Mizter T wrote:
On May 20, 10:52 am, "Paul Scott"
wrote:

"Mizter T" wrote:

This sounds like out old friend the out-of-station interchange
derived maximum journey time-out - no, I don't expect you to know
what that means. The other option is that you didn't touch-in or
touch-out somewhere after starting or finishing a journey.

If it is, I don't remember anyone previously mentioning here being
penalty fared . But once that first journey 'times out' if you are
gripped on a train you are 'travelling without validating your
Oyster PAYG'.

It doesn't sound like it was a penalty fare though - more a 'you are
required to pay us back within 21 days' type thing (i.e. pay back the
£4)

Yes - could that just mean that his Oyster Card is holding a negative
balance - presumably that makes it unusable until topped up again?

Would a ticket office issue such a request if you asked for an Oyster card
to be checked, eg after a failure to get through an exit barrier?

As you say, the OP could perhaps tell us a little more.

Paul S