Request ID: FOI-2780-2122 Date published: 29 March 2022
You asked
I called to rectify an error with charging but could not get through opting for a call back later.
3 hours later I received a call back only to be told the computers were broken so there is no access to the oyster card system.
What is the process for customers to receive monies back for overcharges , which seem to happen very frequently.
It seems to me that oyster regularly overcharges and places Barriers in place for customers to get reimbursed.
Please advise on the statistics for the number of incorrectly charged journeys and if you auto reimburse customers.
I believe I can ask for this under freedom of information.
Clarification 10/03/2022: When you touch in and touch out . On that scenario if a person is overcharged are the automatically reimbursed ? What are the data to evidence this?
What processes are in place to ensure customers are not losing out.
We answered
TfL Ref: FOI-2780-2122
Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 4th March 2022 asking for information about incorrectly charged journeys. Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy.
Specifically you asked: “Please advise on the statistics for the number of incorrectly charged journeys and if you auto reimburse customers.” The ticketing systems we employ charge passengers in line with their intended functionality and do not “incorrectly charge” people. Customers using Oyster Pay As You Go (PAYG) or Contactless must touch in at the start and touch out at the end of all journeys (this includes Tube, DLR, London Overground TfL Rail and National Rail journeys). If one of these touches is missing, giving rise to what is known as an “Incomplete” journey, then the correct fare for the journey cannot be determined and the customer will normally be charged a maximum fare. This charge is in line with what we specify the system should charge and therefore the fare is not ‘incorrect’.
TfL recognises that sometimes customers may miss a touch in or touch out due, for example, to forgetfulness, operational issues such as overcrowding, or equipment faults. In the case of a missing touch out, TfL attempts to automatically complete the journey where the travel pattern for the card concerned suggests an occasional inadvertent failure to touch out, and the likely location for the missing tap can be inferred (this process is known as “Autofill”). In the case of Oyster PAYG this involves attempting to send a refund to the card concerned, via the station at which the card is used most frequently. To receive the refund the customer must touch in or out within about two weeks of the refund being sent to the gates at the station concerned. In the case of Contactless the journey record is adjusted before the card is charged, so customers would not normally be aware of the correction to their journey record (although the on-line statement makes it clear to customers when journeys have been corrected in this way). TfL also provides other means by which customers can get refunds if they feel they have been unjustifiably charged a maximum fare. This includes on-line tools (known as “self-serve”), via the Oyster helpline, and station staff can also provide refunds in the case of Oyster.
Data on incomplete journeys and refunds relating to both Oyster PAYG and Contactless are publicly available on our transparency pages via the links below.
In accordance with section 21 of the FOI Act, we are not obliged to supply you with a copy of the requested information as it is already accessible to you elsewhere.
If this is not the information you are looking for, or if you are unable to access it for any reason, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal as well as information on copyright and what to do if you would like to re-use any of the information we have disclosed.
Yours sincerely,
David Wells FOI Case Officer FOI Case Management Team General Counsel Transport for London
