TFL/SW trains vs. Me

[Jog On]

Got a bit of a situation brewing with a problem I had earlier this week. Here's the background:

I live in Hampton (zone 6) and commute into the West End every day. I buy a weekly 1-6 Oyster which I update each week - it works on the train (SW trains) and the tube/busses etc.

So - last weekend on Sunday evening I remembered that I needed to recharge my Oyster in time for Monday am so I thought I'd make use of their online update facility.

No problems there - very efficient at charging my card - got a receipt in an email all tikkedyboo (so I thought).

The website asked me which station I would like to use to 'upload' the details onto my new card. Seeing as there are no card readers in Hampton and I've only ever seen a guard with a card reader on a train about once I chose the first station with a card reader I get to - Vauxhall mainline (not the tube).

So I use the dropdown menu on the site and choose 'Vauxhall station' - All good so far.

Next morning I get an email notification that says:

The products you ordered through Oyster online are now ready to be uploaded onto your Oyster card as you walk through and touch your Oyster card on any ticket gate at:
Vauxhall station.

What happens when I get to Vauxhall and touch my card on the reader? - Seek Assistance! It turns out that it can only be updated at a tube card reader and not a train card reader so it didn't register.

So I queue up for about 30 minutes to be told that I need to pay for my journey from Hampton to Vauxhall and then claim it back. I explained that I had actually updated my Oyster online the night before online, paid already and would not be paying again.

To this they took it as a refusal to pay for my journey and issued me with a £20 penalty. So when I got into work (45 minutes late I might add) I was fuming and phoned up their helpline. They were very apologetic and asked me to call back a day or 2 later when the penalty was on the system and they could sort it all out.

I phoned them up just now and their stance now is - because I had 'failed' to charge my card by touching it on a reader before the start of my journey it was my fault. Now I have been given 3 different numbers to chase up as I made it very clear that I will not be paying any penalty fare.

Have I got time for this nonsense? Is it my fault that I used their online system to save time and hassle of going to a shop to update my card? From my point of view I had paid the day before (I have a receipt). If there are limits to how the cards are updated WTF are they doing offering an online update service that allows someone like me to end up in this situation?

So now I have to chase up these fecking muppets before it gets to doubling of the fine and stupid court charges which they would obviously charge to me for 'failing to act' if it get's that far..

Maybe I'll send the contents of this post to Ken .. and CC Boris as well

[King Cnvt]

You've got to Love the simple British way of life.

[DBA_bloke]

Got a bit of a situation brewing with a problem I had earlier this week. Here's the background:

I read all of that and nearly died of clinical depression and abject boredom by time I reached the end. Cheer up, FFS!

[milanbenes]

am I glad I don't live in Laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaandan

Milan.

[Moscow Mule]

am I glad I don't live in Laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaandan

Milan.

Neither does JogOn - Hampton, it's almost the countryside!

[Jog On]

I read all of that and nearly died of clinical depression and abject boredom by time I reached the end. Cheer up, FFS!

Would prefer it if you actually did next time.

Thanks

[Zippy]

Don't ring up - write enclosing a copy of your receipt and don't forget to explain about the card reader problem. You obviously paid up so they should stop this nonsense now.

Useful info though. I didn't know the top up thingy only worked at tube barriers.

[milanbenes]

TFL seem to have made the most complicated system they could think of

all this oyster card blx and charging it online and then activating the card at the stations, this is the kind of IT system developed by someone who wouldn't actually have to use it

feck's sake what a system


Milan.

[MrRobin]

TFL are a bunch of proper muppets sometimes. It's not the technology or the infrastructure or the oyster cards that are at fault, it's the low level staff's inability to deal with any sort of issue or error that may occur. Their immediate stance is ££FINE! or SCUM FAREDODGER! presumably because they have to deal with lots of them every day.

I had an experience when I asked for a monthly Z1-6 renewal, but they started it on the wrong date so for 1 day I had no ticket and got the penalty. I wrote the penalty reclaim letter explaining this and eventually got the £20 back, but what a palaver

[Jog On]

Don't ring up - write enclosing a copy of your receipt and don't forget to explain about the card reader problem. You obviously paid up so they should stop this nonsense now.

Useful info though. I didn't know the top up thingy only worked at tube barriers.

Thanks, I think I'll do that.