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Ideally they need to either make it easier to get the card (e.g. at ticket offices), have the option of an app or preferably move over to contactless rather than needing a dedicated smartcard.
Adding other options might be useful, but moving away from a dedicated smartcard would be a mistake. The main advantage is that it is light and simple and the equipment entirely the responsibility of the railway. There is no option to claim that it is your fault that your phone or bankcard is broken, and no mobile electronics needed.
As for ticket offices, might be marginally useful, but brings the same question as for the immensely popular campaign to preserve ticket offices: what ticket offices? The nearest is five miles away. Given that you do need internet access to monitor the thing, then booking it through the internet is natural.
The current advantage is that it is more convenient, using entirely railway equipment, and the single leg system giving price advantages for a small class of people, like cyclists. Additional advantages that might make it more popular for everyone would be perpetual 10 % discount, which for the railway could be justified against the simpler equipment and sales process.
Adding other options might be useful, but moving away from a dedicated smartcard would be a mistake. The main advantage is that it is light and simple and the equipment entirely the responsibility of the railway. There is no option to claim that it is your fault that your phone or bankcard is broken, and no mobile electronics needed.
I mean TfL, TfW, First bus and plenty others manage to deal fine with using regular contactless devices (that allow the range of bank card, phone, watch - whatever you want to use). Why can't GWR?
As for ticket offices, might be marginally useful, but brings the same question as for the immensely popular campaign to preserve ticket offices: what ticket offices? The nearest is five miles away. Given that you do need internet access to monitor the thing, then booking it through the internet is natural.
It's about giving people the option. My suggestion about ticket offices isn't because people don't have the internet, its about making the cards more visible and easy to get. If GWR are going to stick with the silly idea of having a dedicated card then make it easy to get!
Imagine if a ticket office could tell someone I could sell you a ticket for £4 but if you want to use PAYG instead its cheaper and you can get a card here if you want!
and the single leg system giving price advantages for a small class of people, like cyclists. Additional advantages that might make it more popular for everyone would be perpetual 10 % discount, which for the railway could be justified against the simpler equipment and sales process.
Ideally they need to either make it easier to get the card (e.g. at ticket offices), have the option of an app or preferably move over to contactless rather than needing a dedicated smartcard.
Is this no longer possible? I got my GWR PaYG card when they were brand new in September 2022 and it was printed for me at Bristol Temple Meads booking office -- it has my name on the back but no photograph.
I've nothing against smatcards but for an occasional user of visitor they're a but of a faff. Contactless is a better option or alternatively a smartcard that you download to your phone, like the Tyne & Wear Pop Card or the Paris Metro app.
As for the explanation, 4.6 % up and 10% down does seem to fit the observed 4 % drop in the fare since last month. As promotional discounts go the 10 % does seem to have the failing that no-one has heard of it.
Apart from which, having a promotional discount just before a fare rise has the effect of making the rise seem larger. Instead of going from 1.30 to 1.40 my senior trip to Severn Beach went from 1.20 to 1.40.
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In the meantime the fun resumes. Yesterday, 9 May 2025, I went from Sea Mills to Yate, and came back from Bath to Sea Mills (SML). All taps done correctly and on the outward journey inspected on the trains. So far only the final tap out at SML seems to have registered so instead of the journey described I have been charged for an autofilled trip from Weston (WSM) to Sea Mills. The last time this happened it self corrected when the missing taps came in, so I shall await developments.
(The 2004 arrival is nominally the train from WSM, on this occasion it was completing the journey as a separate train from Temple Meads (BRI) the train from WSM having terminated short at BRI.)
That one is still outstanding; as the fare charged is slightly less than for the real journey I shall let it lie, although I suspect after this time nothing further will happen, I do not know what the time limit for reworking journeys is.
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However, on Monday I got another auto-complete, which I will, in about a week, do something about, because I have been slightly overcharged. An open jaw journey from Sea Mills to Yate, then back from Oldfield Park, has not yet gathered in the final tap out at Sea Mills and instead of SML to YAE plus OLF to SML I have been charged for an auto-completed SML-YAE & YAE to OLF with an imaginary tap in at YAE about fifty minutes before the OLF tap in.
