitor Oyster Card upon arrival in the UK. Any Oyster Ticket Stop and certain ticket offices (e.g. Tube and some NR ones) will supply one.

 

[34D]

What happened to the oyster card you used last year?

 

[pinguini]

The Oyster website has a VERY strict address verification. I have had numerous purchase/top ups online fail because of this. It's so much easier just to operate with cash at stations.

 

[Myklebust]

What happened to the oyster card you used last year?

I didnt realise that it was a permanent card, and also at the time no intention of being in London again in the near future so gave it away , as probably many Tourist do or just throw it away. There is nothing on an Oyster card saying that it is a permament card, so Tourists just think it is a throw away thing.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

For the benefit of the OP and to clarify...

As far as I know, all Visitor Oyster Cards have an attached charge of £3.00 per card, which is non-refundable, and in colloquial terms a purchase. Normal Oyster Cards require a refundable £5.00 deposit. This is aside from any credit loaded.

That £3.00 can take you quite a long way Off-Peak so you may as well keep it, and get your refundable non-Visitor Oyster Card upon arrival in the UK. Any Oyster Ticket Stop and certain ticket offices (e.g. Tube and some NR ones) will supply one.

Yes that is great if you live in London or even U K, but not a thing that you are looking for from outside U k. You have to look at things like this through the eyes of a Tourist in another country looking how best to get around london without standing in queues that they have heard of from other people.

 

[jon0844]

Surely a lot of the world have smartcards and people don't see them as disposable?

 

[pinguini]

I didnt realise that it was a permanent card, and also at the time no intention of being in London again in the near future so gave it away , as probably many Tourist do or just throw it away. There is nothing on an Oyster card saying that it is a permament card, so Tourists just think it is a throw away thing.

I don't know how you were given yours, but mine was given to me like this:

 

[Myklebust]

Thank you all for your help and advice. I now know not to throw them away this time
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

I don't know how you were given yours, but mine was given to me like this:

Mine just came in the post, no wallet.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Surely a lot of the world have smartcards and people don't see them as disposable?

You sound just like the politicians SURELY ! everybody knows what a smart card is ??. Do you know what a Skatt card is ?
Try not to be so condesending, take a tour of a few countries and and get to know the people and countries before making sweeping statements like that.

 

[jon0844]

You sound just like the politicians SURELY ! everybody knows what a smart card is ??. Do you know what a Skatt card is ?
Try not to be so condesending, take a tour of a few countries and and get to know the people and countries before making sweeping statements like that.

I find that rather rude, especially when I wasn't suggesting everyone knows what a smart card is.. but they do have experience with them as a means of travel, just as they probably have a 'smartcard' if they have a passport or credit/debit card, and possibly even a driving licence in some places (not the UK as yet).

(BTW do I need to know what a Skatt card is? Is it relevant about cards for travel?)

For your information, I'm half Swedish and spend plenty of time in Scandinavia and my work sees me travel all over the world - and, yes, I've been to Norway. I don't always use public transport when abroad, but I have an awareness of what systems are in place - and around the home, I have a fair few cards that I've picked up and will probably never use again, but I keep them all the same.

I stick rigidly to my point that a lot of people won't get a plastic card and assume it's disposable, especially if they've got money on it. They look and feel like credit/debit/loyalty cards, which people tend to hang on to. I don't think you can really disagree with that?

I know there are paper tickets that can also operate without contact, but there's a reason why one is paper and the other plastic, no?

I can also accept people might think the credit on a card might expire (as they will on gift cards), but I'd imagine they would think they can top it up again in the future.

What an assumption make about someone you don't know. Would you like me to just assume that, as a Norwegian, you must be rich because of that lovely oil money?

 

[MikeWh]

I find that rather rude, especially when I wasn't suggesting everyone knows what a smart card is.. but they do have experience with them as a means of travel, just as they probably have a 'smartcard' if they have a passport or credit/debit card, and possibly even a driving licence in some places (not the UK as yet).

You may not have been intending to suggest that, but it is certainly a valid inference from what you wrote because I thought you meant the same thing. Passports and credit/debit cards do expire after time so they aren't really the best comparison. Supermarket gift cards might be seen as similar to the uninitiated, and they very often are chucked after the credit has been used. There is a large proportion of the population who never use public transport between the ages of 17 and (say) 70. They may have heard about smart cards in the news, but as they're unlikely to be of any interest, are they really going to have picked up on details like they're re-useable? Indeed, the thousands of Olympic volunteers who received special Oyster cards last year were explicitly told that they would cease to work after the games. If that doesn't give the message to some that Oyster cards expire then I don't know what will.

 

[Deerfold]

Surely a lot of the world have smartcards and people don't see them as disposable?

I've had disposable cardboard smartcards in Venice. They *can* be used again but they don't seem to expect them to be.

 

[Myklebust]

I find that rather rude, especially when I wasn't suggesting everyone knows what a smart card is.. but they do have experience with them as a means of travel, just as they probably have a 'smartcard' if they have a passport or credit/debit card, and possibly even a driving licence in some places (not the UK as yet).

(BTW do I need to know what a Skatt card is? Is it relevant about cards for travel?)

For your information, I'm half Swedish and spend plenty of time in Scandinavia and my work sees me travel all over the world - and, yes, I've been to Norway. I don't always use public transport when abroad, but I have an awareness of what systems are in place - and around the home, I have a fair few cards that I've picked up and will probably never use again, but I keep them all the same.

I stick rigidly to my point that a lot of people won't get a plastic card and assume it's disposable, especially if they've got money on it. They look and feel like credit/debit/loyalty cards, which people tend to hang on to. I don't think you can really disagree with that?

I know there are paper tickets that can also operate without contact, but there's a reason why one is paper and the other plastic, no?

I can also accept people might think the credit on a card might expire (as they will on gift cards), but I'd imagine they would think they can top it up again in the future.

What an assumption make about someone you don't know. Would you like me to just assume that, as a Norwegian, you must be rich because of that lovely oil money?

You obviously know very little about Norwegian Oil Money, But i do not intend to impose on you a detailed account of what happens to it, just that virtually none of it goes into the Norwegian Economy.
I now consider this post closed unless anyone has anything interesting to say about oyster cards etc.
Thanks again to those of you that took on board my problem.

 

[jon0844]

You obviously know very little about Norwegian Oil Money.

That was my point, which is why I said I wouldn't make any sweeping statement - as you did with me.

Anyway, I wish you luck getting your card by whatever means necessary and hope that you'll keep hold of it this time!!

 

[Myklebust]

That was my point, which is why I said I wouldn't make any sweeping statement - as you did with me.

Anyway, I wish you luck getting your card by whatever means necessary and hope that you'll keep hold of it this time!!

Thank you, I will look after it this time