In message
of
Fri, 25 Jan 2008 14:29:54 in uk.transport.london, Mizter T
writes


Walter Briscoe wrote:

[snip]

That reminds me, I must chase a charging mistake. On Sunday, I reached
my cap. At Earls Court, I asked a question of a CSA at the Manual Gate
and touched in as I followed him to some information. The system made a
different notation of the event and started a new cap accumulation. By
the time I realised there was a problem, it was too late to get ticket
office staff to resolve the issue. Unfortunately, there is insufficient
detail on the website journey history to explain.
--
Walter Briscoe


That sounds a bit peculiar, however it might be as a result of the
fact that system does not know whether you were coming or going -
touching on an Oyster pad, unlike touching on a gate, doesn't provides
any indication as to whether you were entering or exiting the system.

Where had you been earlier - I'm not looking for an account of all
your movements (!), just some basics - i.e. Had you exited Earls Court
earlier on? If so how much earlier? If not had you exited another
station earlier on?

My experience thus far has indicated that the Oyster system is fairly
robust, and can cope with unusual events, so I'm interested in what
comes of this..

Zone 1 entry; 3 times (Zone 1 or 2 exit + entry); Zone 1 exit (capped) +
entry; twice (Zone 1 exit + entry); Zone 1 exit (uncapped); Bus; Zone 1
entry; St James's Park exit (capped) [ticket office unable to assist],
etc.

It is easy not to note the display. Many don't work and LU seems to have
no procedure for regularly testing them. It ought to be a SMOP (Small
Matter of Programming) to use sound to distinguish charging events. It
seems obsessive to check Oyster history on a POM (Passenger Operated
Machine) after each station. At least unsighted Londoners get free
travel and my admiration for using the system. The 4.00 cash fare shows
tourists are viewed as fair - should that be fare? - game.

I have written to to ask for an
explanation and a refund. I find their phone service takes forever and
it lacks a record. I WAS very happy with Oyster PAYG. I am now less so.
In particular, I HATE the way it QUIETLY charges a maximum fare or two.
Ticket office presentation is good but the 8 journey limit does not meet
my need. I think the Journey history at
https://oyster.tfl.gov.uk/oyster/ppvStatement.do is unfit for purpose:
debits and credits are only distinguished by the affect on the balance;
unfinished and unstarted journeys are not identified; etc.
--
Walter Briscoe