In message , Steve
writes
Kat wrote in
:
Look at the error code which shows with the Seek Assistance message;
70, 71, 94 all mean there's some sort of communication error. 21 and
22 (double exit/entrance attempted) often come up for no apparent
reason too.
If you are concerned about touching the reader again (Pre pay) then
ask someone to read the card on a MMF or with a hand-held device.

I think they are 7? and 9? so it does look like there are problems with
many of the readers. A shame every SA I have asked repeats the mantra about
not tapping in or out rather than reporting these readers as faulty.

7/9 means ticket upside down and ticket unreadable. These are common
error codes for magnetic tickets. If they are appearing when using your
Oyster on the same gates then the fault does need reporting. If your
Oyster appears to generate them whatever gate you use then your Oyster
may need replacing or you may like to check that you don't have any
other cards in the same wallet as your Oyster; the gates may be trying
to read those too. Many people seem to keep their bankcards and building
passes in their Oyster wallet. IMO this is not a good idea.

I don't have pre-pay so I don't need to tap in and out according to the
posters on all the stations.

You DO have Pre Pay. It's enabled on all Oyster cards; consequently you
can incur a Pre Pay debit if you go out of Zone.
Some publicity regarding Oyster is misleading but you certainly need to
touch in and out too.
--
Kat Me, Ambivalent? Well, yes and no.