Contactless travel on TFL- did we do something wrong?

[TreacherousPissFlap]

Just back from an amazing but exhausting weekend in London. In a bid to be modern and streamlined I have ensured each of us is equipped with ApplePay, each with our own card registered.

We have happily tapped our way in and out of stations and our simple country minds have been blown by the ease of it all we don't get out much!

Checking my bank account however, it seems we have been charged much more than I was expecting. Admittedly I have not travelled much round London for about twenty years, so was prepared that all day travel would be more than £2.50 or whatever it used to be. We have however been charged £14, £22, £11 and varying other amounts per day.

If that's the correct amount then fine, we had a great time and it's a lesson learnt. If we've done something wrong then I'd like to know what it was! The TFL site indicates that our fares should have been capped, but not why they haven't.

Ah.

Ah, the not tapping out is an expensive decision.

That would be it. You should be able to go in and correct the fare, indicating where you would have tapped out, although I think you can only do this for a small number of journeys per month.

On TFL you can click “apply for refund on incomplete journey” and they are very good at refunding you

He has two separate transactions on the one day, I'm guessing because he was charged £5.60 for two journeys?

He's quite good humoured about the whole affair

In your DH's defence the card readers at some DLR stations are very well hidden.

I omitted to tap in once as I just couldn't find the reader and didn't have time to wander round indefinitely. An inspector got on and I accosted him and expressed politely but firmly my displeasure at not having been able to tap in easily, and thus risk a penalty. He did something to my card with his hand-held reader and let me off. But, unless they've improved things, it can be too easy to not tap in or out.

I had a period where I kept being charged full fare on my way to/from work as the readers at my work station weren't working properly. They refunded me OK. I would fill in the online request with as much info as you remember (tricky if they were ambling around). Hopefully they will refund at least part of the charges. I think they are pretty good at telling mistakes from people trying to fare evade and tend to go in your favour.

Also by you, obviously he should do it, but sounds like you would do it better!

Well they charge that much for not tapping out so that cheeky buggers like your DH don't try and cheat the system and not tap (and, they think, not pay). It works - I did it once and always tap out.

In fairness to DH black I'm not sure it was a cheeky decision.

We live in the countryside and have one train an hour. DH was just muttering things like "so many trains" and kept pissing off Londoners wandering off to peer at things.

I'm guessing he won't make the same mistake again!