Oyster card machines
Request ID: FOI-1469-1920
Date published: 10 September 2019
You asked
I would like to know for the period April 2017 to March 2018, the value of refunds claimed back by customers due to extra charges being made when using the a debit card or phone app on oyster machines.
I would also like to know why the current issue has not been resolved.
I would also like to know, why there is a time limit for these fraudulent charges and who is going to compensate me for the time involved in requesting refunds, as the page for information, when claiming a reufund does not work.
We answered
Our ref: FOI-1469-1920/GH
Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 17 August 2019 asking for information about oyster machine refunds.
Your request has been considered under the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and our information access policy. However, we do not hold the information you require, as there aren’t any known problems with ticket machines or the app adding an incorrect charge.
We are aware of incidents where something that looks like a charge is applied by some bankcard providers. This is due to the way the banks authorisation process works when mobile payments are made – which of course are linked to a bankcard. It looks like a charge has been raised, but in fact it isn’t. This is because if you look at your journey history during the day, the charge is there, but when all fares are aggregated at the end of the day, the charge disappears - ie it is not actually charged.
It is important to note that this is the banks process and not due to TfL and is not a fare.
If this is the extra charge you are referring to, please check the payments the following day (to give time for all the taps to be collated and correctly charged) - you will see that you have been charged the correct amount.
If this is not the issue that you are referring to, please provide further details and we will look into this further.
If you are not satisfied with this response please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal.
Yours sincerely
Graham Hurt
FOI Case Officer
FOI Case Management Team
General Counsel
Transport for London
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