After a day I attempted to correct the autocomplete, but as before I have failed to do this. I did succeed in getting OLF and SML in the correct order, but the system, as usual, does not accept any time I enter. See image attached. I can see nothing wrong with the times, which I put in using their clickable clock display. Neither do I understand why only one time is available for entry. The logic here could be that as there is already one real tap time, you only need to enter the time to go with the missing exit, but it does not seem to work.
I suppose I could just take the rough with the smooth assuming that on average errors will cancel out, perhaps that is what most people do, but it seems a dangerous path, although probably the hope of all operators of ‘tap in tap out charge you what we like’ systems.
There were signs of an anomaly at Sea Mills, the first tap out gave a ‘Product expired…’ message, but a second tap produced ‘Journey ended’ so I assumed it would be correct. Perhaps I should have changed to the other terminal.
Has anyone ever succeeded in entering a valid time, and can you see any reason why my entry is wrong?
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As it happened a smart phone was delivered on Sunday, so whilst waiting for developments I installed the app recommended above, and read my PAYG card.
It shows taps at OLF & SML, so it is definitely a case of a tap getting lost on its way from the terminal.
There are only the last two taps showing, so if this is correctly showing what is on the card, then you can only check evidence of the last pair of taps, had it been SML to YAE that was missing then I would not see any confirmation of my taps.
Does anyone know if the PaYG system correctly applies the 'No £12 minimum fare during July and August' for travelling before 10am when a 16-25 railcard discount is applied?
And again, tapped in at SML, went to WSM, cycled back. SML tap not showing so have 'correction required or pay fine' message. Also still no movement on the autocomplete for the open jaw to YAE with return from OLF, so have complained as below, using the station facilities category. I cannot remember how I complained before, but the web from seems to be the best available means. As usual fell over the form not accepting special characters, probably parentheses so removed anything resembling a special character.
****************
Dear Sir or Madame,
PAYG card: nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn
Sea Mills Card Readers failure - refund for overcharge required
1. Autocomplete failure-
On the 23rd June 2025 I made an open jaw journey from Sea Mills SML to Yate YAE in the morning, cycling to Oldfield Park OL )and returning from there to SML in the evening. Due, it seems to the tap out at Sea Mills not being recorded this has been charged as a journey from SML to YAE and a later journey from YAE to OLF, with a fictitious tap in at Yate. I have attempted to provide a correction but the system is not accepting it. This is not the first time I have found correcting and autocomplete not possible where the stations have to be changed and suggest that the system could be examined.
Since the total of fares charged is greater than the total that should have been charged I request a refund of the difference to my PAYG account.
I attach images of the screen showing the journey and failure to accept correction, and of the information on my PAYG card, read by an ETSI reading app after my return.
2. On the 28th June 2025 I went from SML to Weston super Mare WSM) returning by bicycle. Again the SML tap in has not appeared, although the fare charged from unknown is probably correct. I have made the appropriate correction. Please monitor the situation to check that it is processed correctly.
It appears that the readers at SML are not working, although writing to cards, the information is not being passed upwards for processing. I suggest maintenance action on the SML readers.
Yours faithfully,
Sleepy
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It does seem that GWR should be paying us to use the system, perhaps five pounds for every tap in, twenty if a correction is required, fifty pounds per letter if needed.
It also seems a good idea to photograph an ETSI reader screen after every pair of taps. I have the impression that the terminal logic is not to allow more than two taps to exist, so when you tap in again the existing tap records are deleted from the card.
Today I received both a reply to my complaint asking for me information to support it, and a standard successful charge notice, balance £0.00. As usual no information about what has been charged, nor anything to indicate that this is a penalty.
My account now shows that in addition to the cost of the journey taken I have been charged a £25 penalty fare. I thought the system was that the days charges were bumped up to £25 in total but apparently not.
This is of course entirely GWR's fault. I have provided the information requested, and also said that if a refund is not made within a week I will initiate a charge back with my bank. View attachment 143348View attachment 143349
Obviously my aim now is to obtain a refund and then cancel the PAYG card, the financial and convenience benefits do not compensate for the financial risk.
