asdf wrote:
On Wed, 24 Aug 2005 12:50:21 +0100, Roland Perry
wrote:

I'm a bit confused here. Will the 7DTC come on a free Oyster card

Yes, if you don't have one already or want an extra one (although they
seem to be reserving the right to start charging the £3 deposit again
in the future).

(disposable at the end of the week)

Only if you have no further use for an Oyster card...

or can I now put a 7DTC on my existing prepay Oyster?

Yes, you have been able to do this for some time. You can do it with
any Travelcard season provided your card is registered (I'm not sure
if they require you to register if it's only a 7DTC).

Just to add to asdf's answers - you no longer need to register any
Oyster card if it is for use with a 7DTC or a 7 Day Bus Pass
(prevoiusly you had to register in order to use an Oyster with a 7 Day
ticket but this requirement was stopped a few months ago). And it has
always been possible to have Pre Pay and a season Travelcard together
on a registered Oyster card, since the launch of Pre Pay in 2004.

So Rolan, you've no need for another Oyster card, simply put a 7DTC
onto the one you have already. If you want a monthly or longer season
on your Oyster card then it does need to be registered.

And perhaps you're not clear on one of the benefits of Oyster - the
ability to combine a season Travelcard and Pre Pay. If you need to
travel out of your Travelcard's zonal validity when travelling by Tube
or DLR then your Oyster card will automatically be debited the
appropriate extra fare - there's no need to buy a paper ticket
extension. And as Pre Pay fares on Oyster are cheaper than their
printed equivalent, you'll save money.

An example - you have a Zone 1&2 weekly Travelcard on your Oyster card,
and you wish to travel out to Heathrow on the Picadilly line from Kings
Cross. On arrival your Oyster card will be debited £1.80 (or £1.30
after 7pm and at weekends), which is the fare for travelling from Zone
3 to Zone 6. Voila - a ticket extension without the need to queue up an
buy one.

It should be noted that this 'automatic ticket extension' function only
works on routes where Pre Pay is accepted - i.e. the whole of the Tube
and the DLR networks, but *not* on the vast majority of the National
Rail network in London. For a list of the few National Rail routes
where Pre Pay is accepted, follow this link - http://tinyurl.com/78fu8.

Mizter T wrote:
asdf wrote:
On Wed, 24 Aug 2005 12:50:21 +0100, Roland Perry
wrote:

I'm a bit confused here. Will the 7DTC come on a free Oyster card

Yes, if you don't have one already or want an extra one (although they
seem to be reserving the right to start charging the £3 deposit again
in the future).


(snip)

So Rolan, you've no need for another Oyster card, simply put a 7DTC
onto the one you have already. If you want a monthly or longer season
on your Oyster card then it does need to be registered.

But will they give him his £3 back when he puts his first 7DTC on it?
I've not got one but presumably you got a receipt for your £3 which
you'd have to hand back with the Oyster card to get the £3.

Dave.

Dave Liney wrote:
Mizter T wrote:
asdf wrote:
On Wed, 24 Aug 2005 12:50:21 +0100, Roland Perry
wrote:

I'm a bit confused here. Will the 7DTC come on a free Oyster card

Yes, if you don't have one already or want an extra one (although they
seem to be reserving the right to start charging the £3 deposit again
in the future).


(snip)

So Rolan, you've no need for another Oyster card, simply put a 7DTC
onto the one you have already. If you want a monthly or longer season
on your Oyster card then it does need to be registered.

But will they give him his £3 back when he puts his first 7DTC on it?

No. Whilst I see your logic, that's not how things will work. If he
wants his £3 back then he'll have to hand back (or in Oyster speak
'surrender') his Oyster card.

The central database will keep a record of whether a card had a £3
deposit paid on it, so TfL will not be handing out £3 deposits to
people who surrender their Oyster cards if those people never paid a
deposit on the first place - i.e. if they'd got a depositless Oyster
card as a result of buying a season Travelcard, then hand it back, they
won't get £3 given to them.

