Oyster card question

[LBCABob]

There are three ways to get a refund on Oyster cards -

- Take the card to a tube station

- Post the card back to TFL customer services

- Phone TFL customer services

 

The second two options are probably not viable for non-UK visitors as the refund is made either by cheque (in pounds sterling) or to a UK bank account......

I read online (somewhere) that if you have used cash in addition to a credit card to top-up your Oyster Card, their software does NOT permit refunding the balance (if any) and deposit back to your credit card. Any truth to this? Perhaps they have updated their programming? As a non-UK visitor, a refund to my credit card is the only viable option. Otherwise, my Oyster Card becomes a souvenir of my travels and TFL gets to hold on to my deposit for the foreseeable future.

 

Anyone know of this restriction???

[Globaliser]

I read online (somewhere) that if you have used cash in addition to a credit card to top-up your Oyster Card, their software does NOT permit refunding the balance (if any) and deposit back to your credit card. Any truth to this? Perhaps they have updated their programming? As a non-UK visitor, a refund to my credit card is the only viable option.

Would a cash refund not work for you in these circumstances?

[LBCABob]

Would a cash refund not work for you in these circumstances?

 

If you are saying the agent at an Underground Station will refund in GBP then that would work since the amount involved is so small (e.g. just over 5 Pounds). I will be leaving the UK the next day so can surely find something to buy. It's just that everything I have read online refers to issuing the refund to a credit card or mailing you a check (in GBP) or a refund to a UK-bank account.

 

My original question stands: Does having a mix of top-off methods restrict how a refund can be made?

Edited July 3, 2014 by LBCABob
Clarify.

[hancogran]

If you are saying the agent at an Underground Station will refund in GBP then that would work since the amount involved is so small (e.g. just over 5 Pounds). I will be leaving the UK the next day so can surely find something to buy. It's just that everything I have read online refers to issuing the refund to a credit card or mailing you a check (in GBP) or a refund to a UK-bank account.

 

My original question stands: Does having a mix of top-off methods restrict how a refund can be made?

 

Wow.. I was kind of surprised by the fact that you can't just get a cash refund but after checking on the Oyster card site, this is true! This is what it says:

 

If you paid for your deposit and PAYG credit by cash, they will refund you with cash. If you paid with a credit or debit card, they will refund the money to your card.

 

If you used different payment methods to top-up your card, they give you a form to fill in and send you a cheque in GBP pounds sterling to your home address. This is obviously not ideal if you live outside the UK and don’t have a sterling (£) bank account. To keep things simple, make sure you only use one payment method for your Oyster card.

 

We've used Oyster cards a few times and just as recently as last year we had no problem cashing in our cards to get a refund at the end of our stay in London but I've always used cash to purchase them in the first place. Even if you fill out the form and get the cheque in GBP, you can probably just deposit it in your regular bank account and they will convert it to U.S. funds.

[LBCABob]

... Even if you fill out the form and get the cheque in GBP, you can probably just deposit it in your regular bank account and they will convert it to U.S. funds.

It has been years since I tried to deposit a check drawn on a foreign bank in foreign currency, but when I did it my bank (e.g. Chase) was not happy, had to send it "for collection" and there was a fee involved. Maybe, things have changed and is easier now.

 

Anywho.... when I am in London next month and have some time to kill, I will ask at the Underground Station and see what the then current rules are (maybe the Agent can just tap the card and have the computer indicate the method of refund available?).

 

Unfortunately, the following week when I am passing through London on my final trip and rushing to catch my train (at Liverpool Street Station), I doubt I will have time to deal with an involved refund process.

 

Alternate plan would be to top-up my Card with the exact amount needed to make my final Tube trip and thus only be "stuck" with the 5 Pound deposit on the Card. Not the worst thing that's ever happened to me.

[orchestrapal]

It has been years since I tried to deposit a check drawn on a foreign bank in foreign currency, but when I did it my bank (e.g. Chase) was not happy, had to send it "for collection" and there was a fee involved. Maybe, things have changed and is easier now.

Any-who.... when I am in London next month and have some time to kill, I will ask at the Underground Station and see what the then current rules are (maybe the Agent can just tap the card and have the computer indicate the method of refund available?).

Unfortunately, the following week when I am passing through London on my final trip and rushing to catch my train (at Liverpool Street Station), I doubt I will have time to deal with an involved refund process.

Alternate plan would be to top-up my Card with the exact amount needed to make my final Tube trip and thus only be "stuck" with the 5 Pound deposit on the Card. Not the worst thing that's ever happened to me.

 

Just hope you can use yours as long as we have use ours on our yearly visits to London for the last 35 years.

[SteveH2508]

Just for information - the credit on an Oyster Card never expires. If you have any intention of returning to London you may as well keep the card. Pay as you Go Oyster cards do not need to be registered to a particular person so you could always lend/sell it to a friend who is coming to our fair city.

[orchestrapal]

Just for information - the credit on an Oyster Card never expires. If you have any intention of returning to London you may as well keep the card. Pay as you Go Oyster cards do not need to be registered to a particular person so you could always lend/sell it to a friend who is coming to our fair city.

 

Great advice for all the newbees.

[Globaliser]

Wow.. I was kind of surprised by the fact that you can't just get a cash refund but after checking on the Oyster card site, this is true! This is what it says:

 

If you paid for your deposit and PAYG credit by cash, they will refund you with cash. If you paid with a credit or debit card, they will refund the money to your card.