If only I had taken my own advice. Today, after GWR losing yet another tap at Sea Mills, I have been charged £45 for a trip from Yate, despite submitting two complaints, one on each receipt of the warning, and several attempts to amend the entry. I think from now on I shall buy return tickets on the train, and only consider using the PAYG card for singles, although avoiding single trips seems sensible.
**********
Yet another letter:
Dear XXXX,
PAYG tap lost by GWR & correction system failure - £45 charge: Refund required
On the 27th October I travelled from Yate to Sea Mills by train, using a PAYG card, tapping in and out correctly, with no evidence at either place of malfunction, and my card can be read to show the taps, as in the attached image.
Since then, I have received two emails claiming that there was no tap out and informing me that I will be charged a penalty fare if I do not amend the journey. I have made several attempts too do so on two different dates, but all have failed with the error message 'enter valid time', as shown in the attached screenshot. In response to each email I raised a complaint (GWR-CR-aaaaaaa & GWR-CR-bbbbbb) requesting action to correct the error and the PAYG record. There has been no response to these complaints.
Today I received an email telling me that I have been charged £45 for the journey. I request prompt action on your part to refund this and correct the PAYG record.
Although the proximate cause of the problem is the failure to transmit tap data, the failure of the software processing this to provide the supposed amendment process is fundamental, and thorough revision appears to be needed. As a minimum the excess charging process should be slowed down that so that it uses a five week cycle, thus allowing the four week complaint handling process time to act before any charges are made.
It is also worth noting that I have probably spent as much time attempting to correct the GWR PAYG mistake as travelling in the GWR train, and suggest that compensation, including repayment of the correct fare, is now appropriate.
My GWR PAYG Card details are as follows:
etc. etc.
If only I had taken my own advice. Today, after GWR losing yet another tap at Sea Mills, I have been charged £25 for a trip from Yate, despite submitting two complaints, one on each receipt of the warning, and several attempts to amend the entry. I think from now on I shall buy return tickets on the train, and only consider using the PAYG card for singles, although avoiding single trips seems sensible.
**********
Yet another letter:
Dear XXXX,
PAYG tap lost by GWR & correction system failure - £45 charge: Refund required
On the 27th October I travelled from Yate to Sea Mills by train, using a PAYG card, tapping in and out correctly, with no evidence at either place of malfunction, and my card can be read to show the taps, as in the attached image.
Since then, I have received two emails claiming that there was no tap out and informing me that I will be charged a penalty fare if I do not amend the journey. I have made several attempts too do so on two different dates, but all have failed with the error message 'enter valid time', as shown in the attached screenshot. In response to each email I raised a complaint (GWR-CR-aaaaaaa & GWR-CR-bbbbbb) requesting action to correct the error and the PAYG record. There has been no response to these complaints.
Today I received an email telling me that I have been charged £45 for the journey. I request prompt action on your part to refund this and correct the PAYG record.
Although the proximate cause of the problem is the failure to transmit tap data, the failure of the software processing this to provide the supposed amendment process is fundamental, and thorough revision appears to be needed. As a minimum the excess charging process should be slowed down that so that it uses a five week cycle, thus allowing the four week complaint handling process time to act before any charges are made.
It is also worth noting that I have probably spent as much time attempting to correct the GWR PAYG mistake as travelling in the GWR train, and suggest that compensation, including repayment of the correct fare, is now appropriate.
My GWR PAYG Card details are as follows:
etc. etc.
The mind boggles as to how GWR can think they are in a position to operate this PAYG scheme at all given the fundamental weaknesses in their tech. Do we have a sense of how widespread these issues are?
The system of letting the customer amend their journey history to add in the missing taps is only intended to allow people some leeway to avoid a penalty if they forget to tap occasionally. Even if it worked properly, it would not be appropriate to rely on that system to correct for validator posts not being able to communicate with the backend. Quite apart from the fact the customer shouldn't be troubled, if a validator post has an unreliable connection then a customer who uses it regularly is going to exhaust their allowance of opportunities to log in and add the missing tap.
