Right... bear with me on this one. I am on the verge of losing it with the Oyster helpdes=
k.

My commute to work uses zones 2 to 5. My journey starts at a National Rail station. I the=
n subsequently use the underground.

I dont normally know until the last minute (due to partner's unpredictable shift pat=
tern) whether I will drive or get public transport to work that week so unable to buy tr=
avelcard in advance.

So, on a Monday morning I arrive at the station and need to buy a 7 day travelcard. They c=
annot sell me a ticket on Oyster so insist I purchase a paper ticket. The only downside=
to this is I often (2 or 3 times a week) start my commute home from zone 1. This is where th=
e problems start. I can't enter the station at zone 1 using my paper ticket as it's not v=
alid. And I cant touch in with my prepay Oyster as when I touch out I will charged for the=
whole journey although I have zones 2 to 5 on a travelcard.

For the first few weeks this was a problem (using prepay to enter/exit) I contacted th=
e helpdesk and they credited the cash back to my Oyster card. However, they now refuse=
to do this, say I will have to buy a (high priced) paper ticket to cover the zone 1 leg of m=
y journey. I've even begged the National Rail station to issue me with a permit to trav=
el so I can get my ticket on Oyster at the first available point (when I interchange to t=
he tube) - but they wont let me.

On the one week where I knew in advance I would be commuting the following week I went to=
the tube station to get a travelcard on my Oyster in advance. And guess what (which did=
nt come to light until 4 days later)? The moron started it from that day, therefore mak=
ing me have 2 travelcards running simultaneously on the same Oyster card for 3 days. W=
hen I contacted the helpdesk they offered me a =C2=A310 refund, which would credit th=
e next time I went through the barriers. 2 weeks and FOUR phone calls later they finall=
y added the credit to my card.

Meant to make you life easier? What a f*cking joke.