Oyster card - anyway of getting a statement/balance?

[NiceCupOfTea]

I need receipts for expenses/tax, is there any way of getting an online statement or something when using an Oyster card?

[Agrilla]

https://oyster.tfl.gov.uk/oyster/link/0004.do
* A quick and easy way to top up your Oyster card and/or renew your Travelcard
* Once you set up your account you don't need to complete an online form with every purchase
* Your Oyster card will be protected against loss or theft
* If you have topped up your Oyster card online, then you can view your pay as you go journey history
* You will receive email updates on planned disruptions to your regular route

This might help?

[NiceCupOfTea]

Thanks for that, I was afraid that might be the only way.

I really dislike the idea of being "tracked" but it looks like the only way to get receipts

[randlemarcus]

NiceCupOfTea said:

Thanks for that, I was afraid that might be the only way.

I really dislike the idea of being "tracked" but it looks like the only way to get receipts

I normally submit the receipt from the top-up, i.e. the £20, and spread those arond the various project codes. Just occasionally, someone gets narky, and asks for the individual trips, and they then the the next three top ups

[NiceCupOfTea]

Mkay, just done that but it says you can only view journey history if you've topped up online.

Why would where you top up (online or at a station) make any difference to whether you can view your balance or not? The thing knows my balance, therefore it knows what journeys I've made

[NiceCupOfTea]

randlemarcus said:

NiceCupOfTea said:

Thanks for that, I was afraid that might be the only way.

I really dislike the idea of being "tracked" but it looks like the only way to get receipts

I normally submit the receipt from the top-up, i.e. the £20, and spread those arond the various project codes. Just occasionally, someone gets narky, and asks for the individual trips, and they then the the next three top ups

this is for the tax returns as I am self employed so it has to look whiter than white!

[NiceCupOfTea]

Bump (and mods, please can this be moved back to the Lounge, it's a General question re Oyster Cards and will get a much greater coverage in there).

I have registered my card online against my better judgement, and used it to go into town round a bit, and home a couple of days ago. I swiped my card in various places, and it seems to have cost me about a tenner! A 6 zone travelcard is less than 8 quid, I thought this thing was supposed to save me money?

Plus, I get home and check my online account and there is STILL no record of my journeys...

1) how can you check that you are being charged the correct amount? I am convinced it was wrong the other day, my wife was with me and it cost her less!

2) how can I get a detailed breakdown (partly so I can check it's right, and partly for receipts)? Many people need travel receipts, there must be a way of doing it?

Please tell me there's something I'm doing wrong? It can't really be that crap can it!?

[AndyAudi]

Barclaycard have some connection to Oyster. I think their contactless cards (as ssen on tv) can be used insead of Oyster cards. Surely they would have online statements.

[sjg]

Mine is registered online - I just go in and look at journey history, you can get a printable version for the last 6 weeks or so on one page. I just print that off at the end of the month and highlight the days I was doing company travel.

It's very detailed but a little hard to read if you're not familiar with how Oyster works. When you "touch in" it will deduct enough from your card to cover any journey you're likely to make (usually £4.00 for me in zone 2). When your journey ends and you "touch out" it will refund the rest so you're only charged for what the journey cost. Once you hit the cost of a travelcard for that day's travel, it stops charging (but you'll see it on the journey history).

Occasionally there's a dodgy reader somewhere and a journey won't show, but you just fill in a form on the website and they correct it for you.

[NiceCupOfTea]

Doesn't show anything from my journey last week. It got complicated and I swiped loads of times (station, twice at London Bridge where I changed, and at the tube where I got off. Then the same in reverse.

Nothing - and the card is registered online.

What happens if you don't swipe when leaving the final station?

ETA - it says it doesn't show anything unless you top up on the web - what the hell has that got to do with anything? Bought my card at the station so obviously put money on it there.

Isn't there a legal requirement to provide receipts/evidence where requested?

I have to say, so far it is a total white elephant for me: seems to be costing me more than travelcards, and doesn't provide receipts. Back to travelcards when it runs out of credit I think.

Edited by NiceCupOfTea on Wednesday 17th February 00:39

[mcflurry]

NiceCupOfTea said:

What happens if you don't swipe when leaving the final station?

They charge the max fare

[NiceCupOfTea]

mcflurry said:

NiceCupOfTea said:

What happens if you don't swipe when leaving the final station?

They charge the max fare

So you could end up with a refund if you swipe?

[sjg]

Mine is topped up automatically from my bank account when the balance falls too low - I guess that counts as a web top-up.

I find it all very convenient, never have to queue to pay and one receipt (that I print myself, not a bit of paper I have to keep) to submit at the end of the month.

[PF62]

AndyAudi said:

Barclaycard have some connection to Oyster. I think their contactless cards (as ssen on tv) can be used insead of Oyster cards. Surely they would have online statements.

The Barclaycard OnePulse card is effectively just a Barclaycard and an Oyster card glued together. Both operate entirely independently of each other, so you can use the Barclaycard to use as the funding source for an 'auto-top up', but equally you can use another bank or card, or just stick cash on the card.

Nothing useful appears on the Barclaycard website about Oyster, and just refers you to TFL, and what the Barclaycard call centre staff wherever they are (but it isn't the UK) know about Oyster could be written twice on the back of a stamp.

If you want an Oyster statement, you still need to register on the TFL website, and set it to auto-topup.

But apart from that, it is quite handy if you only want to carry one card instead of two.

[mcflurry]

NiceCupOfTea said:

mcflurry said:

NiceCupOfTea said:

What happens if you don't swipe when leaving the final station?

They charge the max fare

So you could end up with a refund if you swipe?

AFAIK it works by taking the maximum fare when you touch in, and then subtracts the difference when you touch out...

[chucklebutty]

You can ask the person working on the booth to print a statement of the recent transaction history on an unregistered card. You might have to wait in a queue...but it works.

[SarahOliver]

Hey,

I have been purchasing weekly travelcards as it means I save money on travel. I get paid for the days that I work but I HAVE to provide them with a print out of my travelcard cost. I have gone online to the Oyster website and all is says is Travelcard Purchased it does not say how much the travel card cost?
I am really annoyed and have not been able to find anyway to rectify this a little help would be amazing!!!

[CRB14]

SarahOliver said:

Hey,

I have been purchasing weekly travelcards as it means I save money on travel. I get paid for the days that I work but I HAVE to provide them with a print out of my travelcard cost. I have gone online to the Oyster website and all is says is Travelcard Purchased it does not say how much the travel card cost?
I am really annoyed and have not been able to find anyway to rectify this a little help would be amazing!!!

If they're paying just swipe as you go then at the end of each week print out your journey history and highlight the journeys you want to claim back. Only problem there is that it does feel your are being tracked as the company would see everywhere you've been and at what time so my late night jaunts at weekends can also be seen.

I'm thinking about buying another card solely for private use.