Are we sure the people who developed this system aren't former Fujitsu people? It has many of the same hallmarks of quality as the Post Office's Horizon system...
The mind boggles as to how GWR can think they are in a position to operate this PAYG scheme at all given the fundamental weaknesses in their tech. Do we have a sense of how widespread these issues are?
Even if it worked properly, it would not be appropriate to rely on that system to correct for validator posts not being able to communicate with the backend.
If there is going to be a correction, it should be the providers responsibility (even if that means physically going there and downloading data to a memory stick or similar). It shouldn't be the users responsibility to intervene to sort system failures.
... Do we have a sense of how widespread these issues are? ...
....
Are we sure the people who developed this system aren't former Fujitsu people? It has many of the same hallmarks of quality as the Post Office's Horizon system...
Since the system is still deployed I assume that problems are rare, but looking back through this thread I seem to have had quite enough, and I cannot think of anything unusual about my computer & browser. I suppose you could argue that there have not been enough problems during the last two years to prevent me using it. It suggests to me that problems may be rare because GWR PAYG is still not widely used. Anyone using it to commute would be making regular adjustments and presumably meeting the same software problems, which seem to be built into the system, not occasional hardware failures. Perhaps everyone else is making regular 0345 calls.
It would be nice to think that the operators know how well the system is working. I suspect that it is like pothole mending, which is only done when reported, and that for PAYG no one looks at the data, or no one bothers to think about it.
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I have about 100 emails with title 'PAYG billing success' and about 7 opening case references, counting the 3 for the current problem as only 1. So about 7 % of PAYG journeys seem to lead to system failures.
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Finally this afternoon, reasonable progress, in response to my first complaint on 29/19/2025. With some hiccoughs:
251027 Further Correspondence re Refund RailUK Forums copy
At last, a reply, to my first complaint made on 29/10, unfortunately it completely misunderstands the complaint, showing little evidence of having looked at the information provided.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Freepost GWR Customer Support
Thank you for contacting Great Western Railway regarding journeys with your Smartcard.
My apologies for the delay in writing. I am sorry to hear that you are experiencing issues recording 'Tap in' and 'Tap out' correctly. I have had a look at your account and there are entries as follows:
17/10 15:45 Tap In Severn Beach (no Tap Out recorded)
27/10 14:19 Tap In Yate (no Tap Out recorded)
You should be able to add the correct 'Tap Outs' for these journeys an your account will then update correctly.
I hope that answers your query and thank you for getting in touch with Great Western Railway.
Yours sincerely,
CSA
Customer Service Advisor
------------------------
Hence my reply:
Dear CSA,
Thank you for your reply. Unfortunately it does not address the complaint, nor take into account the information provided. The problem is not that I have had difficulties recording taps, it is that GWR is losing taps upstream of the terminal and I have been charged £45.00 entirely due to faults in GWR systems.
First, on 17/10 there are no anomalies shown in the account as shown to me on the GWR website, and the journey has been charged correctly at £1.40. If it shows otherwise to you that is an internal problem for GWR.
I attach a new screenshot showing my PAYG account for October 2025.
From this you will see confirmation of the problem and the action required. The tap in at Yate on 27/10 has been treated as a tap out, and the tap out at Sea Mills has been lost by the system. I have the screenshot previously supplied confirming that my card shows a tap out at Sea Mills. Due to the delay in dealing with my complaints this is not longer possible for me to alter and I have been charged £45.00. This is entirely due to failings within GWR. It was not possible for me to amend the entry despite, as stated, several attempts. I attach a further copy of the screenshot showing the GWR error preventing amendment.
The action now required from GWR is to refund the £45.00 to my credit card, and provide appropriate compensation for my time wasted on explaining the problem in complaints, including remitting the journey charge. You may correct the PAYG timings if you wish.
Yours sincerely,
Sleepy
-------------------------------
On further examination I notice that earlier correct charges have been based on autofills, so the terminal at Sea Mills had been faulty for at least three weeks, and probably still is.
