Lost/stolen Oyster cards

[WesternLancer]

Given cases we get involving people who have been stopped using Oyster cards they have found, but which don’t belong to them it’s notable how many of these cards there seem to be 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?

 

[Trainman40083]

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]

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]

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?

 

[saismee]

You should get on Telegram.

I would strongly disagree.

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.

And Oyster cards are the least dodgy things sold on Telegram.

 

[speedy1]

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

 

[gembercannelle]

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]

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]

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]

*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.

 

[etr221]

Coming from the Fare Evasion Issue thread , is it possible to determine if a 'found' Oyster card is registered? (And if so how?)

 

[Haywain]

is it possible to determine if a 'found' Oyster card is registered? (And if so how?)

Yes, try and register it yourself. TfL's system will not allow a card to be registered twice.

 

[londonbridge]

I’ve found about four or five Oyster cards that I can recall over the years, all of them being kids Zip cards and all but one in the street. In a couple of cases I was able to track down the owner through local social media and arrange for them to be returned. In one case I handed it to a bus driver when I had no response to my social media posts after 48 hours. And the other one I found on the Victoria line platform at Kings Cross , which I handed to the gateline person as I exited the station.

 

[jumble]

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?

Well if the oyster card has a over 60 railcard discount on it and is presented by an 18 year old...

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: Yesterday at 14:17 ==

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.

LU Station staff will cancel a lost over 60 pass on the spot if it is handed in to a station

 

[MikeWh]

Well if the oyster card has a over 60 railcard discount on it and is presented by an 18 year old...

I take it you mean Senior railcard. There are only two settings for railcards on the Oyster card: Disabled (gets discounts on peak fares/caps) and National Railcard which covers everything else including Gold Cards.

 

[WesternLancer]

I’ve found about four or five Oyster cards that I can recall over the years, all of them being kids Zip cards and all but one in the street. In a couple of cases I was able to track down the owner through local social media and arrange for them to be returned. In one case I handed it to a bus driver when I had no response to my social media posts after 48 hours. And the other one I found on the Victoria line platform at Kings Cross , which I handed to the gateline person as I exited the station.

Perhaps if you are a child and you get free travel and replacement cards are issued at modest cost (or your parents pay that fee) you don’t place much weight on cancelling the lost one?

Although I guess at any point in time there are thousands in use so a small percentage of losses is still a few.

 

[Chiltern 165]

Are the streets of London paved with such cards

I would say London has many oysters about.

There are 118.8 million oyster cards out there, for a city of 8 million. They are rather cheap (only £5), and many people don't monitor them well - you can always get a new one, and who is possessive for a card which has 20p left on it.

 

[WesternLancer]

I would say London has many oysters about.

There are 118.8 million oyster cards out there, for a city of 8 million. They are rather cheap (only £5), and many people don't monitor them well - you can always get a new one, and who is possessive for a card which has 20p left on it.

good points. I think I may have 2 or 3 - and don't use them that often as my visits to London are not as common for me as they once were.

 

[DaveB10780]

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

And a railcard tax which is very annoying. Oyster should be free for railcard holders until they get their act together on contactless discounts. A disgrace.

 

[Hadders]

I would say London has many oysters about.

There are 118.8 million oyster cards out there, for a city of 8 million. They are rather cheap (only £5), and many people don't monitor them well - you can always get a new one, and who is possessive for a card which has 20p left on it.

£10.50 now

 

[185143]

I had one stolen once.

Logged into my Oyster account, it hadn't been used and had a negative balance on it as a maximum fare had been incurred. Reported it as stolen and that was the end of it. FWIW, I was not asked to pay the negative balance. It had a railcard discount or I would be unlikely to have ever registered it.

 

[Chiltern 165]

£10.50 now

That is including a minimum credit of £5, right?

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: Today at 08:24 ==

I had one stolen once.

Logged into my Oyster account, it hadn't been used and had a negative balance on it as a maximum fare had been incurred. Reported it as stolen and that was the end of it. FWIW, I was not asked to pay the negative balance. It had a railcard discount or I would be unlikely to have ever registered it.

I don’t believe TfL typically tries getting compensation for negative balances?

 

[Titfield]

I don’t believe TfL typically tries getting compensation for negative balances?

I think they take a business view that the cost of recovery would be far greater than the revenue gained. Furthermore they probably factor a certain amount of the card cost as covering (paying up front) the average negative balance.

 

[Hadders]

That is including a minimum credit of £5, right?

No. The card now costs £10.50, credit you load is in addition to that.

 

[Blaine]

Perhaps if you are a child and you get free travel and replacement cards are issued at modest cost (or your parents pay that fee) you don’t place much weight on cancelling the lost one?

I'd assume that ordering a replacement card would cancel the original... feeling guilty now as I managed to lose my son's card he'd given me for safekeeping the first day we got it

 

[londonbridge]

Referencing not worrying about cards with small balances, my old card that I used before switching to contactless isn’t really “lost”, as it’ll still be in the house somewhere, but it had/has a negative balance as I recall….think I last used it on a bus and triggered “one more journey” mode.

 

[jumble]

I take it you mean Senior railcard. There are only two settings for railcards on the Oyster card: Disabled (gets discounts on peak fares/caps) and National Railcard which covers everything else including Gold Cards.

I had no idea as I don't have a senior railcard

 

[Chiltern 165]

No. The card now costs £10.50, credit you load is in addition to that.

Expensive…

When I purchased an Elizabeth Line oyster (2022) they were only £5+£5 minimum credit.

 

[185143]

Expensive…

When I purchased an Elizabeth Line oyster (2022) they were only £5+£5 minimum credit.

And IIRC that £5 became credit after a certain period?

 

[Chiltern 165]

And IIRC that £5 became credit after a certain period?

No, it is instantly. It would make you pay £5 for the card, then select an option to add money (of which the lowest was £5).

I am not quite convinced it is higher, I will have a look when I'm on the Tube next.