More problems with Oyster PAYG

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Weeble
Posts: 358
Joined: 1 Nov 2004 17:56
Location: Sydenham

More problems with Oyster PAYG

Post by Weeble »

I've just been clobbered for a £20 penalty fare this morning as apparantly my Oyster PAYG hadn't touched-in properly at Sydenham. :evil:

I was just checking my PAYG records and notice another journey which has registered as uncompleted where I've been charged £6 - I've not yet been able to track down when that happened and whether it was a genuine oversight on my part or another case of the gate not working properly.


Anyone else had similar problems? Apparantly I can appeal the penalty fare but I don't know if I have much chance of succeeding - they basically said it was my fault that I hadn't checked the oyster card had been read properly before I went through the gates. :(
mummycat
Posts: 576
Joined: 8 May 2007 12:10
Location: not se26

Post by mummycat »

I don't know if I've had a problem with "touching in and out", as I can't access my account online...

I have a PAYG and only use it occasionally, as I rarely get out of Sydenham! I went online https://oyster.tfl.gov.uk/oyster/link/0002.do to register for the auto top-up facility so I don't get stranded in town, but my card's already registered by another user! I can't change the security setting and it looks like the only alternative is to pay another £3 deposit for another card.

I don't like the idea of someone else controlling my card online - I'm quite nervous to use it now...
Chazza
Posts: 290
Joined: 28 Mar 2008 12:51
Location: Sydenham end of Venner Road

Re: More problems with Oyster PAYG

Post by Chazza »

Weeble wrote:Anyone else had similar problems?
Yes... a few weeks ago, I touched in at Sydenham and the gates opened. As I walked through the gates, I noticed that the light on the Oyster reader was orange rather than green. I queried it with a member of staff and was told to touch out and back in. I thought this was bad advice, as touching out would likely cost me £6, as the system hadn't registered my touch in. After discussing this with the member of staff, he convinced me it would be fine, so I touched out. Of course it charged me the maximum £6 fare. I was miffed to say the least, but the bloke seemed to think it was hilarious.

After a quarter of an hour on the phone to the Oyster helpline, they managed to arrange a refund, which I had to pick up by using my Oyster card at a nominated station within 8 days, which isn't particularly great if, like me, you rarely take the train.

I am now very careful to ensure that the light turns green when the barriers open. Oyster PAYG is great when it works, but the station staff seem to know bugger all about it and sorting anything out using the helpline takes an age.
Cathy
Posts: 126
Joined: 17 Aug 2005 11:20
Location: SE26

Post by Cathy »

Don't use Oyster/PAYG, don't trust them - good ol' fashioned Travelcard where I AM IN CONTROL... :D :twisted: :D
Weeble
Posts: 358
Joined: 1 Nov 2004 17:56
Location: Sydenham

Post by Weeble »

So Chazza - are you saying in your case your oyster card actually opened the gates, but didn't register that you'd touched in? I think this is what happened to me this morning, although with the rush of people going through the gates (a train was literally just pulling into the station) the gate didn't have time to close between each person, so it just remained open after the previous person as I went through.

I've just remembered now the previous occasion which would have resulted in being charged £6 - I was at the station late evening, no staff around but gates closed, and I could not for the life of me get my card to open the gate - despite having plenty of funds on the card. In the end a man came along who was also exiting the station and suggested I followed him through the barriers so I could get out. I'm probably not even going to try to dispute that as strictly speaking I should have waited on the platform and tried to contact the staff through the help point or something, but it was late, I was on my own and I just wanted to get home.
nomie44
Posts: 20
Joined: 30 Jun 2008 15:17
Location: sydenham

oyster PAYG

Post by nomie44 »

We've had people staying from Australia, and one of them ended up paying about £17 for a trip to Charing Cross. He topped up his card at Sydenham, went through the barrier - this was mid morning so not busy - and when he got to the other end couldn't get through because there wasn't enough money on his card. I see people arguing with the ticket inspectors every morning having come off our line and having the same problem - there's obviously an issue - so I buy a paper ticket and only use oyster on the tube.
fishcox
Posts: 628
Joined: 4 Mar 2005 13:55
Location: lawrie park road

Post by fishcox »

I buy an Oyster, but use it as a monthly Zones 1-3 ticket, and it works pretty well.

What I find ridiculous, is that it ran out one day before I was taking a holiday, so I thought it would be the easiest thing to add one extra day of travel on to it.

Do you think you can do that?

Of course you can't!

I had to put something like a tenners credit on it, and use it as PAYG. It seemed to debit each time I used it, until it reached a maximum amount, and then it stopped deducting.

Why is it called an 'Oyster' by the way? Any ideas? Is it because of the saying 'the worlds your.....'?
bensonby
Posts: 1656
Joined: 18 Jun 2008 12:28
Location: Kent

Post by bensonby »

I don't use oyster, but I have irritated on several occasions that there sometimes isn't anyone at the gateline to let me out!!! Most inconvenient...I'm yet to miss a train over it though (coming in) but it's been a close call sometimes!
Juwlz
Posts: 749
Joined: 26 Oct 2005 20:49
Location: Outer Sydenham

Post by Juwlz »

fishcox wrote: Why is it called an 'Oyster' by the way? Any ideas? Is it because of the saying 'the worlds your.....'?
Dunno, but I call it the 'Lobster' card because it pinches money off you.
bigbadwolf
Posts: 726
Joined: 7 Jan 2008 21:21
Location: Forest Hill and Sydenham

Post by bigbadwolf »

I call it the 'fobster-card'.
Pumpkin
Posts: 27
Joined: 13 Nov 2009 15:40
Location: SE26

Post by Pumpkin »

Umm..i've been clobbered for a different reason.

Bought an annual rail/travelcard. Great savings plus goldcard savings. Still paper-ticket so bit slow at the barrier. Fustrating at times, but not the complete end of the world.

Had to go to zone 4 on underground and told cannot buy cheaper oyster extension ticket as on paper ticket. The 'cheapest' alternative was to buy a one day travelcard!!

Madnesss!!

logic suggests the best way forward is to get a monthly oystercard...at lesast until this mess is sorted out
Pstaveley
Posts: 30
Joined: 20 Feb 2010 18:03
Location: Croydon

Post by Pstaveley »

fishcox wrote:I buy an Oyster, but use it as a monthly Zones 1-3 ticket, and it works pretty well.

What I find ridiculous, is that it ran out one day before I was taking a holiday, so I thought it would be the easiest thing to add one extra day of travel on to it.

Do you think you can do that?

Of course you can't!

I had to put something like a tenners credit on it, and use it as PAYG. It seemed to debit each time I used it, until it reached a maximum amount, and then it stopped deducting.
That is correct, there is a maximum cap which is the cost of the appropriate Peak/Off Peak Travelcard for the zones that you have travelled in.

You can put an additional day on a Monthly (Oyster) Travelcard, if fact you can have any period between one month and one year. However, like the paper version you have to specify those days at the time of purchase.
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