My further reply:
Dear CSA,
Further to my reply earlier this afternoon I have looked again at the detail of the journeys on 17/10 and 6/10 and find that the taps at SML on both dates were autofilled. The autofill being correct I had not noticed this earlier. The journeys being correct no action is required, and would probably have been risky had I noticed. The system has a history of retaining rather than deleting customer amendments leading to the creation of spurious incomplete journeys. However what this does show is that the terminal at SML was faulty for at least three weeks, and probably still is, without GWR either noticing or taking any action to mend it.
Yours sincerely,
Sleepy
------------------------------
Crosses in the ether with:
Dear Sleepy,
Thank you for contacting Great Western Railway regarding journeys with your Smartcard and for providing additional information.
I asked the Refund team to take a look at your account and the journeys on the 17th October are showing correctly. The Refund team have refunded £41.90 for the incorrect charge on 27th October as this journey has been charged as . SGL Sea mills-Yate at £3.10.
I have also provided feedback to the relevant team regarding issues with the Smartcard reader at Sea Mills so that the matter can be investigated further.
Should you experience any further issues, please do not hesitate to contact me.
I hope that answers your query and thank you for getting in touch with Great Western Railway.
Yours sincerely,
CSA
Customer Service Advisor
----------------------
Which is better, but not what I asked for:
Dear CSA,
Thank you for your further actions. However, I requested a refund to my credit card, not the creation of a large balance on my PAYG card. It would take all winter and spring to clear this credit, especially as it would be unwise to use the SML terminal in the foreseeable future, and PAYG is supposed to stand for Pay As You Go, not Pay In Advance.
Please arrange further action to transfer the refund to my credit card.
Yours sincerely,
Sleepy
-----------------------------
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I notice he says he has reported the hardware fault, but does not mention the software fault.
The answer to the earlier assumption that GWR know whether terminals are not working seems to be that they have no monitoring, either by remote detection, or by the other method of investigating terminals showing an unusual number of autofills. Possibly because I am the only remaining PAYG user in Bristol, the other three being quicker witted and giving up long ago, so there is little evidence.
Interesting also that the processing has plainly learnt to associate me with Sea Mills , but not to the extent of autofilling it as the destination if the start is not Severn Beach.
Hi, I wanted to ask about a journey I took in October.
I traveled from Bristol TM 08:32 to Kemble 09:43
Kemble 15:41 to Cheltenham Spa 16:33
Cheltenham Spa 17:32 to Bath Spa 19:00 via Bristol TM.
I have a 16-25 railcard included in the prices below.
I got charged an anytime day return (£23.30) from Bristol to Kemble and then a PAYG anytime single (£3.95) from Yate to Bath (my train didn't even stop at Yate.) This comes to (£27.25)
However, I figured it would be cheaper to be charged:
Bristol TM - Kemble PAYG Anytime Single £12
Kemble - Bristol TM PAYG Off Peak Single £9.05
Bristol TM - Bath PAYG Anytime Single £3.85
Coming to £24.90
I am normally charged £24.90 for this journey, going via Swindon but this time, going via Cheltenham Spa, which should be a permitted route, has cost me more.
What is more confusing is why I have been charged from Yate to Bath rather than Bristol TM to Bath - a 10p difference but still confusing.
I have sent many emails to GWR going back and forth over this and I have not reached a satisfactory conclusion.
Is it best to contact the Rail Ombudsman about this if no resolution is found?
As mentioned by @fandroid, the GWR flavour of PAYG will combine journeys and therefore would charge the overall single. This is stated in their FAQ:
Can I break my journey using pay-as-you-go?
Yes, you can. At the end of the day, we’ll use the taps you made to see your complete journey.
For example, if you're in Cornwall and travelled from Penzance to Truro, then later in the day travelled to Falmouth Docks, you would be charged a Penzance to Falmouth Docks Single ticket.
If you were travelling in Bristol from Bath Spa to Bristol Temple Meads, then later in the day travelled to Cheltenham Spa, you would be charged a Bath Spa to Cheltenham Spa Single ticket.
