"Barry Salter" wrote in message
...

snip snip snip *FAQs*

*Why is National Rail introducing these charges?*

The Entry and Exit Charges are being introduced on LUL, DLR and Tram from
the 19th November 2006. They are necessary because there are so many
Oyster users who are travelling without touching in and out at the start
and end of their journeys. As a result, revenue is loat which is unfair to
those who pay for their travel. From 19th November 2006, the Entry Charge
will no count towards any of the advertised Oyster price caps. For
consistency, participating National Rail services that accept Oyster PAYG
for travel payment are also introducing the Entry and Exit Charges.

*How can I be charged the Entry/Exit Charge and a Penalty Fare?*

Your travel is not compliant with National Conditions of Carriage and the
rules for using Oyster PAYG on National Rail and a Penalty Fare is
applied. You should speak to the Oyster Helpline (tel. 0845 330 9876
between 8am and 8pm daily) to get a refund on the Entry/Exit Charge once
you have paid the Penalty Fare in full.

*I have only £2 on my card and cannot use the system*

You can use the system so long as the £2 covers your intended fare. If you
travel beyond the value of £2 you may be liable to a Penalty Fare.

*What happens if I've reached my daily Oyster cap?*

Even if you have reached the daily Oyster cap for the zones you travel in,
you must continue to touch in at the start and out at the end of each PAYG
journey.

An Entry Charge will still be deducted when you start a journey, and this
will be adjusted at the end of the trip, so that you only pay the fare due
for the journey you've just made. If you have already reached a cap, or
are getting close to a cap for all the journeys you have made in one day,
this will be taken in to account when you touch out. If you do not touch
out, the Entry Charge will still be applied in addition to any cap reached
for that day's travel.

If you do not touch in at the start of your journey, you will be liable
for a Penalty Fare and/or prosecution, even if you have already reached a
cap for the London Fare Zones you are travelling in. If you touch out at
the end of your journey without touching in at the start of your journey,
an Exit Charge will be deducted from your card balance and will not count
towards any cap for that day; this is because, unless we know where your
journey started and ended, we do not know whether you have travelled in
additional London Fare Zones.

*What should I do if I can't touch out at the end of my journey?*

There may be times when, for safety reasons, we will instruct you to leave
the station quickly and it may not be possible to touch out.

If you choose to continue your journey by LUL or DLR from a nearby station
or from the same station once the incident has been cleared, we will have
made arrangements so that your previous journey is continued and you
should incur no penalty.

If you do not continue your journey immediately, arrangements will be put
in place so that your Entry Charge is adjusted when you next touch in at
the start of a PAYG journey. Until this happens, the Entry Charge will
remain on your card, and you may have to top-up your card if you plan to
use it on bus or tram journeys. In this circumstance we cannot guarantee
that any daily cap will be taken in to account.

If, as a consequence of the above, you still have an Entry Charge
outstanding due to a station evacuation or service disruption, you should
call the Oyster Helpline on 0845 330 9876 between 8am and 8pm daily, or
visit tfl.gov.uk/oyster.

/quote

Cheers,

Barry

Thanks Barry for a very informative post....I Think....
As a regular visitor to London I carry a non-registered Oyster.
I usually keep about a tenner on it which will at least get me in from
Heathrow to the Central Zone.

What is however beginning to concern me is how TfL and the Oyster "People"
appear to be taking an essentially simple system and top loading it with
Technology .

Much of this Technology appears to be required in order to maintain the
often byzantine nature of the National Rail TOC`s Fare systems.

Im reminded of the US Marine Corps dictum of KISS (Keep It Simple,Stupid) as
I rather suspect the great unwashed masses have a fairly low TOT (Tolerance
of Technology) threshold,beyond which they blank-out or,worse still,react
against.

I wonder what the Oyster support Helpline staffing level and workload is
like presently and what the experiences of those "Customers"who are forced
to use its services are ...?