Challenging Oyster max fare based on confusing gateline layout - possible?

[mikeg]

Evening all,

Having travelled to Waterloo from Staines on a paper ticket, I went to catch the tube to the cross/pancake. However I made the mistake of 'touching in' on the open exit gatelines for national rail. I realised the mistake as soon as I had to touch in properly on the tube gateline. However there was nowhere obvious at the first gateline that said 'this is where you touch out for national rail. Please touch in again at the tube gateline for the tube and don't touch in here if getting the tube'.

I found the whole thing rather confusing, especially as I was already following the London Underground signs. How's a guy meant to know? To that end I now have been charged a maximum fare on my contactless debit card, and I suspect my friend will have had the same on her Oyster.

Another question, I thought tube and National rail could count as one journey, so what if I wanted to travel oyster/contactless from a tube station to an NR station from Waterloo? Why make us register it as two separate journeys? Do forgive me my ignorance on this, my interest is primarily in intercity/provincial services and I have relatively little to do with darn sarf usually.

 

[MikeWh]

Waterloo is a known problem for this kind of thing. Just call the helpdesk and explain what happened and they will refund the maximum fare.

You can combine Tube and National Rail in one journey. The system will automatically join the two parts of the journey as long as you don't exceed the interchange allowance. At Waterloo that is 20 minutes NR->LU and 40 minutes LU->NR. There have to be two sets of gates because the paid areas are separate stations. There really ought to be clearer signage at the gates downstairs saying that they are exits from the NR station.

 

[Tim R-T-C]

If you register your Oyster or contactless bank card on the tfl site, you can view any errant charges and query them online. Usually gets refunded in a couple of days.

Keep your paper tickets if you have them so you can show you travelled on these.

 

[Nick66]

Might the system not auto correct the fare? I had that once missing the exit validator from the W&C and my NR touch in was changed to touched pink validator on my journey history. I had a Travelcard though so it wouldn’t have cost me anything anyway.

 

[Bletchleyite]

As long as you're not doing it all the time, if you ring them up and explain what happened they'll fix it.

 

[K.o.R]

I thought you had to touch out on the Waterloo NR platforms to be able to get to the tube? Regardless of whether you use the main platform exit or the platform subways, there is a gateline.

 

[Hadders]

I thought you had to touch out on the Waterloo NR platforms to be able to get to the tube? Regardless of whether you use the main platform exit or the platform subways, there is a gateline.

You’d use your paper ticket to exit the gate line at Waterloo NR if you’d used a paper ticket to travel to Waterloo.

 

[K.o.R]

Ah, I missed the "Staines to Waterloo on a paper ticket" bit. Ignore me.

 

[Muzer]

There ARE actually signs (little A4 posters up on the pillars), but I agree that they're very easy to miss if you're not looking for them. Short of a huge banner that says "NATIONAL RAIL GATELINE" or something I'm not really sure what they could do to make it clearer, unfortunately. The whole atmosphere of the place seems pretty "undergroundy" and as has been said, you've followed so many underground signs already it's easy to forget you haven't yet been through the NR gateline.