It is not clear whether the journey was split at Cheltenham in the sense of tapping in and out or whether C707 just changed trains there, spending a very boring hour on the platform. The fact that the PAYG rules do ask you to tap out on leaving the station if breaking a journey implies that they intend to charge a different fare for a break rather than a connection, but the examples given in the rules suggest otherwise, unless the break is cheaper. If you merely connected at Bristol (BRI) then it may be that there is a Cheltenham (CNM) to Bath (BTH) fare that applies, which is the example the rules give. Yate (YAE) does seem to be treated as a zone boundary with an automatically inserted fare break there, although I have never travelled on a train that did not stop there, taking a bicycle unbooked on a Voyager seems like asking for trouble.
If you have constructed a set of PAYG fares that are cheaper than the system charged you I suggest raising a complaint asking for a refund of the difference.
The Kemble section does seem to be unusual in having peak and offpeak PAYG single fares, I thought the general PAYG system was based on the attraction of anytime half singles, moderated by any offpeak returns. One of the reasons I have not been round there is that it seems that unexpectedly high fares could be charged, in addition to which the services are 800s, second to Voyagers in inconvenience for unbooked bicycle carriage, and also the connections, I would be spending too much of the day travelling. The Kemble section may be a geographically neat addition, but does not correspond to natural travel flows from Bristol.
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And so to resume the tale of lost taps:
In the end the penalty fare was deducted and refunded on the same day, but the hassle is surprising, and the number of failures puzzling for something that has been in use for over two years, and which I think someone in this thread said was probably a derivative of a system used elsewhere in the UK
Shortly after the refund Higher Authority (HA) responded providing a £20 compensation voucher, this is an anonymised version of her reply:
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Dear Sleepy Hollow
?
Thank you for your email of 7 November to SA regarding your PAYG card usage on the 27 October 2025. As part of the team, I have been asked to investigate and respond on behalf of SA, please accept my apologies for the delay in getting back to you.
I am extremely sorry to read of the difficulties you faced due to the system not registering your tap in/outs and for the length of time trying to obtain the £45.00 charge that was made.
I can see since your email to SA, that CSA has managed to ensure the money is returned to you.
?
Due to the inconvenience caused I've provided a £20.00 voucher code for you. It's ready to be used straight away, and you can use it towards the cost of any ticket you buy on our website. Its valid for 12 months.
Voucher Code
When youre ready to use your voucher, sign in at GWR.com and search for your journey as normal. When you reach the review page you can enter this code , click the add button and this will be credited to your account. On the payment page, you will be given the option to use your e-voucher towards the cost of your journey. Any remaining value can be used towards a future booking.
If you're collecting your tickets from one of our machines, and the voucher covers the entire cost, you can use any payment card as ID. However, if it only covers part of the cost, youll need the card you paid with.
Unfortunately Evouchers are not compatible with PAYG.
Please again accept my sincere apologies for the frustration caused; If i can be of further assistance please do not hesitate to get in touch.
Yours sincerely,
HA
HA Manager
**********************************
Dear HA,
Thank you for your reply & for the compensation voucher. The one year voucher validity will allow me time to review my travel policy during the winter. As a minimum It seems sensible to avoid PAYG when there is no financial advantage, in other words to reserve it for single journeys. The convenience of PAYG is somewhat outweighed by the need to keep careful check & to deal with failures of the system.
After two years use I am surprised that there are so many flaws. I hope that GWR will put renewed effort into making the PAYG system work. There are failures in at least three areas:
1. Communication from terminals & the fact that this can be slower than the penalty process.
2. System design errors: e.g. The fact that receiving late terminal data, after a user has submitted a correction can produce erroneous automatic corrections combining a now complete set of real data with a customer input. Late data should result in the cancellation of all user inputs and a fresh start for further customer review. Additionally there should be a customer review stage when entering corrections and customer input that produces a penalty fare should be rejected and and reentry requests.
3. Failures to perform as designed. e.g. The recent inability to accept user correction of an error. I do not think I have ever succeeded in correcting an incorrect autofill, fortunately incorrect autofills have in the past been automatically corrected when lost terminal data finally arrive.
I did let GWR know that there were 2 ways my PAYG fare could have been cheaper. However, my complaint was just refused with no proper reasoning. I'm thinking of trying the Rail Ombudsman now as after lots of back and forth, it's going nowhere.
