Oyster topup failure

[oysterfailure]

I tried to top up my oyster card monthly zone 1-4 using a machine at Waterloo station.
After payment, where I had to tap my oyster card to confirm, an error showed on the screen showing "hardware failure" and it went back to the home screen.
The monthly travelcard did not get loaded onto my card.
But I was charged the £194. This is showing on my statement as "swrailwayselfserve"

I want a refund of the £194 I paid. Who should I be contacting and what is the best way to contact them to get this sorted quickly?

In the meantime, i've had to buy a weekly travelcard, so I don't want them just to load a monthly travelcard onto my oyster. I want my money back.

 

[bb21]

A range of methods here:

https://www.southwesternrailway.com/contact-and-help/contact-us

Meanwhile keep an eye on your account in the next few days just in case the payment doesn't actually go through and automatically drops off.

 

[MikeWh]

You may not need to do anything. The charge is initially an authorisation which usually shows as a pending transaction. If the retailer doesn't collect the money it will automatically drop off after a few days. There's certainly no way you'll end up with the travelcard being loaded on your Oyster card.

 

[Surreytraveller]

If its a hardware failure, the equipment may believe it was loaded onto your Oystercard, and you may well still be charged. I would keep a close eye on it. You could do a charge back via your bank if you are charged, but in this eventuality your Oystercard will end up being blocked, as the Oystercard help desk will inevitably simply believe what their computers tell them.
I would contact the Oystercard helpline in writing, so there is a paper trail, as they may be able to resolve the issue

 

[island]

As MikeWh says this is likely to be an authorisation hold rather than an actual transaction on your card and it’s likely to go away of its own accord in a few days.