I don't understand why we keep seeing stories about unclaimed Oyster
money as though TFL is doing something wrong.

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/trans...-10430319.html


Clearly the deposit was necessary to cut down on people throwing the
cards away. And clearly anyone can get their money back, even from
aboard by mailing it. You can get a refund on the credit online if not
the deposit. And the average credit on cards is only £3.74 a card in
any case.

About the only thing they could do is allow people to cancel the card
completely online and get credit and deposit back.

Am I missing something?

E.

On 01/08/2015 18:48, eastender wrote:
I don't understand why we keep seeing stories about unclaimed Oyster
money as though TFL is doing something wrong.

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/trans...-10430319.html


Clearly the deposit was necessary to cut down on people throwing the
cards away. And clearly anyone can get their money back, even from
aboard by mailing it. You can get a refund on the credit online if not
the deposit. And the average credit on cards is only £3.74 a card in any
case.

About the only thing they could do is allow people to cancel the card
completely online and get credit and deposit back.

Am I missing something?


The massive conspiracy that doesn't exist except in the minds of
excitable / dim folk?

Does it perhaps keep cropping up as the result of new FOI answers, or
answers from TfL to London assembly members?

I need to dig out that old card I've got with £30+ on it which snapped
rendering it unusable... problem is I've no idea where I safely stashed
it away!

On 01/08/2015 18:55, Mizter T wrote:

On 01/08/2015 18:48, eastender wrote:
I don't understand why we keep seeing stories about unclaimed Oyster
money as though TFL is doing something wrong.

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/transport/unclaimed-money-on-dormant-oyster-cards-soars-to-170million-10430319.html

Clearly the deposit was necessary to cut down on people throwing the
cards away. And clearly anyone can get their money back, even from
aboard by mailing it. You can get a refund on the credit online if not
the deposit. And the average credit on cards is only £3.74 a card in any
case.

About the only thing they could do is allow people to cancel the card
completely online and get credit and deposit back.

Am I missing something?

The massive conspiracy that doesn't exist except in the minds of
excitable / dim folk?


Just a quick extra thought - Oyster's certainly better in this respect
compared to the Netherland's OV-chipkaart. An anonymous, unregistered
card costs €7.50 (which is in fact only a "suggested retail price" so a
retailer could charge more), is "valid for 4 to 5 years" (bit vague!),
and if you want to reclaim the left over credit it costs a €2.50
administration fee at a "public transport company counter". If there's a
way of getting the money back by post without first getting a form from
such a counter, they don't wish to advertise it!:

https://www.ov-chipkaart.nl/aanvragen/welkekaartpastbiju/toeristen/

On 2015-08-01 18:04:50 +0000, Mizter T said:

Oyster's certainly better in this respect compared to the Netherland's
OV-chipkaart. An anonymous, unregistered card costs €7.50 (which is in
fact only a "suggested retail price" so a retailer could charge more),
is "valid for 4 to 5 years" (bit vague!), and if you want to reclaim
the left over credit it costs a €2.50 administration fee at a "public
transport company counter". If there's a way of getting the money back
by post without first getting a form from such a counter, they don't
wish to advertise it!:

That's because they expect you to go Dutch in the Netherlands.

E.

On 01/08/2015 18:48, eastender wrote:
I don't understand why we keep seeing stories about unclaimed Oyster
money as though TFL is doing something wrong.

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/trans...-10430319.html


Clearly the deposit was necessary to cut down on people throwing the
cards away. And clearly anyone can get their money back, even from
aboard by mailing it. You can get a refund on the credit online if not
the deposit. And the average credit on cards is only £3.74 a card in any
case.

About the only thing they could do is allow people to cancel the card
completely online and get credit and deposit back.

Am I missing something?

E.







I get weekly e-mails with my journey history.
My Oyster auto tops up when my credit reaches £8 (IIRC).
On the few times that I have been overcharged, usually in times of train
chaos, a simple call of less that five minutes has obtained a refund
(usually next day).
Once as I was on holiday I did not claim the refund in the next week, I
received an e-mail telling me that I had not yet collected it.

All in all, no problems.

---
This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
http://www.avast.com

There is also a scandalous amount of unused money on the nation's debit cards. That money should be cleared out by the government and used to build hospitals.

"Offramp" wrote in message
...
There is also a scandalous amount of unused money on the nation's debit
cards. That money should be cleared out by the government and used to
build hospitals.

90p of it's mine

I have ever intention of spending it some day

tim

I remember reading somewhere that all of those unspent funds in Oyster accounts has to be listed in TfL's accounts as a liability. With hindsight, from the start of Oyster the Ts & Cs should have included a provision for unclaimed balances to eventually expire.

Steve Lewis wrote:
I remember reading somewhere that all of those unspent funds in
Oyster accounts has to be listed in TfL's accounts as a liability.
With hindsight, from the start of Oyster the Ts & Cs should have
included a provision for unclaimed balances to eventually expire.

I don't see a problem with the current regime. The balance on PAYG
Oysters is shown in the accounts as part of short term creditors - along
with the balance of travelcards and bus passes which are in the nature
of payments in advance. The total for all those was £m357 in 2014.
AFAICS that does no harm to TfL because it has of course had the money
which goes into the pot of reserves of over £m4,000. So I am willing to
trust to TfL's business (and political) judgment that it better to carry
unspent balances on PAYG Oysters rather than incur the many costs of
dealing with greater numbers of requests for refunds; and the costs of
dealing with complaints (eg "your outrageous system did not just grab my
£9 without warning but also stranded great aunt Agatha in her wheelchair
at midnight - and her without a spare colostomy bag") - plus the
reputational damage.

10 or 20 years from now I can see a case for a review but for now I'd
let sleeping cards slumber on in peace.


--
Robin
reply to address is (meant to be) valid

In article ,
(Paul Corfield) wrote:

On Sat, 1 Aug 2015 18:48:38 +0100, eastender wrote:

I don't understand why we keep seeing stories about unclaimed Oyster
money as though TFL is doing something wrong.


http://www.standard.co.uk/news/trans...rmant-oyster-c
ards-soars-to-170million-10430319.html

Clearly the deposit was necessary to cut down on people throwing the
cards away. And clearly anyone can get their money back, even from
aboard by mailing it. You can get a refund on the credit online if not
the deposit. And the average credit on cards is only £3.74 a card in
any case.

About the only thing they could do is allow people to cancel the card
completely online and get credit and deposit back.

Am I missing something?

Yes - the fact that Caroline Pidgeon has a massive bee in her bonnet
about this and asks TfL / the Mayor the same question on a regular
basis and then chucks out a "how outrageous" press release when she
gets the answer.

All the politicians on the transport committee have their favoured
campaign issues that they repeatedly ask the mayor about and then use
as sticks to beat TfL over the head. It's all a bit pathetic but
that's politics.

When my travelcard expired on my Oyster Card I got a "would you like a
refund on your Oyster Card?" E mail and then I got a chase up. I am
perfectly happy to keep a balance on my Oyster Card in exactly the
same way that there is a balance on my Suica Card, my EZpass card, my
Octopus Card and my OV Chipkaart. The balances aren't huge but they
exist.

Based on my own experience TfL apply the processes and reminders that
they said they would. They can't force people to apply for refunds
nor can they forcibly return funds to people as they probably don't
possess sufficient info to allow it and some people are no doubt
untroubled by retaining a card balance.

The point now, surely, is that unless you have a season ticket or a relevant
railcard there is no point in using Oyster Pay As You go any more and that
Contactless is preferable? I've been struck by how large balances really
occasional users I know have on their Oyster cards.

--
Colin Rosenstiel