I did let GWR know that there were 2 ways my PAYG fare could have been cheaper. However, my complaint was just refused with no proper reasoning. I'm thinking of trying the Rail Ombudsman now as after lots of back and forth, it's going nowhere.
Lot of back and forth without explanation is surprising, I think you usually get to someone you can discuss it with at about the third email. Have you invoked higher authority yet?
Perhaps, first, it might be useful to check your argument by opening a thread in the Fare Disputes section of this forum, stating exactly what you did, listing all taps and tap times, with a reference to the fare table. See if anyone argues that you have got it wrong and why.
Lot of back and forth without explanation is surprising, I think you usually get to someone you can discuss it with at about the third email. Have you invoked higher authority yet?
Perhaps, first, it might be useful to check your argument by opening a thread in the Fare Disputes section of this forum, stating exactly what you did, listing all taps and tap times, with a reference to the fare table. See if anyone argues that you have got it wrong and why.
And now for a bit of light relief the entire GWR internet system is being thrown up in the air and recast for 'planned maintenance', requiring a password reset, entering new payment card details, vanishing previously booked tickets, no new PAYG user creation this week, and PAYG outage next Tuesday. (1)
And I have no idea what this bit means:
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If you are a pay-as-you-go customer, you will need to update your bank card details.
To update your bank card:
Log in to My Account
Select the pay-as-you-go tab
Select 'Update payment details'
You will then need to collect your new card from your home GWR station. Alternatively, you can manage your card on the National Rail Smartcard Manager app.
*********************
What new card do I need to collect from a GWR station?
This is a miswording I believe. It means you need to tap in at your home station, or use the linked app, to load the PAYG 'ticket' onto your smartcard.
This is a miswording I believe. It means you need to tap in at your home station, or use the linked app, to load the PAYG 'ticket' onto your smartcard.
Miswording is a very polite term if 'Collect your new card from a station' means 'Take your old card to a station & tap it'. For a GWR PAYG card does it just mean tap as usual?
Miswording is a very polite term if 'Collect your new card from a station' means 'Take your old card to a station & tap it'. For a GWR PAYG card does it just mean tap as usual?
& Finally on the 25th GWR sent an email saying that the upgrade had taken place on the 24th, & with instructions as to what to do. Fairly simple, enter new password, & for PAYG, update payment method, the latter to be done by 4 March if I wished to continue to use PAYG. So I did those, reusing the old password, just like everyone else. Unfortunately, being a diligent customer I clicked on the link for T&C's before agreeing to them. These are far more confusing, and include another deadline. I think what all the 'load your new pay-as-you-go product' means is 'tap in to use your card'. I shall just wait & see what happens, it is probable that I shall use the PAYG card before 24 March, although I managed to avoid using it throughout November & December and made just one journey in January. Also two journeys in February, but paid for by my compensation voucher. These repeated short deadlines suggest that either there are far too many rarely used PAYG cards, or that running a PAYG system for the three known users is a bit of a faff, and GWR are hoping that if they kick all three off, the three will think it too much trouble to reregister.
Also had to reenter my railcard number, type & expiry date.
As forewarned the e-voucher disappeared, and typing the number in will not work, because you now need a PIN to go with an e-voucher. There was £17.10 still on it, so I wrote at once to the railway official who issued it asking for advice. Today, within two days I see that a new, activated, £20 voucher with PIN has appeared in my account. No doubt the purpose of the PIN will be revealed when I need to use it.
Minor mystery: On the 25th I appeared to have gained a second smart card, with an expiry date several years later than my existing one, but today this no longer appears.
Thanks for pointing out that second deadline, it didn't appear in the e-mail with the other instructions.
I also had the two cards thing: one with a 2035 expiry year and one with 2099, and my friend who also has a PAYG card said he saw three cards on his dashboard. All very fiddly.
We are aware of an issue with emails from the Forum to Microsoft-based email accounts (hotmail/outlook/live.com email addresses). This is being looked into currently, thanks for your patience meanwhile.
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