Freedom of Information Request - Automatic Refunds Policy
Request ID: FOI-3090-2324 Date published: 28 December 2023
You asked
Dear Transport for London Team,
I am writing to request information under the Freedom of Information Act. My queries are as follows:
Circumstances for Automatic Refunds: Could you please provide detailed information on the specific circumstances under which automatic refunds are applied for journeys on the Tube or DLR?
Application Process: How are these automatic refunds processed and applied?
Statistics on Refunds: Additionally, I would like to know the number of automatic refunds issued by TfL annually for the past three years.
Thank you for your assistance with this request.
We answered
Our ref: FOI-3090-2324
Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 29 November 2023 asking for information about the automatic refunds policy.
Your request has been considered under the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and our information access policy.
I can confirm that we do hold the information you require.
You asked: Circumstances for Automatic Refunds: Could you please provide detailed information on the specific circumstances under which automatic refunds are applied for journeys on the Tube or DLR?
An Autofill refund will only be generated for a customer if no previous refund or adjustment (Autofill, Selective Auto Completion etc) can be detected within the previous 28 days on the same Oyster card. Once an Autofill refund is generated, the refund is sent to the gates of the customer’s most used station within the previous 7 days, and will be available for collection for up to 8 days.
The rules are below.
Forgot to touch out after last rail journey of the day; based on symmetry with first journey or;
Where no match found above; fill based on journey history from the station where the touch-in occurred or;
Forgot to touch out for any journey other than the last rail journey of the day; based on next entry – excludes Out of Station Interchange (OSI) locations or;
As above, but where the next journey (and hence missing touch) is at an OSI location or;
Identify a historic 'best' journey, which in this case is the complete journey with the highest fare given a matching charge profile, and applies that fare in place of the Incomplete charge if the historic complete journey's charge is cheaper
Application Process: How are these automatic refunds processed and applied?
The rules are applied at the end of the next travel day (to allow for any delay in data arriving). For Oyster customers, if a refund is due, it is sent automatically to the readers for collection when the customer next touches in. For contactless customers, the card is refunded directly.
Statistics on Refunds: Additionally, I would like to know the number of automatic refunds issued by TfL annually for the past three years.
Oyster
Contactless
Total
2020/21
1,835,907
2,924,477
4,760,384
2021/22
5,297,132
8,939,996
14,237,128
2022/23
8,813,042
13,550,837
22,363,879
If you are not satisfied with this response please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal.
Yours sincerely,
Tahsin Prima FOI Case Officer General Counsel Transport for London
