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Lost/stolen Oyster cards

WesternLancer

Veteran Member
Joined
12 Apr 2019
Messages
15,045
Notable how many of these cards there are about for people to find. Are the streets of London paved with such cards

Is there not a process to report and get them cancelled if you lose them? Is it not in the interests of the card holder to do so.
 
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Trainman40083

Established Member
Joined
29 Jan 2024
Messages
4,551
Location
Derby
Notable how many of these cards there are about for people to find. Are the streets of London paved with such cards

Is there not a process to report and get them cancelled if you lose them? Is it not in the interests of the card holder to do so.
It amazes me, just how many cards are found and used. I've only ever found one card in my live and I handed that in ..
 

AlterEgo

Verified Rep - Wingin' It! Paul Lucas
Joined
30 Dec 2008
Messages
29,307
Location
LBK
It amazes me, just how many cards are found and used. I've only ever found one card in my live and I handed that in ..
You should get on Telegram. Loads of stolen ones are sold on there. I've been forcibly added to two groups in the last year and both were selling stolen Oyster cards and the like.
 

Thebaz

Member
Joined
24 Nov 2016
Messages
495
Location
Purley
Notable how many of these cards there are about for people to find. Are the streets of London paved with such cards

Is there not a process to report and get them cancelled if you lose them? Is it not in the interests of the card holder to do so.
There is a process and it's actually really annoying - I lose my card every now and then (usually once or twice a year.) When reporting it lost/stolen/damaged you are given two options: a) post a new card (take 5-7 business days) b) transfer products to an existing card. I my need my card every day so waiting 5-7 days for a new one is particularly pointless and I imagine that's much the same for rather a lot of commuters. Even if you manage to find somewhere to buy a new Oyster card the day of the loss, you can't transfer the products until the card has been registered and you can't register it until it's been used! Then it will not register on the system until the next day. So you end up having to pay for at least one day's travel - which you can then claim back but only on a couple of occasions per year. The last time this happened to me I was on the phone to TFL for over three quarters of an hour being passed around and back trying to get a refund

Anyway that's by-the-by. The OP needs to tell us why they were even stopped, because having a legitimate ticket on the Oyster should not lead to any kind of questioning from an RPI, surely?
 

speedy1

Member
Joined
1 Sep 2023
Messages
344
Location
Mossley
Not sure if the £10.50 fee contributes to the temptation to use a found one — probably minor compared to the other reasons — but it's an excuse for me to moan how ridiculous the charge is given how expensive fares are! Up from £7 last year. A tourist tax mainly I guess
 
Joined
12 Nov 2025
Messages
141
Location
Cranleigh
Back in the days when you couldn't pay with a bank card, I found two Pay as you Go Oyster cards - one at a train station and another one somewhere in the streets of London. Both were unregistered. I returned them to the nearest LU ticket office...
 

reb0118

Established Member
Fares Advisor
Joined
28 Jan 2010
Messages
3,579
Location
Bo'ness, West Lothian
What are the chances of a found unregistered (or even registered* for that matter) card being handed back to its owner?

*I understand, if registered, that the card could be stopped and any remaining balance transferred but would the physical card be returned?
 

81A

Member
Joined
22 May 2026
Messages
268
Location
GWR land
Interestingly, I've never seen a discarded Oyster on the ground... Many Day Travelcards though, which given the rarity of magnetic tickets in London now does show the (extortionate) card fee does cause people to look after them!
 

rmHawk765

Member
Joined
8 Apr 2025
Messages
751
Location
ECML South
*I understand, if registered, that the card could be stopped and any remaining balance transferred but would the physical card be returned?
I imagine if it is registered and returned it may very well be posted back to the owner. However there is certainly no chance of getting an unregistered card back.
 

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