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Oyster: still an unreliable rip-off
For the last few days I've been using a PAYG Oyster card instead of my
normal paper Travelcard. I did one of my usual journeys - tube from Waterloo to Balham, then train to Thornton Heath - on Wednesday evening. But the Oyster card reader at Balham didn't work properly. The gate opened but didn't record my touch-out, so I've got an unresolved journey. TfL, despite knowing my email address because that's what I use to sign in to their website to make sure they haven't ripped me off, couldn't be bothered to notify me. I only know about the unresolved journey because I don't trust Oyster and went and checked. And of course I can't submit my claim for a refund using my normal web browser which works on every other site. I have to use Firefox instead. It remains to be seen whether I actually end up being charged the right amount or not. And, of course, I have to use Oyster again to pick up my refund. I didn't see any option on the website for "refund my credit card" or "send me a cheque", they just blithely assume that I use Oyster all the time, when in fact I was planning on getting a Travelcard again on Tuesday and not using the trains at all this weekend. -- David Cantrell | top google result for "topless karaoke murders" More people are driven insane through religious hysteria than by drinking alcohol. -- W C Fields |
Oyster: still an unreliable rip-off
On Friday, 18 April 2014 16:56:11 UTC+1, David Cantrell wrote:
TfL, despite knowing my email address because that's what I use to sign in to their website to make sure they haven't ripped me off, couldn't be bothered to notify me. I only know about the unresolved journey because I don't trust Oyster and went and checked. Perhaps the guy who is paid to monitor your usage was off for Easter. I didn't see any option on the website for "refund my credit card" or "send me a cheque", they just blithely assume that I use Oyster all the time They probably mentioned your case in the Thursday-night meeting at Pier Walk. Almost certainly they discussed sending cheques and refunding credit cards and probably a dozen other options. We won't know how they reached their decision until 2064. |
Oyster: still an unreliable rip-off
On Fri, 18 Apr 2014 16:56:11 +0100, David Cantrell
wrote: For the last few days I've been using a PAYG Oyster card instead of my normal paper Travelcard. I did one of my usual journeys - tube from Waterloo to Balham, then train to Thornton Heath - on Wednesday evening. But the Oyster card reader at Balham didn't work properly. The gate opened but didn't record my touch-out, so I've got an unresolved journey. TfL, despite knowing my email address because that's what I use to sign in to their website to make sure they haven't ripped me off, couldn't be bothered to notify me. I only know about the unresolved journey because I don't trust Oyster and went and checked. And of course I can't submit my claim for a refund using my normal web browser which works on every other site. I have to use Firefox instead. It remains to be seen whether I actually end up being charged the right amount or not. And, of course, I have to use Oyster again to pick up my refund. I didn't see any option on the website for "refund my credit card" or "send me a cheque", they just blithely assume that I use Oyster all the time, when in fact I was planning on getting a Travelcard again on Tuesday and not using the trains at all this weekend. Sounds like what my Australian former flatmate used to call 'Pommie over-reaction'. Tens of thousands of passengers use Oyster every day without incident. It is a hugely useful facility. When I had a difficulty (my own fault) it was corrected very quickly. |
Oyster: still an unreliable rip-off
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Oyster: still an unreliable rip-off
On Friday, 18 April 2014 16:56:11 UTC+1, David Cantrell wrote:
For the last few days I've been using a PAYG Oyster card instead of my normal paper Travelcard. I did one of my usual journeys - tube from Waterloo to Balham, then train to Thornton Heath - on Wednesday evening. But the Oyster card reader at Balham didn't work properly. The gate opened but didn't record my touch-out, so I've got an unresolved journey. TfL, despite knowing my email address because that's what I use to sign in to their website to make sure they haven't ripped me off, couldn't be bothered to notify me. I only know about the unresolved journey because I don't trust Oyster and went and checked. And of course I can't submit my claim for a refund using my normal web browser which works on every other site. I have to use Firefox instead. It remains to be seen whether I actually end up being charged the right amount or not. And, of course, I have to use Oyster again to pick up my