A visitor to this site has highlighted some missing fares between stations on the North London Line and the northern branches of the Northern line. I have sent the following email to the Oyster helpdesk to try and get the issue resolved.
Dear Helpdesk,
A visitor to my website has stumbled across a gap in the fares table for some journeys in North London. If you travel from any of Canonbury, Dalston Junction, Haggerston, Hoxton, Dalston Kingsland, Hackney Central, Homerton or Hackney Wick to Northern Line stations north of Mornington Crescent via either Camden Road/Town or Kentish Town/West then you will be erroneously charged as if you had gone via zone 1 (Highbury & Islington and Euston). If you travel from either Stratford or Highbury & Islington you are correctly offered an avoiding zone 1 fare if you use either of the above OSIs.
I’d be grateful if you could confirm when this anomaly can be corrected by and whether there is anything that any passengers affected by the issue can do to redress the overcharge.
Kind Regards,
Mike,
www.oysterfares.com
There’s also an issue from Forest Hill to Goblin stations. Woodgrange Park can be done as a zone 2-4 journey via Whitechapel and Barking is a default via zone 1 journey and the alternative fare is via London Terminals.
So it is, Martin. That needs a touch on pink validator at Whitechapel option. Another issue to raise.
Hi Mike. Are there any developments on this story? Did TFL respond? I ask because – after 3½ months – it appears from the TFL Single Fare Finder that the issue still hasn’t been resolved and the apparent overcharging persists.
Hi Dave,
Yes, there have been developments but I hadn’t got round to writing them up because I’m still trying to explore the wider issues.
What happens is this: You travel and get overcharged as the single fare finder says you will. Then a couple of days later you’ll get an email saying that you are due a refund. Apparently this has been agreed with London Travelwatch, although I haven’t managed to get hold of anyone for more information. I’m also not quite sure I understand why the problem exists in the first place, but it looks like fixing it will take more than just adding a new fare to the database.
Both the person who originally reported the issue and myself have tested this out and it does work.
Thanks for the prompt update and for your ongoing efforts to get this issue fixed on behalf of Londoners.
Presumably the overcharge email will say you have to pass through the same station again to collect the refund? If you don’t travel that route regularly, can the Helpline give the refund by other means – as they can for refunds initiated by them (but only if you push them, in my experience)?
I still haven’t collected my refund. It is available at the station they think you’ll most likely use straight away. After 8 days you get another email directing you to your account online where you can then request the refund is sent to any other station. I don’t know what happens if your card isn’t registered and/or attached to an online account. In my case it was a spare card that I rarely use but I’ll set the refund to my local station at some point in the future.