CJB wrote:
Recently I obtained a Hillingdon Community Services card which doubles
as a Library user's card. And put it into the same card wallet as my
Oyster card - in which I also keep my bank card. Suddently my Oyster
card stopped working on trains and buses, and even the Heathrow
Connect portable validators wouldn't recognise it - to considerable
embarrasment. The culprit was the Hillingdon Community Services card -
which seems to use the same technology as Oyster and was causing a
confict. An irritation 'cos now I have to keep them in separated. CJB.

I had the same problem with a new Barclaycard which had 'PayPass'
contactless tech built into it.



I've always kept my Oyster in the same wallet as my other cards and loose
change - it's just so easy just to take the wallet out of my pocket and bash
it onto an Oyster reader, meaning I don't have to faff about trying to
retrieve the Oyster and its own wallet.



I never had any trouble (unless the wallet was full of change, which blocked
the signals) until the new credit card arrived. It just plain refuses to
register on an Oyster reader, even when I just have the credit card and the
Oyster card in the standard issue plastic Oyster wallet.



I was going to contact Barclaycard to ask whether I could have a card
without PayPass, but after recalling previous experiences dealing with their
customer services I decided against it...



Net result: Barclaycard have lost my business to AmEx, and I get the bonus
of a credit card company that don't treat their customers with contempt.



I do wonder though what will happen as more and more debit/credit cards get
contactless tech - will they interfere with each other, and not just with
Oyster cards?