refund. I didn't see any option on the website for "refund my credit card" or "send me a cheque", they just blithely assume that I use Oyster all the time, when in fact I was planning on getting a Travelcard again on Tuesday and not using the trains at all this weekend. -- David Cantrell | top google result for "topless karaoke murders" More people are driven insane through religious hysteria than by drinking alcohol. -- W C Fields Isn't TfL coining it with thousands of unresolved journeys? I would opine that its tourists who lose out most of the time. If regular commuters get caught out then tourists must - all of the time. The scam I have seen at Paddington mainly at weekends is to force pax to touch in for the Heathrow Connect or a FGW local from platforms 12 / 13 / 14 - and then suddenly switch the service(s) to platform 11 (or whatever). This means that they then have to touch out from 12 not having gone anywhere and then touch back in to 11. And this is why so many pax. wait at the indicator boards on 12 - effectively blocking the route for tourists to/from the taxi rank - until they know that the Connect or FGW locals really are departing from 12 / 13 / 14. A few weeks ago I was inbound on the Connect and we came in on platform 9. There were quite a few tourists with luggage already waiting on 12. They had to come round to 9 thereby touching out from 12. But then 9 is open access so when they got to Heathrow they would have touched in and out of 12 but not touched in on 11. They would have paid a maximum fare for that journey.. The extraction of penalty fares for not touching in and out is tantamount to theft. But like BT coin phones never giving back change form unused coins these scams rake in millions of extra profit. Rip-off Britain as usual. CJB |
Oyster: still an unreliable rip-off
In message , at 22:28:28 on
Mon, 21 Apr 2014, Scott remarked: Tens of thousands of passengers use Oyster every day without incident. It is a hugely useful facility. Especially when loaded with a season ticket. It also has the potential to be useful as a "not very often" PAYG card. When I had a difficulty (my own fault) it was corrected very quickly. But too many people encounter problems, not always because they've failed to take a degree in "advanced orienteering at Wimbledon station". -- Roland Perry |
Oyster: still an unreliable rip-off
On Tuesday, 22 April 2014 08:45:47 UTC+1, CJB wrote:
On Friday, 18 April 2014 16:56:11 UTC+1, David Cantrell wrote: For the last few days I've been using a PAYG Oyster card instead of my normal paper Travelcard. I did one of my usual journeys - tube from Waterloo to Balham, then train to Thornton Heath - on Wednesday evening. But the Oyster card reader at Balham didn't work properly. The gate opened but didn't record my touch-out, so I've got an unresolved journey. TfL, despite knowing my email address because that's what I use to sign in to their website to make sure they haven't ripped me off, couldn't be bothered to notify me. I only know about the unresolved journey because I don't trust Oyster and went and checked. And of course I can't submit my claim for a refund using my normal web browser which works on every other site. I have to use Firefox instead. It remains to be seen whether I actually end up being charged the right amount or not. And, of course, I have to use Oyster again to pick up my refund. I didn't see any option on the website for "refund my credit card" or "send me a cheque", they just blithely assume that I use Oyster all the time, when in fact I was planning on getting a Travelcard again on Tuesday and not using the trains at all this weekend. -- David Cantrell | top google result for "topless karaoke murders" More people are driven insane through religious hysteria than by drinking alcohol. -- W C Fields Isn't TfL coining it with thousands of unresolved journeys? I would opine that its tourists who lose out most of the time. If regular commuters get caught out then tourists must - all of the time. The scam I have seen at Paddington mainly at weekends is to force pax to touch in for the Heathrow Connect or a FGW local from platforms 12 / 13 / 14 - and then suddenly switch the service(s) to platform 11 (or whatever). This means that they then have to touch out from 12 not having gone anywhere and then touch back in to 11. And this is why so many pax. wait at the indicator boards on 12 - effectively blocking the route for tourists to/from the taxi rank - until they know that the Connect or FGW locals really are departing from 12 / 13 / 14. A few weeks ago I was inbound on the Connect and we came in on platform 9.. There were quite a few tourists with luggage already waiting on 12. They had to come round to 9 thereby touching out from 12. But then 9 is open access so when they got to Heathrow they would have touched in and out of 12 but not touched in on 11. They would have paid a maximum fare for that journey. The extraction of penalty fares for not touching in and out is tantamount to theft. But like BT coin phones never giving back change form unused coins these scams rake in millions of extra profit. Rip-off Britain as usual. CJB Oyster is not valid on Heathrow Connect between Heathrow and Hayes & Harlington, so any tourists doing the above would be liable to a penalty fare in any case. |
