Please explain contactless card use on London Underground

Ballard

If it's anything other than very occasional use of TfL services then you should register with Tfl:

https://oyster.tfl.gov.uk/oyster/entry.do

You can then register your contactless card(s) or Oyster which makes it easier to claim refunds for delays or errors.

Edit: I see that I've more or less repeated glider3560's post.

Mr_Singleton

jack_pott wrote: »

just a technical fault. I got a refund, but it was a PITA, nearly half the refund went on protracted phone calls.

It's interesting that TFL always seem to benefit from these so called technical mistakes..... then wait to see if the victims notices otherwise happy days free money.

I wrote about this issue awhile back and TFL POINT BLANK refused to give a refund blaming me for not touching in/out, using wrong card etc. But the second I said that I had receipts for the tap in/outs on my phone (used Androidpay) I got the £15ish refund literally seconds later.

Living in London I note that these technical problems seem to crop up rather frequently. Wouldn't surprise me if TFL weren't making £millions/year out of it.

ThemeOne

Basically if the gates opened, then you were using the system correctly, and if you had to pass through closed gates at the entry and exit of each journey you made, then all should be well.

The chances of problems increase where the gates are left open for some reason, or at some stations, there are no gates. It's only too easy to just walk through, but you still have to touch in and out to get charged correctly - in the case of stations where there are no gates, there will be standalone readers.

soolin

Mr_Singleton wrote: »

It's interesting that TFL always seem to benefit from these so called technical mistakes..... then wait to see if the victims notices otherwise happy days free money.

I wrote about this issue awhile back and TFL POINT BLANK refused to give a refund blaming me for not touching in/out, using wrong card etc. But the second I said that I had receipts for the tap in/outs on my phone (used Androidpay) I got the £15ish refund literally seconds later.

Living in London I note that these technical problems seem to crop up rather frequently. Wouldn't surprise me if TFL weren't making £millions/year out of it.

I have always got my money back when TFL systems have overcharged me due to a faulty reading, never had an issue at all. I have also benefitted from TFL breakdowns as well on more then one occasion. On one day just before Christmas the gates at the local station were not registering correctly, hundreds of us were waved through and were told that stations along the line would be notified that we had an issue. I got to my main line station and they opened gates to let us out without touching out and announced that on the platform that if we were coming for station xx just to walk through as we would not be charged for the journey. Checked later and I only paid my return journey that day.

andygb

Thanks everyone.
Had a look at the statement, we have paid £5.30 each so that is good,because the littl etrip to London probably cost less than £20 all in.

Hambones

I was told that I could use my contactless card on the underground and would be charged a maximum of £9 for a days use regardless of how many journeys I made. My question is, 1/ If my wife and I used the same card for each journey (by simply one of us going through the gate and then passing the card back to the other one) 1/ Would that be possible? and 2/ Would it be legal?
The reason I ask is because the capping would then be £9 for both of us instead of £9 each. I can't see any reason why there would be a problem with this even if the whole family used the card in this way as some families may only have one contactless card between them.

glider3560

Hambones wrote: »

I was told that I could use my contactless card on the underground and would be charged a maximum of £9 for a days use regardless of how many journeys I made. My question is, 1/ If my wife and I used the same card for each journey (by simply one of us going through the gate and then passing the card back to the other one) 1/ Would that be possible? and 2/ Would it be legal?
The reason I ask is because the capping would then be £9 for both of us instead of £9 each. I can't see any reason why there would be a problem with this even if the whole family used the card in this way as some families may only have one contactless card between them.

No, that wouldn't be possible for several reasons:
1. If the same card is used to enter a station twice in quick sucession, it will be rejected on the second attempt.
2. If the same card is used to enter a station twice with a short gap (two minutes normally), you'll get charged a maximum fare for the first incomplete journey (which doesn't count towards the fare cap), then start a new fare for the second touch-in. On the way out of the station, you'll get charged another maximum fare for the second touch-out with an incomplete journey.
3. In the event of a revenue inspection, you both cannot present the same card.
4. It's fraud.


If you don't have a contactless card for each person, then you can buy an Oyster card for £5 for each person and load it with credit. You can get your £5 back by deactivating the Oyster card at any London Underground ticket machine.

Hambones

OK thanks. That's pretty-much what I expected.

t0rt0ise

Just to add to what glider said... you can get your money plus deposit back on an oyster only after 24 hours. Before that you can go to a Visitor Centre at one of the larger stations to do so. You will need ID.