On Sat, 05 May 2007 02:47:09 -0000, Mark Brader wrote:

Further to my previous reply, there is an article in today's London
Lite (page 17) about this issue. Apparently, the way it works now is
that if you touch in, change your mind about travelling (due to delays
or for any other reason), and touch back out again within 15 minutes,
you are not charged. More than 15 minutes, and you get an £8 charge.

So if there is a delay of 20 minutes and then you give up...?

Yes, that was basically the point of the story. A TfL spokesperson is
quoted as saying that you can claim a refund of the £8 via the Oyster
helpline, or online.

He also says that in the case of major network disruptions, money is
automatically refunded. How does that work? Presumably it means that
the station staff at the affected station change a setting on the
gates so that the charge is never made in the first place, rather than
it actually being subsequently refunded (which would require the user
to specify a station to collect it).