 

If you used different payment methods to top-up your card, they give you a form to fill in and send you a cheque in GBP pounds sterling to your home address. This is obviously not ideal if you live outside the UK and don’t have a sterling (£) bank account. To keep things simple, make sure you only use one payment method for your Oyster card.

May I ask where on the Oyster card website you got this?

 

The Oyster card website does include this:-

How to claim a refund

 

Apply at a Tube station ticket office

 

Refunds of pay as you go credit can be processed at Tube station ticket offices. You will need to provide proof of your name and address.

 

We can also refund a Travelcard, or a Bus & Tram Pass season ticket issued on your Oyster card, or a printed season ticket. We charge an admin fee for this service.

 

To get a refund at a Tube station ticket office, you must bring the debit or credit card that you used to buy the tickets or pay as you go credit. The maximum cash refund value at a Tube station ticket office is £250.

 

Download and complete an application for refund form, attach any tickets or supporting evidence and take it to your nearest Tube station ticket office.

I had taken the conjunction of the two sentences in the penultimate paragraph to mean that you can get a cash refund even if you used a debit card or credit card to buy the credit. But if there's something else on the Oyster card website that clarifies this, that would be good to know.

 

I've only ever had cash refunds from Tube station ticket offices, but I have a suspicion that this has only ever been for emergency cards which I've bought with cash. So I can't be dogmatic about it.

[hancogran]

May I ask where on the Oyster card website you got this?

 

The Oyster card website does include this:-I had taken the conjunction of the two sentences in the penultimate paragraph to mean that you can get a cash refund even if you used a debit card or credit card to buy the credit. But if there's something else on the Oyster card website that clarifies this, that would be good to know.

 

I've only ever had cash refunds from Tube station ticket offices, but I have a suspicion that this has only ever been for emergency cards which I've bought with cash. So I can't be dogmatic about it.

 

After further checking, I just realized it was from http://www.toptiplondon.com/transport/tickets/oyster-card/oyster-card-refunds.

 

If you scroll down to the bottom of that page, it gives you an email address for oyster card inquiries. Maybe the original poster can email them and ask the question.

Edited July 4, 2014 by hancogran

[LBCABob]

After further checking, I just realized it was from http://www.toptiplondon.com/transport/tickets/oyster-card/oyster-card-refunds.

 

If you scroll down to the bottom of that page, it gives you an email address for oyster card inquiries. Maybe the original poster can email them and ask the question.

 

Here is a news article (June 6, 2014) that mentions restrictions on getting your deposit(+) back on an unwanted Oyster Card: Happy Birthday Oyster Card. There is another site which I cannot find at this time that likewise mentions the problem with a refund where a mix cash and credit card top-up's happened.

 

My current plan is to wait until I get to London next month and check with the Underground Agent to see what the current rules allow. May call the Customer Service line as well. WTH, why not email too before I leave the USA?

 

May have some fun with the System and travel avoiding Zone 1 (via the London Overground) just because I have never gone that way before and have time to kill anyway. Might be able to test the rules regarding allowing your balance to go negative!

[SteveH2508]

Here is a news article (June 6, 2014) that mentions restrictions on getting your deposit(+) back on an unwanted Oyster Card: Happy Birthday Oyster Card. There is another site which I cannot find at this time that likewise mentions the problem with a refund where a mix cash and credit card top-up's happened.

 

My current plan is to wait until I get to London next month and check with the Underground Agent to see what the current rules allow. May call the Customer Service line as well. WTH, why not email too before I leave the USA?

 

May have some fun with the System and travel avoiding Zone 1 (via the London Overground) just because I have never gone that way before and have time to kill anyway. Might be able to test the rules regarding allowing your balance to go negative!

 

If you want to avoid Zone 1 journeys, you may need to keep an eye out for the pinky/purpley coloured terminals which you need to touch your Oyster card on to show you did not go through Zone 1.

 

The negative balance thing I think only applies to buses - you get one journey with a negative balance before it blocks you. The Tube does not let you on if you have insufficient credit (it didn't today anyway:().

[LBCABob]

If you want to avoid Zone 1 journeys, you may need to keep an eye out for the pinky/purpley coloured terminals which you need to touch your Oyster card on to show you did not go through Zone 1.

 

The negative balance thing I think only applies to buses - you get one journey with a negative balance before it blocks you. The Tube does not let you on if you have insufficient credit (it didn't today anyway:().

Yes, the PINK card reader is the key to getting the lower fare.

 

From what I have found at various websites, the barrier will allow entry provided your Card has sufficient balance to cover the lowest fare possible from the entry station, zone, time of day, cap, etc.

 

The barrier when leaving a station calculates the exact fare applicable, of course, and updates your Card. From everything I have read, the balance is allowed to go negative (albeit not by much since you are more or less limited by the difference between the lowest fare & highest fare possible at the entry station).

 

Current plan is to have 2.80 on Card when start from Heathrow (where the lowest non-peak fare is ~1.50) and exit at LST which is a 3.00 fare = negative .20 balance. Travelling on a Saturday afternoon so station may not be very busy (would hate to be trampled by hordes of other passengers behind me trying to exit the station).

 

Just a little excitement to an otherwise dull trip from Heathrow into London....