I've not got one but presumably you got a receipt for your £3 which
you'd have to hand back with the Oyster card to get the £3.

I'm not entirely sure of the proper proceedure for surrendering an
Oyster card. I did it once with a registered Oyster card at a Tube
station and was given my £3 back, and the ticket clerk didn't event
ask me for my security phrase - which was not good, as I could've been
anyone making a quick £3 from a lost card found in the street. That
was in the early days of Oyster when I'm not sure that everyone knew
the correct proceedures to follow.

However I've tried to do it since with an unregistered and been told I
need to either ring the helpline, or write to Oyster customer services
who'll then send a cheque back. If this is the case then those fearful
of 'Big Brother' who wish to keep their personal details dissasociated
from their unregistered Oyster card travel record held on the database
may not ever want to surrender their card, as it would seem that to
claim the £3 deposit back you'll need to provide your personal
details. (It should be noted that the individual travel record is not
kept for longer than three months IIRC.)

In message .com, at
15:02:34 on Wed, 24 Aug 2005, Dave Liney remarked:
So Rolan, you've no need for another Oyster card, simply put a 7DTC
onto the one you have already. If you want a monthly or longer season
on your Oyster card then it does need to be registered.

But will they give him his £3 back when he puts his first 7DTC on it?

I doubt it.

I've not got one but presumably you got a receipt for your £3 which
you'd have to hand back with the Oyster card to get the £3.

I've had the Oyster since they first came out, so no chance I've still
got a receipt.

Would the "free" 7DTC Oyster also be a pre-pay, for ad-hoc use later?
--
Roland Perry

Roland Perry wrote:

Would the "free" 7DTC Oyster also be a pre-pay, for ad-hoc use later?


Every Oyster has pre-pay enabled, whether bought for pre-pay or
acquired to hold a Travelcard.

Until you add some credit to it (or use it for a ticket extension to a
Travelcard loaded on it), the balance will be £0.00.

Roland Perry typed


In message .com, at
15:02:34 on Wed, 24 Aug 2005, Dave Liney remarked:
So Rolan, you've no need for another Oyster card, simply put a 7DTC
onto the one you have already. If you want a monthly or longer season
on your Oyster card then it does need to be registered.

But will they give him his £3 back when he puts his first 7DTC on it?

I doubt it.

I've not got one but presumably you got a receipt for your £3 which
you'd have to hand back with the Oyster card to get the £3.

I've had the Oyster since they first came out, so no chance I've still
got a receipt.

Would the "free" 7DTC Oyster also be a pre-pay, for ad-hoc use later?

Yes, if you add some PrePay. AIUI Oyster cards have three 'channels' so
you load one channel with a Season ticket and another with PrePay.

--
Helen D. Vecht:
Edgware.

Roland Perry wrote:
I've not got one but presumably you got a receipt for your £3 which
you'd have to hand back with the Oyster card to get the £3.

I've had the Oyster since they first came out, so no chance I've still
got a receipt.

I really don't think the lack of receipt would be a problem. You're not
told at the time that you must keep your receipt. If anyone really does
want to surrender their Oyster card and claim their £3 back, call
Oyster customer services on 0845 330 9876 between 8am and 8pm.

Would the "free" 7DTC Oyster also be a pre-pay, for ad-hoc use later?

As Scotboy and Helen have said elsewhere in their replies, *any* Oyster
card is good to go for Pre Pay. (Any *unregistered* Oyster card is also
good to go for any 7DTC or 7 Day Buss Pass).

However I'm going to attempt to read between the lines, and maybe read
your mind! If you need a 7DTC, and you also might find it handy having
another Oyster card around (perhaps to give to a friend or visitor),
then buy a 7DTC on an unregistered Oyster card. After the 7DTC has
expired, the Oyster card can be used by, and permanently given to,
whoever you want for use with Pre Pay, or could even be loaded with
another 7DTC or 7 Day Buss Pass.