Should the contactless reader at Wimbledon show something to confirm it has recognised your card?

[ivorytoast28]

I just arrived at Wimbledon off a paper ticket transferring to Thameslink. I tapped my card and it didn't seem to obviously do anything. I tapped a second time and again no change on the screen and no sound just a generic message and the orange light throughout. I asked the guy on the platform if there was an issue and he said "yeah it's working, don't worry mate" but I'm not convinced as I've had no notification from Monzo yet either. Shouldn't it give some indication? Having spent too long reading the prosecutions thread here I'm wondering whether i should get off and tap at Farringdon just to be safe rather than getting to the st pancras gateline to realise it did indeed fail. Or am I overthinking?

 

[MrJeeves]

You could check whether it's tapped in through the TfL Oyster & Contactless app.

I would always expect a beep and/or a green light for a tap in/out if it was successful, and if you didn't have one of these, I would assume it didn't read your card.

You won't "realise" it failed at the St Pancras gateline. Contactless will let you exit the gateline without issue, but you will be charged a maximum fare when the transaction is completed overnight by TfL.

Likewise, if your card is checked by a revenue inspector, they cannot tell if you have tapped in or not with a contactless card. Instead, if the system hasn't had a tap recorded before the inspection, you'll be charged a maximum fare.

If you fail three revenue inspections, your contactless card is permanently blocked from TfL services.

 

[ivorytoast28]

You could check whether it's tapped in through the TfL Oyster & Contactless app.

I would always expect a beep and/or a green light for a tap in/out if it was successful, and if you didn't have one of these, I would assume it didn't read your card.

You won't "realise" it failed at the St Pancras gateline. Contactless will let you exit the gateline without issue, but you will be charged a maximum fare when the transaction is completed overnight by TfL.

Likewise, if your card is checked by a revenue inspector, they cannot tell if you have tapped in or not with a contactless card. Instead, if the system hasn't had a tap recorded before the inspection, you'll be charged a maximum fare.

If you fail three revenue inspections, your contactless card is permanently blocked from TfL services.

Thank you for the quick response, very helpful and informative. I don't have the app but checked on the tfl site and no sign either, but it's good to know that I can safely tap out at St Pancras and sort it out at a later date and the worst is a max fare.

 

[MikeWh]

On the TfL site it is on the account home page under a heading called Today's travel.

The reader should definitely have acknowledged the tap. Orange should change to green or red with one or two beeps.