On Thu, 23 Aug 2007 08:20:24 -0700, Uncle Dave wrote:

I rang them and they're refunding the cost of the "ghost" journey so
at least I won't lose anything. As I usually only use the card when
coming back to the country and travelling via London, topping up on-
line is preferable as it's always possible that the machine won't be
working and the ticket office closed.

If the machine isn't working and the office is closed, how would you
be able to collect your online top-up without starting a Tube journey?

The fact that you can't validate your top-up without making a journey
is poor design - either validation is a discrete function or it
isn't.

I don't think it's poor design. Topping up online and then collecting
at a Tube station is completely pointless unless you're also making a
Tube journey. (The whole advantage of online top-up is you avoid
having to queue at the ticket machine/office when you reach the
station, which is lost if you've got to do so anyway to collect the
top-up.)