Oyster: still an unreliable rip-off
"CJB" wrote in message ... On Friday, 18 April 2014 16:56:11 UTC+1, David Cantrell wrote: For the last few days I've been using a PAYG Oyster card instead of my normal paper Travelcard. I did one of my usual journeys - tube from Waterloo to Balham, then train to Thornton Heath - on Wednesday evening. But the Oyster card reader at Balham didn't work properly. The gate opened but didn't record my touch-out, so I've got an unresolved journey. TfL, despite knowing my email address because that's what I use to sign in to their website to make sure they haven't ripped me off, couldn't be bothered to notify me. I only know about the unresolved journey because I don't trust Oyster and went and checked. And of course I can't submit my claim for a refund using my normal web browser which works on every other site. I have to use Firefox instead. It remains to be seen whether I actually end up being charged the right amount or not. And, of course, I have to use Oyster again to pick up my refund. I didn't see any option on the website for "refund my credit card" or "send me a cheque", they just blithely assume that I use Oyster all the time, when in fact I was planning on getting a Travelcard again on Tuesday and not using the trains at all this weekend. -- David Cantrell | top google result for "topless karaoke murders" More people are driven insane through religious hysteria than by drinking alcohol. -- W C Fields Isn't TfL coining it with thousands of unresolved journeys? I would opine that its tourists who lose out most of the time. If regular commuters get caught out then tourists must - all of the time. The scam I have seen at Paddington mainly at weekends is to force pax to touch in for the Heathrow Connect or a FGW local from platforms 12 / 13 / 14 - and then suddenly switch the service(s) to platform 11 (or whatever). This means that they then have to touch out from 12 not having gone anywhere and then touch back in to 11. And this is why so many pax. wait at the indicator boards on 12 - effectively blocking the route for tourists to/from the taxi rank - until they know that the Connect or FGW locals really are departing from 12 / 13 / 14. A few weeks ago I was inbound on the Connect and we came in on platform 9. There were quite a few tourists with luggage already waiting on 12. They had to come round to 9 thereby touching out from 12. But then 9 is open access so when they got to Heathrow they would have touched in and out of 12 but not touched in on 11. They would have paid a maximum fare for that journey. The extraction of penalty fares for not touching in and out is tantamount to theft. But like BT coin phones never giving back change form unused coins these scams rake in millions of extra profit. Rip-off Britain as usual. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- I don't think it at all reasonable to compare machines not giving change with the "penalty" for not touching in/out correctly machines the world over don't give change because the effort of stocking them with the necessary supply is prohibitive There is, of course, no such problem with electronic money tim |
Oyster: still an unreliable rip-off
In message , at 13:10:12 on Tue, 22
Apr 2014 tim..... remarked: I don't think it at all reasonable to compare machines not giving change with the "penalty" for not touching in/out correctly machines the world over don't give change because the effort of stocking them with the necessary supply is prohibitive There is, of course, no such problem with electronic money Happens all the time with electronic money held by mobile phone companies, 'expiring' under the subscriber's feet. -- Roland Perry |
Oyster: still an unreliable rip-off
In message , at 14:49:09 on
Tue, 22 Apr 2014, Paul Corfield remarked: I've used Oyster for years - PAYG and combined with a Travelcard. I have had one mischarge in all that time which I queried and which was resolved within minutes. Others have not been so lucky (either avoiding mischarges or getting it resolved quickly). I do keep an eye on my charges as I travel. An important question is "should that be necessary". Or perhaps "are we surprised we need to do it", when 'advances' in a wide range of utility billing merely gives the consumer ever more things to have to check up on. -- Roland Perry |
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